Comedy shows had a tough time dealing with the Eliot Spitzer sex scandal Monday night, since the story broke not in the morning papers, like most of their fodder, but in the afternoon. Comedy Central's Daily Show, for example, led with some half-baked Spitzer jokes before segueing into a package on the Wyoming Democratic primary. Half an hour later, the Colbert Report was hardly any better. Even Jay Leno on NBC's Tonight Show stumbled when he delivered an off-color joke that turned the audience against him (see video after the jump). But CBS Late Show host David Letterman, who has always affected a loose and quirky manner in front of the camera, unleashed a barrage of smart jokes at the start of his monologue that are still worth watching 36 hours later:

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