Why I Don't Watch Jay Leno

Well, Sarah Palin made an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (at least it's Leno this week). And not only did she continue her contradiction of supporting the Tea Party's "uprising against the government" while simultaneously announcing she would campaign for an establishment party hack like John McCain, she had the audacity to insult probably every comedian on the planet by doing a little stand up routine of her own. (I say every comedian because Dennis Miller stopped being funny a long time ago.)

Jay posed a couple of reasonable questions and Palin was quick on the answers which makes one hardly wonder whether those questions were pre-screened. Palin was surprisingly self depricating for a second when speaking about the "poor man's teleprompter" on the palm of her hand, but basically justified it.

And this is the main reason I don't watch Jay Leno. His interviews pretty much suck. I know he's not a journalist, but if you're going to have pre-selected questions ready for each and every interview on your little blue cards, wouldn't you want to actually listen to the answers and maybe have a follow up ready? Palin explained she had written three things down on her hand. She always takes notes and will now continue to do so on her hand just to "wee-wee up" the Democrats. (Yes, she used the phrase "wee-wee up" again.) But maybe a Leno follow up could have been, "But Sarah, in all due respect, 'Energy' and 'Tax Cuts' are the staple of the Republican Party. Did you really feel the need to write those specific notes down?" But not Jay. He'll just barrel on to the next question and instead prefers to make little, cutesy comments.

The really sad part of the whole event was the reaction of some in the crowd. In my opinion the David Letterman audience is a little hipper, more in tune and can put things in perspective, while Jay Leno's audience seem to be mostly older, conservative Republicans, and apparently judging by the reaction of some in the crowd, sprinkled with some Teabaggers.

Watch if you dare.

Ed McMahon Dies at 86

NY Times: Ed McMahon, who for nearly 30 years was Johnny Carson’s affable second banana on “The Tonight Show,” introducing it with his ringing trademark call, “Heeeere’s Johnny!,” died early Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 86.

His publicist, Howard Bragman, told NBC that Mr. McMahon died at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center surrounded by his family. Mr. Bragman did not give a cause of death, saying only that Mr. McMahon had a “multitude of health problems the last few months.”

Speaking of Racism...

... I was just speaking to my midwestern caucasian friend and asked him if he'd seen the first clip that everyone was touting from Monday night's Conan O'Brien debut on The Tonight Show. Here's the clip if you haven't seen it.



Big laughs and applause. It was all over the news the next day. Conan taking a shot at Vice President Biden. I thought it was very funny. And then I thought some more. No one including myself realized that it was a racist joke. Because the butt of the joke was Vice President Gaffe-a-Minute, no one picked up on the racial overtones of the joke.

Think of it this way: what if the nominee was an African-American woman and the Biden voiceover said, "I like fried chicken... and grits... and okra... and watermelon. How many baby daddies do you have?"

I know I may be overanalyzing here, especially in light of the word "racist" being thrown around and used against Judge Sotomayor, and that the subject of ridicule was Biden. But when you stop to think about it,there's a difference between being overly sensitive for the sake of political correctness and being completely desensitized. Just sayin'.

Wanda Sykes Is Funny

Does that joke make her a racist?

Obama's Tonight Show Appearance - UPDATED

I watched President Obama's Tonight Show appearance with Jay Leno last night and I think he did a pretty good job. Reaching out to a television audience that isn't fixated to 24 hour cable news chatter and most likely not addicted to MSNBC or CNN, President Obama did a great job explaining the AIG bailout mess in clear, succinct, layman's terms for everyone to understand.

His one gaffe came toward the end of the interview when Leno asked him about his bowling skills. As he said that he'd been practicing and he bowled a 129, Leno sarcastically congratulated the President and amid the laughter and applause, Obama responded, "It's like the Special Olympics or something."

I had watched Countdown with Keith Olbermann previously and Olbermann had mentioned this possibly cringe inducing gaffe, but when watching the Leno interview, I have to admit that had I not been listening for it, I probably would have missed it as it was said in the middle of laughter and applause. Let's get one thing straight: the audience did not laugh at Obama's "joke" as some news articles suggest. They were already laughing and applauding at Leno making fun of the President's latest bowling score when he blurted out the unfortunate line. Here is the video.

Now there is yet more outrage from the right wing "teabaggers" about this line. All I had to do was go to Fox News online to see it as the headline on the main page. But let's break it down.

There is no excuse for what President Obama said. It was a dumb thing to say, and the President should be held to a higher standard. But if we're honest with ourselves, I think almost everyone has used some form of wording to imply mental or physical handicap in such a way. "Retard" (pronounced ree-tard) has been used forever until it became politically incorrect, but I occasionally still hear some older people and comedians use it. I remember using it in the playground as a kid and all through high school. It was another version of "dumbass" as far as I was concerned until you peel away what it really implies. "Duh" evolved from the same place when you exaggerate its pronunciation. And EVERYONE uses "duh."

Ultimately, Obama's "Special Olympics" comment wasn't said in a malicious way and he was making fun of himself, so yes, the faux outrage is a bit much. I mean it wasn't as if he was flailing his arms about making fun of people afflicted with Parkinson's disease or anything.

Bill Burton: “The president made an off-hand remark making fun of his own bowling that was in no way intended to disparage the Special Olympics,” White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton said. “He thinks the Special Olympics is a wonderful program that gives an opportunity for people with disabilities from around the world.”

If we're honest with ourselves, in an unguarded moment, anyone could have said it.


UPDATE (3/21/09 10am): President Obama apologized before anyone knew about it.

Even before the taped program aired, Obama had already issued an apology.

On Air Force One, Obama called the chairman of the Special Olympics, Tim Shriver, and apologized.

"He expressed his disappointment and he apologized in a way that I think was very moving. He expressed that he did not intend to humiliate this population," Shriver said Friday on ABC's "Good Morning America."

...The White House said Friday Obama realizes his quip was a "thoughtless joke."

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the president believes that the Special Olympics are "a triumph of the human spirit."

Gibbs added that Obama "understands that they deserve a lot better than the thoughtless joke that he made last night."