With just 40 days to go ’til Election Day, I’m gorging myself on campaign coverage. Online, it’s a near-constant click from The Huffington Post and Salon to CNN and Yahoo! News, looking for some new nugget. Later, parked in front of the flat-screen, I’ll start with the CBS Evening News (and NBC Nightly News if Ms. Couric doesn’t quell my ravenous appetite). That’s usually followed by some quality MSNBC time, both Countdown with Keith Olbermann and new ratings blockbuster, The Rachel Maddow Show. I’m still making time for Project Runway, of course, and tonight’s Ugly Betty premiere—all hail the genius of TiVo!

Actually, the two worlds have collided; politics is pop culture. Presidential candidates and their supporters regularly hit the talk show circuit, from The View to The Daily Show (sometimes with eye-opening results). Traditionalists may lament the confluence, but it shouldn’t matter whether folks get turned on via C-SPAN or Comedy Central. They’re engaged in the process.

Yesterday evening, Republican nominee Sen. John McCain pulled out of a planned appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman, ostensibly rushing off to Washington to “fix the economy.” If you missed the broadcast (Olbermann filled the guest chair instead), Letterman clearly found the situation quite curious, as you can see from this greatest-hits edit of last night’s show: