Sam Donaldson: "As Long As You Cover Your Private Parts you can look any way you want to."

Time Out New York, August 12-19

TONY: How did (Ali G) get the interview? Was there some deception?

Sam Donaldson: To some extent. Let me be careful here. I have an assistant who handles all these requests. She's very good, but this one slipped through. She showed me the communication from Ali G -- I can't remember the exact wording, but it sertainly led me to believe that I'd be talking about American politics in a serious way. As for the interview itself, he shows up, he's dressed strange, but hey, I'm not a puritain. As long as you cover your private parts, you can look any way you want to. So he sits down and begins. I suppose I could have jumped up and run off, but, I thought, I don't know much about what's popular in Britain these days. Maybe this is one of those MTV-type programs that young people think is a scream. He asked all these foolish questions and I answered with respect. I've not seen the final product, but a lot of people have apparently. I'm getting mixed reviews."