Leno Is the New Dangerfield
Earlier this week, you may have seen something about the slight flap over whether W flipped off reporters while visiting Capitol Hill. The White House claimed he's giving a thumbs up. The picture's not clear enough to know for sure, and while I find it believable that he'd do it, based on the picture, I can't rule out the thumb, either. You're welcome to come to your own conclusion by looking at the video.
But I'm less interested in whether he did or didn't. Scott McClellan didn't exactly deny it at the next day's press briefing, but what caught my eye was the reporter's question itself. Jay Leno showed the video on The Tonight Show, which provided the reporter's set up: "Scott, last night on the Tonight Show, Jay Leno, who apparently is subbing for Johnnie [sic], displayed a video of the President at the Capitol yesterday." McClellan referred to the reporter as Ken, but I couldn't otherwise identify him any further. But Johnny Carson hasn't hosted The Tonight Show since the original Bush administration--long enough that whoever transcribed the briefing may not even have gotten the reference. Leno's into his fourteenth year as host, and he still can't make a clean break. How long did Johnny have to put up with Jack Paar comparisons?
posted by Doug @ 1:56 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
It doesn't help that Leno's on his way out. Nobody's going to remember it as Jay's show. I know I'll flip over from Dave more often when Conan starts. At this point, I turn over occasionally hoping for a guest I care about or a Howie Mandel segment.
Leno's only on his way out by the most liberal definition of the term. Yes, he announced his retirement almost a year ago, but it doesn't go into effect for another four years. W will be gone before Leno is.
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