By David Bauder
The Associated Press

In contrast to the Tonight show - Arnold Schwarzenegger's unofficial late-night venue - David Letterman is airing material that would make most politicians consider a career change.

Over the past week, Letterman's "Meet the Governor" segment has rolled old footage of the incoming California governor grasping a woman's buttocks, smoking marijuana and grinning goofily dressed in an Indian outfit.

There's no political motivation; Letterman just wants to be funny, said Rob Burnett, executive producer of The Late Show.

"For us, it's an easy decision - what is on the mind of the country and can it be made funny?" he said. "Arnold as governor of California satisfies both objectives. As a bonus, it's pretty easy to make funny."

A Schwarzenegger spokesman did not return repeated phone calls for comment.

Two of the segments could be seen as embarrassing for Schwarzenegger given allegations, raised late in his campaign for governor, that he had groped women in the past.

In one, he is seen conversing with a woman over a table of food. At Schwarzenegger's urging, she seductively licks a carrot stick. The second segment shows Schwarzenegger dancing with women dressed in skimpy costumes; he grips the buttocks of one woman with two hands and grins at the camera.

"That's the governor of California, for God's sake," Letterman said after the film stopped rolling on one segment.

A brief snippet of Schwarzenegger taking a drag on a marijuana joint after lifting weights appeared to come from the 1977 documentary, Pumping Iron, which helped launch his Hollywood career.

The others came from an extensive film library kept by the comedy show, Burnett said.

Schwarzenegger announced his candidacy to Letterman's rival, Jay Leno, on the Tonight show this summer. He appeared again on Tonight the night after his election.

Leno also introduced Schwarzenegger at his victory celebration on election night. While NBC said it had no problem with Leno's appearance - he's an entertainer, not a news figure - some critics have questioned whether a late-night comic runs the risk of alienating his audience by appearing too tight with a candidate.

Leno hasn't been afraid to crack jokes about Schwarzenegger. According to an analysis by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, Leno made 18 jokes at Schwarzenegger's expense between Aug. 6 and Oct. 6.

During the same time period, Letterman made 40 jokes about Schwarzenegger, the Washington-based think tank said.

Burnett has worked with Letterman for 18 years and said he has "no idea" who his boss votes for or what party he supports.

The Late Show is in repeats this week, but there may be more "Meet the Governor" segments.

"Like everything else, we'll sense when people get tired of it and we'll stop," Burnett said. "At the moment, nobody seems to be getting tired of it."