Lisa Jackson Jokes With David Letterman (VIDEO)

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson got some prime-time airtime with a two-part interview with David Letterman on Earth Day. Letterman joked about Jackson's former job as head of environmental protection of New Jersey, "monitoring the environment of New Jersey, or the United States, which is a bigger job?" Jackson replied, "Well, you don't want to send a rookie in to do heart surgery."

Jackson also cautioned Letterman against hopelessness and cynicism, saying she thought clean energy could be a game changer.

WATCH:

Comments

[Jazz88105]

10:14 AM on 04/27/2010

Is she or anyone in the Obama administration going to help stop the decimation of the New Jersey Public School System ?

[BPCentrisAmerican]

10:39 AM on 04/27/2010

Yo, she's heads the EPA, not Dept. of Education. If your worried about discrimination in NJ schools for re, l call Trenton and let the great union buster Christie deal with it, or do you even live in the state or care.

[Balzac]

05:23 PM on 04/25/2010

I really like Lisa Jackson.

[CabinGuy]

11:13 PM on 04/25/2010

Is she going to create the magical green jobs that Obama talks about?

[BPCentrisAmerican]

10:39 AM on 04/27/2010

Is she?

[brooklyncitizen]

02:51 PM on 04/25/2010

Somehow I feel better about the environment knowing Lisa Jackson is running the EPA.

[BPCentrisAmerican]

10:43 AM on 04/27/2010

To her credit former NJ Governor Christi Whitman took her EPA post seriously under Gerorge Bush, but he didn't, so she quit after a year.

[joeblow]

12:47 PM on 04/25/2010

It is so refreshing that David Letterman has guests like the head of the EPA on his show and that the conversation does not deteriorate into sophomoric humor as it certainly would on The Tonight Show.
While Letterman is an entertainer, he also devotes time and attention to salient issues and when guests like the the EPA's Lisa Jackson are invited, he engages them in, maybe not deep conversation, but thoughtful conversation.
Can anyone truly imagine Leno discussing something like the Ogallala Aquifer? Certainly not when there's a potential joke: Ogallala Aquifer? I thought thought that was an Indian casino!!
No. Letterman ain't Nightline with Ted Koppel. But at least you can spend a few moments now and then hearing genuine curiosity instead of 'joke-pan-to-Kevin' juvenile humor.

[brooklyncitizen]

02:48 PM on 04/25/2010

He's matured considerably and I think having a child contributed to this along with the debacle of the last Adminstration. Dave seem to galvanize into action within his platform as a comedian/ entertainer.

Dave's aight .

[CabinGuy]

11:14 PM on 04/25/2010

I guess having sleeping with most of your staff might do that. I am glad you are cool with sexual harassment.

[helonias]

12:29 PM on 04/25/2010

This just in the EPA/BO are going to TRY to rescind some of the mountaintop mining permits issue during the Bush admin, that are destroying W Va.

Should be interesting

[Polichick66]

09:33 PM on 04/25/2010

I hope so, mountain top mining is so barbaric. I know the miners are protective of their jobs, but this practice has to stop. Perhaps build solar panel factories in those areas to employ them instead....should have been done 30+ years ago like Carter started and Reagan ended.

[helonias]

12:27 PM on 04/25/2010

Here is some fun visit http://www.state.nj.us/dep/gis/depsplash.htm

read directions

Zoom in and select known contaminate sites and groundwater contamination area

and look at all them red stars and blotches

But are new Repub gov thinks there are to many regs

Have fun you in Jersey now.

[CabinGuy]

11:15 PM on 04/25/2010

too not to

[ohiomark]

11:43 AM on 04/25/2010

Having an Obama political hack on as a guest?

Dave has jumped the shark.

[helonias]

12:30 PM on 04/25/2010

Compare her credentials with Chrissy Whitman.

[BPCentrisAmerican]

10:48 AM on 04/27/2010

Whitman was my governor and she actually cared about the environment, but the Bush Administration didn't, so she resigned a year in. She actually wrote a book on how the GOP has been taken over by the wing-nuts, "It's My Party To".

[CountryBeforeParty]

11:37 AM on 04/25/2010

Yep... the EPA... there's that government NOT working, right Repubs?

SURELY the private sector can do better, or people just have the common sense to monitor the environment on their own, right?

Right?

Bueller?

[gamoonbat]

10:23 AM on 04/25/2010

Superfund sites still exist. The Superfund does not.

[TchoupitoulasCanal]

12:57 PM on 04/26/2010

100% Correct (unfortunately).

[2CLEVER]

07:52 AM on 04/25/2010

thought they meant micheal...yakno how cuttin edge dave is

[Untitled]

10:00 PM on 04/24/2010

As a Jersey native...

ditto.

[CountryBeforeParty]

11:31 AM on 04/25/2010

same here