Letterman has always had an obtuse sense of humor.  He will take slightly odd things and try to exploit them in such a way that we laugh at them.  But they are not really that funny.  His Top 10 lists are great and I have no problem with him there.  But his writers are not that good and I find his approach to most of his guests and the world in general to be rather SNIDE.  Were I asked to be on his show, I would pause because Letterman can be downright rude at others expense in an effort to make himself look like the superior wise guy, and that ain't cool.  He is also ugly as sin and getting uglier.  He still can make me laugh occasionally and for that he deserves higher than the lowest rating here.

SANTIMONIOUS

He is mean and NOT funny.

I LOVE watching Letterman EVERY NIGHT. There are too many commercials, though, so I TIVO the show and, though the show starts at 10:35 here in Baton Rouge, I start watching it at 11 to 11:05 and still finish the show at the ending time...very seldom will I have 5 minutes after the show goes off.
I really like his humor, and enjoy the way he interviews people. You can actually learn something when he talks to people. I hope he'll stay on the show MANY more years.

No one can take a joke and beat it into the ground like Letterman can.  The "old man humor" is beyond boring, it's pathetic.

Old, boring  and way past his prime.

Classic, Genious, and still relevant. No one makes fun of Paris Hilton's trip to jail like David Letterman.

The funniest talk show on TV. They get liberal at times, thus, only 4 stars!

I used to really enjoy Letterman...on NBC...however, he's been completely inconsequential to the pop culture landscape for 15-20 years.  The only time he gets coverage these days is when that pyscho lady stalks him.

The great everyman of his generation and one who still cares about the art of television. He hasn't sold his show out to the latest market tested trend or ratings grabbing stunt. It may feel like a sameness at times, but watch an old segment on YouTube and you realize that what he is about is making people on TV seem real, whether they are celebrities or just plain folks with their pets.

Occasionally brilliant, but generally over-rated.

Shell of his former self. Used to be VERY funny with that little Vietnamese guy he used to transmit funny comments to while he was a waiter. Used to be very creative. Gotten very lazy. Not funny anymore.

I liked him a lot better before he got so popular.

Yawn. Not worth staying up for.

The most underrated talk show host on TV

Although Leno's monologue tends to be better, Letterman is 1000X funnier with his guests, his self-depricating humor is a lot funnier than narcisitic Leno

Great dry humor and the worst driver in Connecticut!

I really like Letterman....watch him every night!

Letterman beats his own drum for sure but his off the wall humor appeals to me more than Leno. I think Carson was closer to Letterman than he was Leno because he sent material to Letterman to use on his show.

Dreadful, most unfunny person in north America, probably the world?, they put him on tv when everybody is in bed, has to be a minus 5 and some, just awful......

Maybe 4.5 stars as he can be a bit caustic.Still, he is funny and sees the world at a different angle from normal people.Great!

Here's the *whistles* top ten. *whistles*

I like Letterman. I went off him for a while in the late 80's and early 90's, but I enjoy his oddball sense of the ridiculous again. He's funny in a quirky way.

He is so not funny anymore and hasn't been in the last 5 to 6 years. He has those stupid ass top ten lists and i don't even crack a smile. Conan is so much funnier.

Peaked a long time ago, as someone suggested below, he will say some phrase or word that just isn't funny and will keep repeating it in a vain attempt to get the audience to laugh. The creativity of some of the skits just isn't there. Belongs to the 80's.

I think Letterman is great! Unlike Leno he gets in the guests face if he perceives they are trying to be coy or private. He does it with a little more sensitivity now than he did before his heart attack but he still does it nonetheless which sometimes brings out interesting and funny things. That's the reason so many guest are afraid to go on his show compare to Leno. He loves to expose Hollywood fake and does it in measured doses based on how much the guest is out of touch with their own persona. Carson was real patronizing to all his guests. Leno somewhat tried to follow that rule but more or less lets everyone know when he being patronizing with the unsaid message that it's 'part of the job.' Letterman never did this much and he is very awkward when he does. I like Letterman and Leno equally well and can't really pick between them. It has more to do with what mood I am in at the time.

I like him a lot, much better than Leno. Him and Conan O'Brien are the only one's I'll watch.

Dave is a funny guy. What other talk show does daily Top Ten lists?

HORRIBLE! Letterman needs to retire and he should have several years ago!! He is not very funny and has some of the stupidest segments ever like "Name your meat".

Dave's time is up! Once he seemed to have a talent for pulling it out when in the clinches. Now he is pathetically unfunny! Several years ago I went to one of his shows, and he just left the set at every commercial and left his guest sitting there alone. He can't have to pee that much.

He needs to retire

Great at off the cuff type humor, Dave is smarter than he looks. I have no idea why Leno gets better ratings than this guy. I don't like all of the sketches, but the show still has a number of good ones.

It's a real strain for me to think of anyone more overrated for this type of work.

Afunny guy. He keeps it real, and doesn't brown nose his bosses at CBS.

Letterman is funny but some of the bits that he does are a little over done. He has great comic timing and he does not ask the same stupid questions over and over again.

I like his sarcastic, witty format but do believe he needs to start working on a type of humor that everyone can get.

Dave isn't for everybody. But his humor, and 'no hold barred' with interviews are just great. His humor and wit is way more subtile than jay's. And the irony? Who else would have dog chase his tail on stage in front of 1 billion plus viewers at the oscars? Who else would show you how much time you're wasting watching T.V. by seeing if things float? If you didn't think of that, you should watch jay.

Got any gum?

SUCKS.....he has an off-sense of humor so i see why some people get him but i sure never will.

Super partisan on politics. He keeps repeating stupid stuff like Will it Float? Seriously, who wants to see that stuff? I watched Letterman one night and I actually went to sleep on his jokes. At least with Leno, I can stay up and watch the whole thing until the show's over...

David Letterman used to be a favorite. That was when he was the anti-celebrity. The worst part of his show were the Hollywood celebrities. David was great without them. But now he has become one of THEM. All partisan and elite. The show is not the same.

Still funny, but needs to lay off the partisan politics. Entertainers shouldn't push views on audiences. Takes the fun right out.

I like him, but I am getting real tired of his always repeating the most idiotic thing in his show two dozen times, it was not funny the first time, let alone all the other times he repeated it, kind of like that Oprah, Uma, Oprah, Uma crap he did at what, the emmys that time? He can be funny in his opening monologue, but his sit down stuff is real lame lately.

I did enjoy his NBC Late Night Show and for several years never missed an episode (I taped it faithfully every night). I found it brilliantly funny and especially enjoyed when the show finished and he got up to leave - and he was wearing only a suit jacket - under the desk he was wearing jeans and sneakers. By watching it as much as I did, I did find that the off-the-wall, ad-lib feel of the show was much more rehearsed than was supposed, but the humor overwhelmed that. I stopped watching in the early 90s and because a friend of mine attended his show recently, I taped it see if I could see her in the audience (I couldn't). However, I found Dave unenthused with the task and the show was quite boring. Dave looked awful in a full suit too.

Why do people think this guy is funny?

Simply average. Time for retirement because he is going way downhill. Can think Jay Leno's own downfall for making him appear to be better than he is. What bothered me the most was all the credit Letterman got after 9/11 for lifting America's spirits as if anyone really did, or that he was the only one.

he thinks he is funnier than he is

THE VERY BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A genuinely funny guy. His shows used to be much better, but they are still lightyears ahead of his competition. He's easy to watch, unlike Leno who often seems contrived and desperate, and is not too over the top (i.e. Conan O'Brien). Dave is just right. His opening monologue is amusing, and he is a top-notch interviewer. He's still the King of Late Night.

Way too boring.