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NEWS >POLITICS > JAY LENO ‘ENTERTAINS’ AT WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT’S DINNER
JAY LENO ‘ENTERTAINS’ AT WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT’S DINNER
May 2 2010
Washington, D.C. – Just a couple of months ago Jay Leno was the heel in what was one of the biggest battles late night television has ever seen. Though that battle has now ended with parties finding some kind of peace, Leno is still showing many battle
scars. With ratings as low as they ever have been for the host (though still higher than Conan O’Brien, whom he replaced) it appears as though the ‘Tonight Show’ host has forever lost some of his cache and along with it some of his audience.
Of course few will feel sorry for Leno. He is still the host of one of the most revered programs in television history and makes millions of dollars a year. His reputation might have take an bit of hit, but his net is still much higher than anyone else in that game, and still commands a good deal of respect. To that end, Leno was asked to host the White House Correspondent’s Dinner, the annual gathering where all of that city’s political writers are celebrated and skewered. Though the party is often laced with celebrities, including the President himself, it is the host who brings the most attention, and according to all accounts, that was about all Leno did, though a few people admitted a chuckle or two throughout the night.
“Yeah, it was a good night. There was lots of bubbly and a lot of good conversation and was just a really good night as it usually is. The President looked good, though we are used to seeing him up there talking to us, albeit in a slightly more formal setting. It was good,” said one attendee who preferred not to be named. “Leno, well he was alright. I mean you got what you expected from him. He was nice and cracked a couple of cheesy jokes which were mostly entertaining and all. It was fine; I don’t really have any complaints.”
Most people noted that Leno’s jokes likely would have gone over better had band leader Kevin Eubanks been present. 
“The whole deal between Leno and O’Brien was really ugly for everyone involved but it
was, in the end, business, show business in fact which can be even more ruthless
than regular business. Business is all about leverage and simply put, Leno had more of it. If O’Brien had been tearing up the place it never would have turned out that way, but that just wasn’t the case and frankly never could have been,” said Scrape TV Entertainment analyst Tracey Temple. “Leno certainly took the brunt of the criticism and that took a chunk out of his reputation which is now hurting him. He had this presence of a genial guy who could do no one any harm and had groomed that for almost two decades and in the eyes of many that was wiped away, though there are still millions who love the guy.”
Leno has been surpassing David Letterman on a nightly basis though by significantly lower margins than before he left early last year.
“It’s good to hear that people across the country still have affection for him. This dinner has never been about winning a popularity contest, this is about entertaining which the organizers obviously felt Leno could do, even without all the various props he uses on the show like ‘Headlines’,” continued Temple. “It’s good to hear that everyone had a good night. Leno deserves, if nothing else, the opportunity to prove that he can still do it, still entertain, which hopefully he was able to do with a couple people last night. One by one he will eventually win back his audience, eventually.”
Leno apparently made the President giggle though it’s not clear if that might have been politically motivated.
Edward Bastil, Political Correspondent
NEWS >POLITICS > JAY LENO ‘ENTERTAINS’ AT WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT’S DINNER
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