Political commentator David Gergen, a longtime adviser to presidents of both parties, appeared on “The Colbert Report” Thursday, delivering a righteous Daddy’s-in-charge smackdown to Sarah Palin’s “rabble-rousing” campaign appearances and declaring that John McCain “is a better man than that. He has got a good, long record.”

Gergen criticized the Bush operatives who appear to be running McCain’s campaign. Pressed by host Stephen Colbert on why McCain shouldn’t use them, given their past successes, Gergen said: “It has won at great expense to what Republicans stand for and what their reputation is.”

He called on McCain’s campaign to “rein in” Palin, citing examples of her frothing up crowds to shout racial epithets and “kill him” in regard to Barack Obama.

“People don’t want to hear about Bill Ayers or Charles Keating,” Gergen said. “They want to know who’s going to save their job.”

Worth watching: David Gergen on Colbert