NEW YORK (AP) -- You'd hardly know the Democrats have even chosen a presidential candidate, judging from late-night comedy monologues. It was Republican John McCain and - oh, by the way - his vice presidential running mate, Sarah Palin, who claimed most of the jokesters' attention.

"John McCain's campaign has closed their offices in Michigan and they say they won't try to compete for votes there," noted NBC "Late Night" host Conan O'Brien on Monday. "Apparently this is part of McCain's strategy to try to win votes only in the original 13 colonies."

"John McCain blew off Michigan! Well, I know how they feel," said CBS "Late Show" host David Letterman. McCain canceled an appearance on Letterman's show two weeks ago.

"Maybe you've noticed that all of John McCain's problems began when he bailed out on this show. Are you aware of that? Well, the road to the White House runs right through here!"

Craig Ferguson, host of CBS' "Late Late Show," said that "at this point, it's a race to see what drops faster: the stock market or John McCain's poll numbers."

Of course, the stock market's plunge was a popular topic among the comics, with Letterman devoting his Top Ten list to "Ways to Make the Financial Crisis More Fun." Ranked in second place: "Enjoy the blank stare when Katie Couric asks Sarah Palin what the FDIC stands for."

He also poked fun at Palin's gaffe when, addressing a group Sunday, she referred to Afghanistan as "our neighboring country."

"Apparently," cracked Letterman, "she can see bin Laden's cave from her house."

On Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report," host Stephen Colbert took an approving look back at Thursday's vice presidential debate.

"Both candidates surpassed expectations," he said. "Sarah Palin proved she could speak. And Joe Biden proved he could STOP speaking."

And NBC "Tonight" show host Jay Leno called attention to a candidate for governor of Bangkok who assaulted a TV reporter for asking him tough questions on the air.

"Today Sarah Palin said, 'You can do THAT? Where's Katie Couric?'"

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Comedy Central is owned by Viacom Inc. CBS is a division of CBS Corp. NBC is owned by General Electric Co.

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http://lateshow.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/

http://lateshow.cbs.com/latenight/latelate/

http://www.nbc.com/The-Tonight-Show-with-Jay-Leno/

http://www.nbc.com/Late-Night-with-Conan-O'Brien/index.shtml

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