[Costello:] Sixteen minutes past the hour. Good morning to you and welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Late night talk show host David Letterman is being targeted by terrorists. An assassination threat posted on a Jihadist Web site calling for Letterman's tongue to be cut out and his mouth shut forever. This after the funny man cracked a joke about an al Qaeda leader's death. Listen.
[David Letterman, Host, "late Show With David Letterman":] So anyway, they picked a successor to Osama Bin Laden and his name was Ilyas Kashmiri. Well, guess what? He was blown up by an American drone. Yes.
[Costello:] The FBI is looking into the threat. No comment from Letterman's camp.
[Romans:] All right. A bizarre encounter here on CNN last night when former Delaware Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell walked off the set during an interview with Piers Morgan. O'Donnell came on the show to promote her new book called "Troublemaker." But when pressed by Piers about her position on gay marriage and "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," it seems O'Donnell had enough.
[Piers Morgan, Cnn Host, "piers Morgan Tonight":] Why are you being weird about this?
[Christine O'donnell, Fmr. Delaware Senate Candidate:] I'm not being weird about this, Piers. I'm not running for office. I'm not promoting a legislative agenda. I'm promoting the policies that I lay out in the book that are mostly fiscal, that are mostly Constitutional. That's why I agreed to come on your show. That's what I want to talk about. I'm not being weird. You're being a little rude.
[Morgan:] I don't I'm baffled as to why you think I'm being I think I'm being rather charming and respectful. I'm just asking you questions based on your own public statements and now what you've written in your own book. It's hardly rude to ask you that, surely.
[O'donnell:] Well, don't you think as a host, if I say this is what I want to talk about, that's what we should address?
[Morgan:] Not really, no. You're a politician.
[O'donnell:] Yes. OK. I'm being pulled away. You know, we turned down another interview for this.
[Morgan:] Where are you going? You're leaving?
[Romans:] OK. Then you can see a shadowy figure tries to stand in front of the camera apparently trying to block the view of O'Donnell. Later, Piers talked about the exchange with CNN's Anderson Cooper.
[Morgan:] I found it a very strange moment. And I don't think anyone who watches the interview would deduce I was being rude. I'm a little bit cheeky, maybe, but not rude.
[Anderson Cooper, Cnn Host, "anderson Cooper 360":] You are a cheeky monkey, but but I think it's completely fair game to ask about past statements that people have made, and particularly someone's position on on same-sex marriage. I mean, that's in the news. That's that's not like you're pulling it out of a hat.
[Morgan:] Not completely. And I I found it odd that she would use that particular moment to leave because I think on reflection when she looks back at this, it looks like she has something to hide. In other words, her view may be so extreme or contentious that it would cause her political damage. That was the only thing I could deduce from it. But a rather bizarre encounter.
[Romans:] O'Donnell was invited back on the show tonight, but she tweeted this. "Piers, thanks for the invite. Schedule is already packed. Maybe another night. No hard feelings, you cheeky bugger."
[Costello:] Now, what's the definition of cheeky bugger?
[Romans:] I'm not sure. But, I mean, she must know that you don't get to say you don't get to say what you're going to be asked in an interview especially when you've written a book about your policies.
[Velshi:] Right.
[Romans:] I mean
[Velshi:] And she went raucous.
[Romans:] Ali, next time I come on your show
[Costello:] She only wrote about fiscal policies, Christine. Not about social issues.
[Romans:] Ali, next time I come on your show I'm only talking about the things I want to talk about.
[Velshi:] It's not a dinner party. I mean, I the invite on to a TV show is in the news is to get information on
[Romans:] And also that's how you sell your book. If she's trying to sell her book, you sell your book by telling what you think about things, what your positions on are and that that connects with people or doesn't connect with people and they buy your book.
[Costello:] Maybe she did it on purpose.
[Velshi:] If she comes back I'm certainly tuning in. That's for sure.
[Costello:] Let's go to our own cheeky bugger. Rob Marciano oh, we're not going to our own cheeky bugger, Rob Marciano.
[Velshi:] Why not? Because he's left. He turned his mike off and he left.
[Romans:] He decided he was only going to answer the questions he wanted to answer.
[Velshi:] Yes. And he he knew where he were going with this.
[Costello:] He didn't like the way this is going.
[Velshi:] So, you know what, you get your weather somewhere else for now. We're going to take a break.
[Costello:] We'll come back and talk about Joe Biden after this.