Don't Underestimate The Impact Leno May Have On The Campaign

Moron Central a post up discussing the tightening of polling data.

I can see why these polls are tightening up again: the bounce McCain enjoyed may be fading, the relentless media barrage, and general gyrations in numbers have created an essentially tied race and brought the numbers back together.

But, another wild card on public opinion may not be Charlie Gibson or Katie Couric. It may come from Jay Leno. And this liberal TV Critic from Kansas City may have an explanation why.

As of right now, the juiciest target for his humor are the people who are spinning Sarah Palin's vice presidential ambitions. Notice how he returns to the same topics night after night: Bush's incompetence. McCain's irrelevance. Palin's handlers' spin.

I find it interesting that Leno can get away with doing what Brian Williams can't do: openly mocking Republican talking points in a nonpartisan setting. You don't see any rumors about Republican women boycotting Leno, do you? McCain lackeys aren't wasting their breath going after NBC's entertainment division with the lustiness of their attacks on NBC's news division. (Because they want John and Cindy to make return visits to Jay's couch.)

Yet, right now, the entertainment side may be doing more damage to the Palin-McCain ticket.

Johnny Carson, toward the end of his career, called Dan Quayle "the gift that keeps on giving." But that was a role that many a politician played in the "Tonight Show" monologue under Carson, a rogue's gallery of Democrats as well as Republicans, from Earl Butz to Bert Lance to Billy Carter to Ronald Reagan to James Watt to Bush 41. (Those are the ones I recall from memory.)

The crucial difference this time is the candidate is not the butt of Leno's Palin jokes. Her supporters are. While Tina Fey attacks Palin directly, questioning her credentials and mocking her beauty-queen poses, Leno pokes gentle (sometimes not gentle) fun at the McCain campaign for keeping Palin on a short leash.

Not only that, but Leno draws damn near 4-5 million viewers a night, many of whom live in Ohio, Missouri, and Pennsylvania. These people, fed a constant diet of anti-McCain/Palin jokes, may alter their votes accordingly.

I ignored Stewart and Colbert, since their viewers are almost eclusively Democrats anyway. But Leno draws from everybody. And if enough Mabels in Zanesville vote according to what Leno wants, that could be an under the radar asset for Obama.

Posted by: eddiebear at 09:53 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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