Alita Ditkowsky Accidentally Became A Great Moment In Presidential History

yeah hi I'm Paul schaer I'm will Lee and you are watching the Letterman podcast welcome once again to the Letterman podcast my name is Mike Chisum uh I have a saying with this this show this is why we do the show I say that many many many many times tonight's episode is actually literally within the bones of of of the skeleton of what was conceived when uh myself the people who kind of were advising me or helping me thought about what this show was I always had the idea I over my years um as a as a as a as an Enthusiast of this thing uh that that Letterman and Company put out I would run into from time to time folks who had an encounter with the show civilians who would have an encounter with a show there was one time I was on a cruise ship and uh I I I met somebody and Letterman came up somehow and he's like oh yeah this happened to me on back on late night and it was like 15 years later and he was still talking about it like happened yesterday and I've had that happen a few times um in in in my life and and and those of us who love Dave and Company you know many of us agree with the idea that it was kind of like a secret Club a club and if ever people were um unknowingly brought into that club it was always a fun thing this episode is exactly one of those things uh you know Alita and Mike takowsky are the guests today Alita was um unknowingly uh brought in as as as part of a a big bit that was used on Letterman years ago to do with George W bush I don't want to say much more than that uh we'll play the clip we've got permission to play the clip so thank you uh for that and um and and 20 years later almost to the to the day um you know this couple this lovely couple from New York from Long Island is still talking about this um this moment and you'll see the joy that they have in talking about uh being part of this moment um you know caught in the crosshairs between the Late Show making fun of George W bush and uh and and and uh this couple was was was a part of that Alita specifically so please enjoy this very fun episode of the Letterman podcast with Alita and Mike dackowski all right Alita Mike it is really nice to have you both here uh we're g to get into this I I'll tell you this straight up when I first started the Letterman podcast uh when I conceived it originally with with with some of the other people who were advising me one of the things that I always wanted to talk to one of the things I wanted to to focus on in the show is talking to people who um had a run in with the show accidentally you know they picked up the random phone call off the street or they uh you know somehow some way uh you know it's like almost the collateral damage of the show you know and and and um you certainly fit that bill this is one of those episodes that I take a real Delight in uh you had an encounter with the show uh not knowing it was going to happen it just happened and um how many years later 20 years later whatever it is we're still talking about it a lot you're still smiling about it um how did it feel to have uh Alita suddenly thrust into uh the Limelight of The Late Show with David Letterman oh it was great I'll never let her live it down I we're having fun with this I mean to this day not yeah you can't can't not have fun Alita the first time you saw yourself um on Late Show with David Letterman in that bit what did you think um well first I was shocked to even find out that I was on it because I was getting phone calls from friends and family saying what was I doing on letman yeah and I had absolutely no idea that they used that clip with me and the president on the show so I I was shocked at all these people calling me what what was I doing on letman and how funny I was on letan and I'm like I wasn't on letan what are you talking about and everybody was like yes you were well according to our nephew because the first call came the next morning our nephew Jared was in Carolina and she was he was going on about how funny Alita was on in Letterman and we're like what are you talking about she goes I wasn't on and then after we heard from him then we started hearing from our friends over the next day or two so okay we we found out that it was true that Letterman had used that clip I think did you call or did we know someone that knew someone that worked no Richard and Denise had a friend who worked in production and they got us the tape of the episode second episode because again this is a long time ago this is when you know you know Recording Technology DVR you couldn't just necessarily just bring it up right away so you had this time where everyone's telling you you were on Letterman but you were kind of helpless to see it yourself that you kind of went through I had no idea I didn't even know what they were talking about I I had no clue I mean nobody from the letman show had contacted me so I didn't know that they use that I didn't even know you know why they put me on let him in I didn't think anything I did would have been uh funny enough or significant enough to have you know warranted by me I um I I want to get our audience in on this right now because this is kind of okay so we're we're kind of at that place we're reminiscing back to the time where uh you found out you were on Letterman you didn't really know what it was and so right now let's go to the clip and uh we'll we'll we'll show it to everybody and thank you very much to worldwide pants for giving us permission to do this um yeah sweet they updated and Now ladies and gentlemen we have a two-part segment featuring our current President George W bush or second term with George W bush first of two parts it's called George W bush feels your pain watch and listen carefully my husband and I purchased a brand new 25in television from RCA uh Tom in electronics when and back in 1995 good yeah and uh almost 2 months later the TV started going on the fritz every now and then it was intermittent it didn't happen all the time if it was in the mood it didn't work every now and then a black line every now and then a little fuzz and we called the company and we said can you tell us what's going on with television well Mrs dasi there's nothing wrong with your television you have to call the cable company call the cable company what is what is wrong with people that's what I don't understand you know wow she's talking to the president of the United States no how many people get to do that she's not in Circuit City or radio sh complaining about her TV what is wrong with people nobody gets that much time with the president anytime that's nuts ain't it okay are you ready it's now time for George W bush feels your pain part two part two progressively during that 22 years the TV was getting worse instead of it having a bad day once every month now it's once every day and it got to the point where I said you know what this is definitely a television this is not my cable it's definitely television interesting is it that poor guy that's tough to be the president I'm I'm telling you here's what he ought to do just stay in the white house every a couple weeks sneak down to Crawford stay there don't go out anymore he doesn't need to go anywhere he's got the next four years locked up why does he subject himself to that PO man that's like a day in my life for God s uh you know what's a very popular show on the foxes that American Idol have you seen that oh seeing it and and what they do is they they get people George W bush feels your pain and and there's Alita talking to the president about her television set woes and and and and Bush's reaction to it it was cut perfectly it was a perfect clip and um Now by this point I'm certain Alita you you must have known what it was that had gotten on there they you know people would have said to you yeah it was when you were talking to the President right but you still didn't know the frame of reference as to as as to what it was uh how how did you feel the first time you saw the clip I I laughed myself I thought it was hysterical I thought it was very funny it um it was it was so perfectly uh cut the way that it was and then and then you know Dave going on and on about you know you know what does he work at cir City I honestly didn't think of it like that um I I didn't think of it as I'm talking to the president about my television set I I thought about it as I'm talking to the president about a class action lawsuit a very serious situation where millions of people are getting hurt yeah so that was you know where I was coming from and they took it and really ran with it and made you know multiple jokes about it with which you know turned out to be really really funny yeah well and so to let the audience in on on on on on on uh the reaction of this um it was used George rby Bush feels your pain so so Tommy rpre um you know and other writers as well I don't but I want to highlight Tommy specifically because Great Moments and presidential speeches and and and the George Bush um behaviors and uh you know padel the eccentricities that George W bush would uh would display went on trips in speeches um you know b-roll were absolutely hilarious and they were and and and late show did such a good job well Tommy was kind of the the the sheriff of that uh part of of of the show and so there were people who were constantly looking for clips of President Bush and and and some of the things the Antics um can you hear me okay yeah you all right okay we can hear you I'm my picture keeps going yeah there you go yeah yeah and it's it's it's kind of adorable like this whole thing is kind of adorable so so so this happens you finally realize what it is okay but you had been that was kind of a pinch me moment but in a in a sense it was sort of the cherry on top of a series of Pinch Me moments that you had been experiencing that brought you to face Toof face uh the leader of the Free World and and and and this this place that you were like like it's it's really kind of a crazy story and I I don't want to go too too long with the story but at the end of the day you alluded to it the reason you were sitting with President Bush talking about your television there was nothing out of normal that was what you were supposed to be doing at that time in that place even though it seems so unlikely that somebody would be talking about their television woses to President Bush now I have I have that right right yeah yeah so let's go back I I kind of want to talk a little bit more about what it felt like when you saw it there for the first time and all of that stuff but we'll get back to it we'll get back to the clip and they've by the way they've as you know they've repurposed the clip uh so that was George W bush feels your pain that was the the first one but then there's another segment called George W bush or Great Moments in presidential speeches and and and uh um and that clip was used again at least once it might have been more as well uh we think there's a couple other times that it was there's a third instance where it was used we just don't have it okay we heard about it from other people y but we don't we've never seen it we we were hoping we could get to see it I I will do my very best to see if we can maybe locate the third time that it was used and see if we can get it for you because because again um um you know they've been very receptive to the idea of you guys coming out to the point where I've actually been in contact back and forth with Tommy rupe one of the things that he said about you Alita um um was uh um you know he says I have nothing really interesting to offer I just remember flogging through so many Bush speeches and when you'd find a moment like that it was such a great feeling and then he has I have the sing song of alita's voice in my head to this day and and and and and it is you the the the way that you tell the story it was just so perfect when you compare it to Bush's reaction and uh and then he talks about how the idea was uh you know the the thing that strikes me now is that it's so amazing these moment moments uh were happening with the most powerful guy in the world and yet no one would make fun of it till I watched the speech and we put it on TV today it would be instantly put on Twitter and jokes would be made you know 20 minutes after uh he loved how the 11:30 shows back then used to have first crack at anything fun and and really it is sort of a time capsule that that that it was Letterman's show that would be able to take a moment like that and turn it into comedy gold it's so funny now here's the thing that I also asked um whenever a clip was reused typically it would be because Dave was tickled by it if Dave was tickled by something they would then repeat it and they would use it over and over and over again and this like you mentioned this clip was used a few more times at least at least one that we have and then probably more than that and and then whenever he did the reruns if he wasn't doing a show that night they would use my the show that had my uh appearance there you go so replaying her appearance over and over and over and I mean eventually we did catch it at night when it was a repeat and I got to see it you know myself live I told on TV again get in here and you guys know it because every single time it was replayed suddenly your phone starts ringing off with people who see it right um it's such a it's such a lovely thing and so for for for the clip to be used over and over again it's because Dave liked it and and Tommy did confirm yeah Dave Dave liked that clip he was tickled with that clip uh which is also that puts you that puts you in a Hall of Fame of some sort I don't know which Hall of Fame but some sort of hall of fame um I know you're on Long Island I know you're you're a longtime Letterman fan Alita you you you like Dave like early on oh yeah absolutely and as a New Yorker um what a what a what a what a kick what a kick that must have been you're we're still talking and laughing about it when Joel by the way shout out to Joel uh who connected us uh you know my buddy Joel thank you very much for that b shout out to Joel absolutely absolutely when he heard he heard the story for the first time recently when you told it to him he fell out of his chair laughing at it it's this is the gift that keeps on giving all these years later you're still talking about it right oh yeah right it's 20 years later and it's like this coming February will be the 20th anniversary well and it's Not Gon to die something I just bring up out of nowhere I reconnected with a friend uh uh Joel's girlfriend happens to be one of my best friends yeah and um she set up a meeting with me and um a mutual friend of ours uh from 40 years ago yeah so I hadn't seen her in a long time so we were just catching up on life and you know what what we've gone through what we've done and this is a big thing that happened we played the clips and Joel was like oh my God I got these are great I got to send these to Mike Chism there you go oh and yeah um this brings me endless Delight um there are so many people who had uh these types of appearances or or or or um you know connections to the show that are still talking about this to this day this is a beautiful example of it now I do want to get into the story how was it that that that that you were part of this lawsuit that at the end of the day you look at what RCA is back then versus what RCA is now uh when it comes to these things this what this class action lawsuit you were part of was a big deal and and and you know the the idea that that that you had so much FaceTime with President Bush not just personally but also with the with his people with the you know the preparation for it and all of these things uh how in the world did this happen well first of all wouldn't have happened if we didn't buy that TV in the first place the old 42nd Street photo in Melville on Route 110 we were looking for a TV she wanted a 25 inch TV and th this 25 inch RCA said Mike I really want this TV and is Alita don't because if you look at Consumer Reports Magazine and I've subscribed for like 30 years they had a bad track record they had bad reliability and she said don't go by that this is a beautiful TV look at the pi picture her word was Final we bought the TV uhhuh and you ain't seen nothing yet uhhuh then well I my my feeling was the TV was for the bedroom yep no big deal we didn't need anything with bells and whistles just as long as it had a nice picture and that's all I about nothing wrong with 25 inches in the bedroom that sounds great uhhuh there you go time today get you know 40 oh that hurts 50 Ines whatever he's just setting herself up whatever so you get the TV you bring it home and when did the trouble begin okay so not long after uh we had cable vision do the hookup we got a cable box and uh um right after literally we started having pictures of the TV going in and out um the the picture would get fuzzy the picture would you know not not turn on all the way there would be lines there would be you know and and when I called RCA they would turn around and say oh no that's your cable you have to call Cable yep so I mean this became an ongoing thing between me and cable vision y I was constantly calling them constantly complaining and then I would they would say no it's a TV your your service is fine mhm and um when I would call RCA they then would kick it back to cable vision and say no it's definitely your cable now during all of this RCA knew damn well that they made millions of TVs defectively that there was what's called a tuner tuner on board right well I'm getting to that it was the tuner that it's on on a board in the back of the TV so they called it Tuna on board yep and uh it I guess for millions of these TVs that were either RCA or under other names yep I I don't remember the other names that the TVs were scan Pro Scan was one of them okay yeah but there were others Patrick Stewart did all their commercials after Star Trek next Generation became big but there were other TVs that were made uh by RCA Y and had this tuner on board problem that they didn't screw in the back of that that tuner in the back of the TV properly okay so they had to disassemble the back put it back on again properly in order for the TV to work for the TVs that didn't get that done some had problems so you know disastrous that uh when I called Newsday and spoke to somebody at Newsday about it uh one of the editors actually had their RCA blow up you're kidding like the T TV actually blew up so what prompted you to cause call news day like was it just frustration is this is this further along once the lawsuit had been established or or or was this were you kind of like so frustrated with the you trying I was trying once I found out there was a there was a um a for a foreman from cable vision y that came to my home and uh said I know what the problem is here it's definitely your TV y um it's it's definitely RCA they they didn't put the tuner on this TV properly okay he knew the whole deal okay and he said you need to call them you need to say you want the warranty on this you want it fixed yeah and obviously that didn't work out and so things get elevated was when I called they said well did you go online and did you you know look that up and I said what are you talking about go online I sent in a warranty card and they they made you you know and back then nobody went online to look things up you talk in 200 it was it was it was 200000 when it trouble start yeah it was a very different world back then yeah nobody went online to look things up so I was like I had no idea that that was even something to do but I I turned around and I said to her no I didn't but the form and a cable vision is very familiar with the situation and very familiar with the problems with the TV and I want it fixed so she turned around and said well there's nothing we could do about it now because now we have we're under a class action lawsuit oh so that's when you found out about the the the the lawsuit I didn't get anything in the mail yet about okay that was my first notification that this was a class action lawsuit okay so we're talking millions of TVs all these devices all these people whatever how in the world do you get pulled into it where you're part of the yeah and how did Washington get involved because it seems to me like it's like okay we got this class action lawsuit but this was part of a quite a large ordeal from Washington was it not yeah well what happened was she G on the news day and Henry you're F Washington was four years later but okay this ordeal took this is this is an ordeal that went years what happened what happened was first I tried to get a hold of the president of RCA my whole thing is I always believe that you go to the top okay that you don't talk to little people like the woman that I spoke to at RCA that said there's nothing you could do because we're under class action lawsuit I'm like well you know she's a low man on the totem pole I want to go to the top okay so I you know that's my thing and I try to get a hold of the president of RCA well the only way to do that is to call and say that I'm a lawyer and I'm part of the whole class action lawsuit thing so once he takes my call I admit to him that I'm not an attorney that wait you got him you actually got him yes I did and I said I'm not a lawyer but I'm a consumer who bought your TV and has had nothing but problems I don't know how you live with yourself I don't know how you sleep at night that you have all these people that spent all this money you know using your good name and you're smearing it in into mud in the ground I I said you know all it would take is for you to fix these TVs so he said well now we have a class action lawsuit and there's nothing I I have to do for you there's nothing I'm going to do for you wow so I said said really I said let me tell you something you're messing with the wrong person I said I won't sleep until I get even with you you don't do that to me I said I want my TV fixed I have every right I spent all this money sent in a a warranty card and you you have the nerve to tell me you're not going to do anything so he turned around and he said you know what you don't like it sue me wow so he hung up on me and you know at first the steam was just coming out the top of my head I can imagine I I was calling friends and I was saying I have to do something I like I want to wipe RCA off the map and never piss off a redhead never uh I you know how dare they who do they think they're dealing with you know uh H how do they treat people like this this is disgusting wow so I was just beside myself now my history is that I I did some journalism in college okay and I had a lot of friends who followed up with journalism in in terms of their careers yep and I I call friends you know people that I knew either Washington Post Miami Herald um when I was working in Miami I knew some people from the Miami Herald so I I called them I called New York Times I called Newsday um I I called um trying to remember if there were any other papers but those were the main ones those were the ones that I knew the most and um I spoke to editors of those papers and I said please have to do this story because millions of people have problems with their TV and they probably have no idea what's going on and there is a lawsuit in place so so so for these news periodical periodical uh there would be something that they could Chase they could go and they could look up the lawsuit and they everybody part of this class action lawsuit got a $50 rebate to buy another RCA product the lawyer got $22 million right whoa the lawyer the lawyer and the judge that took control over this case that's why this whole class action lawsuit came to be is because they wanted to take it out of these private state courts right where this kind of uh manipulation could happen and they wanted to bring it to federal court right where a a judge and a um an an attorney can't just do this class action lawsuit without somebody following it so a massive public magnifying glass and it's at the highest basically the highest level when you go to to to Federal Court this is how it got to President Bush the claimants wouldn't get $50 rebates well Newsday covered the story first okay pict of us a family with the TV so in 2001 Henry gilgoff of Newsday covered the story about you know the frustration with the lawsuit so um and put you two front and center you were the you were the you were the yes with our kids and it was wasn't until 2005 that President Bush it was four years later that it escalated so who do you get the call from like who do you get the call from saying it's I just I just want to add one thing because there's a lot that's really funny from the time that I I went to go meet with President Bush so we kind of skipped over that too so um after after I called the uh um uh and dealt with the president of RCA and I called all the newspapers um they did these articles all over and it came out that RCA was under this class action lawsuit we then got the $50 rebate in the mail which I you know told Newsday why would anybody want to buy another RCA product exactly it's defective it's not gonna work right right when when they did this the first time yeah you know they would you know make another defective product that I would never want yeah so no I don't want to spend another $50 with them I wouldn't give them a dime so um after after that you know everywhere I went on Long Island people recognized me oh you're the lady from you go yeah I'm not buying RCA anymore forget it so anyway four years later like my husband said I'm on the phone with a friend of mine and I get a phone call and I pick up the phone and they say it's the White House can we speak to you and I'm like the white house so I get back on the phone to my friend and I said listen uh I'm going to have to get back to you because somebody saids that they're from the White House and they're calling to talk to me so she's like the White House she said no that's a joke who that's a that's a phony phone call that's a prank so I I got back on the phone and they started saying were you the same person that was in this article that was in Newsday regarding the RCA TV and they already had the article they knew all the information yeah and I'm like yes that was me c can you tell us more about this and I'm like okay so I start discussing the case with them yeah and they said you know what you can stop now that we have enough information yeah so actually President Bush is looking to do a class action reform form he wants to do a bipartisan Bill where uh Democrats and equally Republicans are interested in making sure that consumers don't get hurt and lawyers and judges don't walk away with $22 million like they did with RCA where the consumer got rebates like you did and they said we're looking to make sure that it goes into a federal court with a federal judge so that all of this is is is there's records of it right so and and consumers obviously would get better protection right that being said I thought I thought well okay that's a good idea you know um I I guess I could get behind that um what did you want me to do so they said Well we'd like you to appear in the Commerce building with senators and congressmen and talk to them about passing this bill right so I you know I I I'm very comfortable going out and speaking to people I I you know I feel okay about that so I didn't have any problem with it and they wanted me to fly out to Washington DC to do that yep so I said well you know what I have my kids I can't leave my kids my husband works so if I go I would have to take my kids so they said okay that's fine but then you know we're going to need you alone because we need to go over all kinds of things with you before you go on stage right so I said oh okay well then I'll you know maybe I'll ask my mother-in-law to come to watch the kids so they said okay and they they asked me for my social sec security number and they asked me for my birth date and they said they would get back to me if they were definitely going to have me come so I called my husband at work and I said you won't believe this but the White House called me they they want me to you know go down and talk to senators and congressmen about this whole class action lawsuit Mike did you believe it right away you gave them your Social Security there we go there we go I'm like your social security number without confirming for sure who they are do you know you may have been scammed I need you to get off the phone you better call that number and find out who it is she called the number and it turned out she got the White House switchboard yeah that's amazing it's amazing so I guess it wasn't a scam it's in the white can we help you well and and same thing with your mother-in-law too you told me the other day when we we talked about this your mother-in-law didn't believe it was real right up to the point where you were going to the airport apparently they was scheduled to leave the next day so well no no no we're skipping ahead goad let me let me just finish so gets better they when they said you know that originally that I would be talking to congressmen and Senators again I was okay with that they called me that night the same day y said yes we decided we want you to come and speak um so we're going to need you to come out uh in two days they gave me two days um but you're not going to talk to senators and congressmen they're going to be in the audience I said oh so then who am I talking to so he said the president of the United States so I'm like that I could talk to uh president you're gonna talk to Du I'm not comfortable with that and they were like why can you tell us why and I was like well um because I'm a Democrat and I didn't vote for President Bush and they were like exactly we know that that's why we want you to come down because it's a bipartisan bill and we want to show that there's Democratic support for this so I was like wow um um okay and apparently a lot of people said the president calls you to come down you do it absolutely that's it absolutely so a congressman Steve Israel said the same thing the president calls you I don't care what party you're in you go down oh but it was bipartisan support because it turned out uh Senator Schumer and Senator dods were sponsoring that bill also they were suppor so it was true wow these are the heaviest hitters in the American government and and and suddenly you're at the epicenter of this thing yeah oh I'm I'm in the middle of it all attorney generals and oh all of a sudden I'm Little Miss Washington I mean it was crazy it was it was really surreal anyway um so I was like okay I guess I'll be talking to a president okay and and um the next day I pull my kids out of school yep and I say we have to leave you know in the morning you know we have a flight so uh we need to get ready and um uh we the car comes to pick us up and um my and I told my husband to call his mother to let her know that the the car that they sent for me to take me to the airport and the kids is coming to get her mhm she went they went in the car so I told my wife I would call her and I called my mom said I just wanted to let you know a huge black SUV with a guy in a Black sport coat looked like he was security or something they just picked up Alita and the kids they're on the way to your house and she goes oh crap I didn't finish packing I didn't know this was real and she grabbed everything as quick as she could cuz she literally had less than five minutes before they got to her she thought it was a yarn she thought it was she she really didn't think it was real but it got better for them at the airport she'll tell you so when we get to the airport we we unload all our luggage and um we we go to the the desk you know where the tickets are and um I you know at this point I don't have the tickets um because they said that it would be waiting for me at I guess at the agent you know with the tickets so I I go to the desk and I I said um I was told that my tickets would be here and she said well we don't have any tickets for you she said can I have your license so I give her my license my mother-in-law gives a license and my mother-in-law is turning around she's saying okay Told You So told you where is candid camera I want to know where the cameras are because that that's the only explanation for all of this yeah so this must be Candid Cameras she was convinced it was a trick that they were really hidden cameras playing a joke on them right Alan fun would come from behind the pillar over there and say yeah okay whatever she was convinced it was hidden that they were hidden cameras so the woman says can you wait you know 2 minutes so while my mother and law is busy looking for hidden cameras she's on the phone exactly what agency she called or who she called I don't know but literally two minutes later bing bing boom she she pops up in the computer there you are here are your tickets and you know all of a sudden all of our tickets appear magic so she is like your flight leaves you know whatever in 45 minutes this is where the gate is you need to go and you know so we went my mother-in-law kept saying oh my God we're really going to Washington and she kept saying how could this be real how could this be real yeah this is one of those stories this is and this is one not just one of those stories that uh it's one of those stories that just keeps getting better like we know it ends with a gag on Letterman but but but you got to get there to meet the president first and uh so your family wasn't there it was just you that was there meeting the president or did your family get a chance to see it as well well no they my my mother-in-law and my kids were actually in the audience oh that's great when the whole thing happened but what what happened before that yep was that I had to spend time with the president by myself and also the committee that put this whole thing together the pr people that put it together uh they were busy I guess prepping me for what it was that they wanted me to talk about what they wanted me to say what they wanted me to stress yeah to try to get this bill passed thatal job was to convince the Senate and Congress that this is a good bill that this way people wouldn't get hurt and they should pass it and meanwhile while she was in the meeting with the president they took my mom and the kids on the staff took my mom and the kids on a tour of Washington the red carpet golden treatment all over the place yeah they really made out yeah they made out that's fantastic so I got prepped and then came you know right before there was an hour of me and President Bush sitting in room talking about what we were gonna say on stage along with um who else was with us in that room there I there was a a professor I think from Duke University yeah yeah um and also couple of lawyers up there with her to discuss the whole bill right it was like a 40s something minute conference mostly the president was just really talking to me because I was the one that was really the focal point of the whole meeting uhhuh so um of course he's sitting next to me and I'm literally shaking I I I I'm shaking I I I'm I'm so nervous I'm shaking so he said he said um am I gonna have to pick you up off the floor and I turned around and I said always a possibility it could very well happen we need to be prepared I feel like he would have liked that response um he did actually he said um well I got you and he put his hand on my back and he you know he said you know I'm gonna make sure nothing happens to you you're good and uh you know I'm I'm a regular guy you see I'm a regular guy he said I put my you know pants on one leg at a time like everybody else I'm right guy and you know what honestly he he really was he really was so nice he really was kindness goes a long way doesn't it what kindness goes a long way even with people we disagree with kindness really does go a long way yeah yeah no he was he he was he was really nice um anyway um we we talked about all this and then you know the time on the stage came and you know then all the newspapers covered that I mean that was TV covered it newspapers covered it the the New York Times it originally wouldn't cover my story about the TV all of a sudden wanted quotes from me and I'm like I got you I you the Washington Post even gave almost a full page with a photo of her and the president Henry gilgu of Newsday uh was was contacted Again by her and he did another story with that same photo that the Washington Post had calling taking her complaint to the top yeah right literally right because as I told you that's my motto is To always go to the top now obviously I wasn't planning on talking to a president yeah yeah yeah you really took that to the next level there there is no top above that so well I would argue except for the big man uh behind the ch David Letterman uh getting to him but even afterwards even the kids and my mom actually got private time with him they had a few things that well after the conference after the conference um they they had uh a photographer take pictures of all of us together with the president that's EXC so can I go back to the conference can I go back to the conference for just one second though because okay so you're on stage with President Bush you're telling him exactly what you've told all of us here um you know now at that point does he address everybody is he uh you know is he asks you some questions I assume well you know you're a consumer regarding the TV right and the whole conference is available by the way we'll we'll we'll post links to it and things like that um uh you know for people to see if they if they want to go down that path uh and see it but but basically at this point here how does he finish off so he hears the he hears your story what's the response there during that conference um at that point well he's very receptive and he's and you know he finds out you know he he knows already but he's saying and he tells the audience that this turned out to be the largest class action settlement in history wow in history where you know the lawyer and the judge wound up splitting whatever it was 22 million 25 million whatever it was Y and claimant literally got $50 rebates to buy another RCA not money back you know for their broken TV that they spent you know $900 $1,000 no we got no money back we got no you know nobody fixing our TVs we got you know nothing other than a rebate the bigger issue being saying to the audience uh our system is broken this bill is going to help fix this so this won't happen anymore where people can take advantage of the law in this particular way okay right and that was successful that happened it yes then he then after they voted it it was passed that was right then and there or was that at a different time the bill signing was a week later she a week later okay it was like a month it was like a month later okay but pretty quick like like all things considered that's that's you know on it Senate voted Congress voted and they passed it and you got pictures we got pictures of that too that we're gonna sh like like like literally you you saw the signing of the they they they called to tell me first of all that it passed though I was really excited that you know I helped facilitate that so that was pretty exciting but then I got called by the president to come down for the signing and I'm like oh wow well um okay my kids are in school and I the flight was leaving in two hours two three hours the same day what a nice little cherry on top though that they would that that that he's gonna sign it that I need to come down to DC um they'll get me on a flight yeah so I'm like okay um in order for me to do that I gotta pull my kids out of school so I called the the the the secretary at the front desk of the school and I'm like this is Mrs decowski but uh I gotta pull my kids out of school again because they're going to meet the president and then she heard laughing behind her behind the woman the pre the principal was standing right behind the receptionist laughing cuz he had known they had just just gone and he was like again so um I went to the school quickly picked up the kids packed up their bags and said okay we we need to go I wasn't able to get my mother-in-law at the time yeah they hired somebody from the White House I guess to take care of my kids while I was on stage wow but um I mean it was just anyone who was part of government was on that stage with me who says they can't get government can't get things done like they had you there wow Senator died you had uh the Attorney General you had I mean who's who of politics you had McConnell right in front of you right wow it was the whole thing everybody was where was the bill sign it wasn't the Oval Office it was where the East Wing East Wing East Wing okay of the White House that is and it was funny because right after the signing I was I couldn't go I was in between patients and I get a call at my office and my wife's friend Penny calls and says Mike I got to tell you that was some kiss of President planted on your wife and they go what yeah on TV you know what I'll call you right back so I called the leita and I get her on her cell phone and she goes Mike Mike I can't talk I'm in the East wing of the White House wait you're there now then I have a question for you how is the kiss and then she goes what kiss what are you talking about class action Fairness Act there limiting class action lawsuits in essence it moves them the smaller ones or the larger ones I should say about 5 million to Federal Court where federal courts have been less likely to take on cases like this it also stops lawyers from shopping these type of cases from state to state to get the uh the best juries available and then all of a sudden you could hear her jaw drop there was like a minute of how did you know how did you know I was shocked I was embarrassed I was like no no she she didn't remember she she first she was what kiss and then she just went silent and then she was like oh my God the kiss what how did you know that oh Penny called at the office about 50 million people saw the president kiss you on naal TV well because they televised the signing of the bill yep yep so I I mean at this point talk about Great Moments and presidential uh speeches right there there it is you go it it really was something it was really something um but I mean the whole thing is like a dream and then and then you know that was over yeah um I came home and of course we had pictures I had the bill and the pen that he sent me oh that is cool that is very very do you still have that yes I do outstanding oh that's excellent to hear we got everything I have all that and the pictures you know that his his office sent um so I have all these memories but then a couple of months later I'm getting called on my David L that was my next question what was the what was the lag time behind all of this so so so so it feels like there was a there was a there was at least a quarter a couple months between when you actually were on stage with the president because that happened before the bill signing and then and and and before they were able to definitely happen after the bill signing okay so was with you think weeks to months kind of thing right right so it it might have been a month later about a month later okay right that so it took them time it took them time I guess to get the clip and and and come up with all the jokes that they did but but you talk about again I used the phrase earlier cherry on top like you think about this this amazing experience that you've just you know you never no nobody thinks that they're ever going to end up at the White House seeing a an event like this or part of something talking to the president uh gosh being by pres my goal was literally to get back at RCA that was you know that was the whole goal right um my goal was to talk to the the president of of RCA yeah which I did and I got no satisfaction and then my goal after that was to get even with them and say you can't treat consumers like this right yes yes you you have no right so and after the article came out in Newsday my husband usband and I actually sent the president of RCA a copy of the article Fant and said this is what happens when you try to screw your consumer so the was that was that person still working for RCA at the time like it seems like this is one of those things where that could remove somebody oh gosh that is so cra was still the president of RCA I mean you don't hear or see anything about RCA anymore not as much as he used to they don't sell oh no absolutely s i I could tell you after this whole thing happened I saw a lot less sales of RCA TV well and then there's that intangible question imagine if that guy's a letterman fan and and and one night you know he's home he's home late from the you know it pops on the TV oh no sees sees this this this bit because it's not like you didn't you used RCA in the in the bit that they used I believe I believe he used or I don't know maybe maybe they didn't have the word RCA in there I don't think they say exactly RCA there yeah but but in that whole conference if they looked up the conference with me and the president it definitely disussed every newspaper that covered the incident specifically mentioned R because that was action lawsuit so you get back to normal life and and and it's like okay well you know back to back to the normal that was that was fun that was one of those moments in life you're always going to remember action lawsuit got you know big public publicity all over place and suddenly and then good PR that RCA would have wanted no of course and then and then a month later uh you know you find out that you're on Letterman and and and I mean what a what a what a wonderful PS to that story is that it would get caught like this and and and uh there'd be some humor like I mean I remember that moment I I I I I'm pretty sure I watched every Late Show uh I was pretty diligent with it and I had them recorded and I would catch up and all that sort of stuff the moment that Joel um you know showed me the clip I'm like oh I remember this I you know I totally remember it it was and it's it's really cool like like you obviously don't want to take a magic trick and you don't want to deconstruct it and show people necessarily how it works same thing with a joke sometimes this one here when when I found your story and I started talking to you you're both characters and it's just such a the story is so precious and then we get to this uh the joke which was so good and and I just I I love the behind the scenes of this one here I feel like um this is this has been one of my favorite episodes I just love this so much and and uh and and and you know the Letterman part of it uh for you two it seems to be one of the most delightful Parts too because that's the random part where people are coming up to you and suddenly talking to you about it and yeah oh yeah from from all over yeah all of a sudden I'm like you know a star I was on I was on lamon you know I was like one of those comedians from on letman I'm like I have no idea what you're talking about um it's great and and by the way um you know the original I'll post the original uh mic to you the YouTube channel that you I assume you built this YouTube channel because worldwide pants sent you the sent you the tape they sent you the clip which I thought was classy to be a to share it with friends and family so that they see so I put all the clips there I put the kiss there I actually put the whole class action conference there yep and the kids B mits for stuff and assorted things well the kiss was actually a funny story also because um he was actually shaking everyone's hand so um I I put my hand out for him to shake it and uh that wasn't what he planned to do so he grabbed my hand and then moved onto my cheek and kiss my cheek that is very sweet um this whole this whole thing is very sweet and and as we uh as we kind of bring this uh this this part of the conversation to the close was there anything that we missed is there anything about this um you know in in in the Years following or the months following whenever Dave would use it obviously you know when the rerun would go on or if they repurposed that moment and used it again you'd have a fresh volley of people I think when they used it in that second episode it wasn't that much later it was like oh good God that there was that other clip I mean to me I I mean I wasn't I I didn't think that I was doing something humorous with the president I I was there to to do business yes of course you know my my goal was to get even with RCA and make sure that they didn't hurt any other consumers and that you know they got theirs right that was my goal and when they when Letterman made well his writers made that joke she's talking to the president of the United States she's not in the middle of Circuit City or radio sha what is wrong with people like you know it started me thinking oh my God I'm a crazy TV lady you know what do you want to do not go out anymore step down to Crawford he's got the near next four years all loed up what suggest yourself to that those were the best lines 20 years later you're quoting it verbatim and and and that shows right there the joy that it brought to you and I mean that's that and I F my mom a lot when was my kids and my mom got some time with him and the things my mom said I nearly died I mean what what did she say yeah maybe too bit much she had her time she had her fun I mean my kids had a lot of fun with President Bush I mean while we were taking pictures it he spent a lot of time with us so it was nice it yep um I I I have really enjoyed getting to know you and and uh and and going through this story with you it it this is I I'll tell you this doing the show I love talking to the people who worked for the show and and and and the people who wrote about the show and all that sort of stuff I love doing this but when the show was originally conceived the idea would be that we would talk to people who were featur civilians essentially who were featured on the show and and and and in a line of fire yeah because I had run into through time to time like I'm a a huge Letterman enthusiast always have been and so I would meet people uh I met somebody on a cruise ship once who had an encounter with the show and I I mean it was it was years later because their encounter was with um the late night version of the show and and and they were telling me about it and it was probably 15 years later and and and I have through my life met people this is long before we even thought about doing the podcast met people who would have this encounter with the show randomly like a civilian like we said and and they were still talking about it and I haven't really we have had a couple examples since we started the Letterman podcast but this one here is a as far as I'm concerned um in the way that I think see thinks a grand slam home run because here we are literally almost 20 years to the day and we are laughing about it like it happened yesterday and and it was such a positive thing and I'm just so pleased I'm pleased as punch to have met you I ow I owe uh Joel a tasty beverage for for introducing us I'm so grateful for this um before we kind of wrap things up here was there anything else that you want to throw out there to Tommy to Dave himself to no I was just G to say that this story was was not anything that anybody could even make up yeah but know you're right I mean everything from start to finish you would never know that one thing is going to happen next of of all of it the way the whole thing played out you know just circumstance kind of like snowball snowball on the hill and it rolls down and starts getting getting bigger and bigger and bigger I mean obviously the the the biggest part was you know appearing on lamon you know this is gonna that is the perfect kind of attention that is the perfect way to end um to end this uh here um I I have a saying that I that I uh compulsively say I don't know if it's a nervous thing or whatever but at the end of an episode that I enjoy and let's face it I enjoy them all I say this is why we do the show um this one I I cannot I would if I wrote that down I would underline it twice this is why we do the show is is is is Comm I love Community I love I love uh us being able to talk about this and laugh about this um thank you very much both you uh thank you for having us pleasure thank you it was great seeing you it was great reminiscing absolutely absolutely we'll say our goodbye privately I'll do the I'll do the outro here real quick come on out to New York come on out come on out with your go for a beer next time I'm out I absolutely absolutely you're on the list I've got a every time I go to New York now the list seems to get bigger and bigger and bigger in be since we started the show so uh absolutely thank you guys so much for everything I appreciate it uh this has been another episode of the Letterman podcast with Mike Chisum coincidentally I am Mike Chisum thank you and good night Chang glass experience yeah that's right uh and Jerry Lee Lewis uh ladies gentlemen uh it's time now for something we call gosh this has been fun I'm so happy we were able to do this the segment is called Great Moments in presidential speeches take a look my fellow Americans our long National nightmare is over communism is another sad bizarre chapter in human history whose last last pages even now are being written almost two months later the TV started going on the fritz every now and then it was intermittent it didn't happen all the time if it was in the mood it didn't work every now and then a black line every now and then a little fuzz and we called the company and we said can you tell us what's going on with the television well Mrs dasi there's nothing wrong with your television you have to call the cable company call the cable company interesting woo all the table govern this is De Cassio and now it's time to play will