IN a multi-faceted rant triggered by last Sunday’s cover story in the New York Times magazine, a feisty David Letterman called the Times a “rag,” Rush Limbaugh a “bag of gas” and Jay Leno “the goofiest-looking man on television.”

Letterman was among the late-night hosts whose political humor was analyzed in the magazine story, which examined the growing power of late-night comedy in influencing voters in a presidential election year.

Letterman’s chief late-night rival – NBC’s Jay Leno – was pictured on the cover with campaign buttons covering his eyes and mouth.

In the story, writer Marshall Sella attempted to determine if the personal political leanings of the hosts and their writers lead inevitably to biases in favor of any one candidate.

Sella quoted a former writer for “Late Show” and “Politically Incorrect,” Chris Kelly, as describing Letterman as “a non-voting Republican.”

It was that statement – plus a passage in which Letterman was quoted praising the work of conservative radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh in an interview some years ago – that set off Letterman on his show Monday evening.

“Non-voting Republican – now when I heard this, frankly I was insulted … and I’ll tell you why,” Letterman said.

He then went on to defend his voting record going back to 1968, when he cast his first ballot in a presidential election as a 22-year-old at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind.

“I am not a Republican,” he declared. “I am not a Democrat. I have never registered with party affiliation. … I believe I have voted for both Democrats and also Republicans. Am I either one? Absolutely not. Ladies and gentlemen, I am an American!”

On Limbaugh, Letterman said, “I’ve listened to Rush Limbaugh’s show and he’s entertaining. He also happens to be a giant bag of gas!”

Letterman ended the segment by taking a shot at Leno’s picture on the magazine’s cover. Displaying the cover for the camera, he said, “Something very good, very positive came out of this because, as you can see, it’s our good friend Jay Leno on the cover and, I’ll be honest with you, until I saw this picture, I was under the impression and the belief that I was the goofiest-looking man on television!”

Kelly, the comedy writer who accused Letterman of having Republican leanings and not voting, was unavailable for comment.

It was the second time Letterman had singled out the Times for criticism. Last month, he chastised the paper for a front-page story which indicated that the world was in great danger from accelerated melting at the North Pole.

The story turned out to be inaccurate and Letterman scolded the paper on his show for scaring him half to death.