Word: clintone
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...just be coincidence, but The Tonight Show somehow seems to know when America is going through a generational moment. Johnny Carson took over the show in Camelot-era 1962, after J.F.K. became the first greatest-generation President. Jay Leno replaced him in 1992, just before baby boomer Bill Clinton defeated our last greatest-generation President. Now, just after Barack Obama's Inauguration, NBC has put another tall, skinny young guy, Conan O'Brien, behind the desk. (O'Brien and Obama, who did a guest bit on Conan's second night, may be technically a hair shy of Gen X status...
This made Jay's final Tonight an odd experience: a classy, warm goodbye, coupled with reminders that he wasn't going anywhere. Like his generational peer - and best source of material - Bill Clinton, Jay believes in staying active. Hey, you're only as old as you feel, baby...
...course, like Clinton, Jay - who got his 10 p.m. show for fear he would jump to ABC - has a wee bit more clout than the average elder boomer pushed out for a younger employee. Conan - simply by having wanted forever to host The Tonight Show - is something of a throwback. The very idea of caring about big-network late shows is retro, now that Comedy Central has so much buzz. Conan's comic style also owes heavily to his elder, and now competitor, the 62-year-old Letterman...
...simplest level, the two have different ideas of what's funny. Jay is a master of the topical joke who worked tirelessly on lengthy pulled-from-the-headlines monologues. On his final show, he thanked "all the people who made it possible: Michael Jackson, Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton." (See the top 10 Jay Leno moments...
...effort to bridge the gap between two adversaries who do not understand each other very well, Obama has turned to Ross, who was appointed special adviser for the gulf and southwest Asia by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Taciturn and relentless, he is tasked with orchestrating a global effort to lure Iran to the table and persuade it to curtail its nuclear program. So far, there's little sign of success. Which is why the U.S. is not just hoping that diplomacy will work; it is also laying the groundwork for what will happen if it fails. And failure...