New York: Republican presidential candidate John McCain poked fun at politicians and his host in an appearance last night on the "Late Show with David Letterman."

"We spent $3 mn to study the DNA of bears in Montana. I don't know if that's a paternity issue or a criminal issue," McCain quipped, saying Republicans lost the 2006 election due to runaway spending.

In another jab at his Capitol Hill colleagues, McCain said Congress spends money like a drunken sailor but he once "got an email from a guy that said as a former drunken sailor, I resent being compared to members of Congress."

In an April Fool's Day flourish, the white-haired Arizona senator walked onstage during Letterman's opening monologue, interrupting a string of jokes at his expense with a volley of one-liners.

"You know who I like is that John McCain. Do you folks like John McCain?" Letterman asked his audience. "He looks like the guy at the hardware store who makes the keys."

"You think that stuff's pretty funny, don't you? Well, you look like a guy whose laptop would be seized by the authorities," McCain shot back.

"You look like a guy caught smuggling reptiles in his pants. You look like the guy who the neighbours later say, he mostly kept to himself, " McCain said to cheers and applause.

McCain got serious later with talk of climate change, the mishandling of the Iraq war, the need to close Guantanamo Bay prison camp and to repudiate torture.

"I think we need to work together with our allies and I think we need to listen as well as lead," McCain said.
Source : PTI