Tonight Show and the White House

If you could get through all the commercials NBC larded into his sitdown with Jay Leno, the President managed to make his points about the economic crisis to millions of Americans who probably never watch Meet the Press.

But Jay Leno's approach to the Leader of the Free World recalled a night almost half a century ago when I was an accidental matchmaker for the first White House figure ever to appear on the Tonight Show.

In 1960, after my magazine ran a piece by Eleanor Roosevelt, “My Advice to the Next First Lady,” the producers called me to ask her if she would appear with Jack Paar. To my surprise, she agreed.

On the way to the studio, I asked Mrs. Roosevelt, who had been visibly cool to JFK, what made her decide to take part in a late-night talk show. “I want to help elect Senator Kennedy,” she said.

On the show, she did just that, comparing Kennedy to FDR during his first campaign in 1932, inspiring voters and responding to their enthusiasm, and predicted he would make a fine President. In Kennedy’s hairline victory, her testimonial may well have been significant.

Before she went on, the usually brash Paar greeted her in the Green Room, almost literally bowing and scraping--a sharp contrast to Leno's palsy treatment of his White House guest tonight.

The world is much informal now than it was then and Barack Obama is probably the least stuffy president ever, but Leno could have managed a little more respectful approach than he takes with starlets plugging their new movies.

"No Money, No Funny"

Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Jay Leno and David Letterman won't be doing monologues about today's news tonight because their brains are on strike. More than 12,000 TV and movie writers are walking picket lines in New York and Los Angeles, carrying signs like "No Money, No Funny."

The Writers Guilds want a bigger share for their members of revenue from DVD and Internet sales of movies and TV shows, producers are balking and pickets are out chanting digital age slogans, "No downloads!"

But instead of hard hats and work boots, the New York Times reports, today's Norma Raes are sporting arty glasses and fancy scarves.

Ever since the early days of Hollywood, writers have had to fight for respect and money. Producers called them "gag men" back then and treated them like the flunkies who brought the doughnuts and coffee to the set.

The network series and movie distributors have a backlog of new offerings to keep them going but, for a generation that gets most of its news from the Daily Show and other late-night programs, it's going to be re-run city for a while.

MSM and bloggers will have to take up the slack.

Send Out the Clowns

Mike Gravel didn't make the cut for last night's Democratic debate for failure to meet NBC's "fundraising and polling requirements" but Ron Paul apparently was viable enough ratings-wise to appear with Jay Leno last night.

"There's probably a risk I could win," Dr. Paul told him, but not against Stephen Colbert, according to a new poll that shows the Comedy Central star outpolling him among Republicans and drawing more votes from Democrats than Denis Kucinich.

In his uphill battle with Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama has been complaining that the polls up to now have been more about name recognition than political substance.

He may have a point. In the 2003 California recall election, when there were 135 candidates, a well-dressed young man with an attaché case was interviewed on network TV. "I'm going to vote for the coolest name on the ballot," he said with a straight face.

Arnold Schwarzenegger won. He had announced his candidacy to Jay Leno.

Fred Thompson Playing Dr. Phil

Inspirational figures are not what they used to be. On his way to the Presidency, Ronald Reagan invoked one of his best movie roles, George Gipp, the All-American football player who with his dying breath, exorted teammates to “win one for the Gipper.”

Last night, Fred Thompson told Jay Leno, “I've been mistaken for Dr. Phil." So far, Thompson has been sounding like him too, offering up folksy bromides without embarrassment about America’s ills.

In his announcement commercial, Dr. Fred advises, "We can't allow ourselves to become a weaker, less prosperous and more divided nation. Today, as before, the fate of millions across the world depends on the unity and resolve of the American people."

To sell his elixir, Thompson will tour the primary states in a bus emblazoned with the slogan, "United in Our Core Beliefs," with the themes of "security," "unity" and "prosperity."

Playing the Gipper, Reagan had to exert himself with some broken-field running. Playing Dr. Phil, Thompson only has to run his mouth.