Late night television hit a new low yesterday when David Letterman had Attorney General John Ashcroft as a guest. (The Late Show’s Web site has a video clip of the segment, though it probably won’t be up there too long). The AG was a good enough sport and I’ll bet that he’s even a charming fellow if one can get past his far-right politics. But his clumsy attempts at playfulness were just maddening and disturbing given his office’s egregious abuses of power earlier that very same day.