I'd appreciate it if someone would kindly inform me as to why Jay Leno is winning the late night ratings war? The reason has got to be the guests, because Leno's monologue is stale, used jokes recycled from jokes told months, if not years, ago.
When I watched the other night (for Dan Quayle and American Pie cutie Shannon Elizabeth) Leno spent the first ten minutes of the monologue on barbs about Bob Dole's age, Bill Clinton's sex life, Viagra and Newt Gingrich. If Quayle weren't on the show that night, I guarantee there would be a joke in there about him as well.
If Jay has to resort to quips about such easy targets that are older by the day, then he needs new and better writers.
Credit goes to Jean Van de Velde after his at-first-amusing then embarrasing-to-watch collaps on the 18th hole of the British Open.
Van de Velde was gracious in defeat afterwards, handling every interview request. This, knowing his triple-bogey seven--which put him in a three-way tie for the lead and he lost in a playoff--would permanently land him in the annals of the worst sports goofs of all time. Greg Norman may feel some relief at not being the most remembered for the worst blunder in recent history after blowing a six-stroke lead on the final day of the Masters.
Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell has gone so far to protect the city's affirmative action program that even the ultra-liberal Atlanta Journal-Constitution editorial board has voiced opposition to his practices. As a daily reader and political buff, I tell you that it takes a lot for that board to come out to the middle of the political spectrum, let alone the right.
Atlanta city officials have helped to organize rallies and picketing at the offices of the Southeastern Legal Foundation, the organization challenging the affirmative action program in court (after defeating the program for Fulton and Dekalb Counties in metro Atlanta), and have participated in demonstrations. And they've been blunt in describing foundation heads as racist, akin to the KKK. Campbell continued, saying that demonstrators ought to picket the homes of foundation board members, "so when they're having their wonderful debutante balls, the participants will not be able to get by." State Rep. Billy McKinney added that "we have finally hit upon somebody to hate. Matt Glavin (SLF chairman) is someone that I hate."
The AJC board does not support the SLF's lawsuit, advocating instead that the mayor and his cronies use the tactics of civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Andrew Young, not stooping to hate or intimidation or whipping up hate in their followers. The AJC correctly says (for different reasons than mine) that the mayor is playing the role of George Wallace, saying he will "fight to the death" for a system that is outdated and un-American.
President Clinton is so overwhelmed by his lying persona that he does it even when no one cares. This time, following the death of John F. Kennedy Jr., Slick Willie said that he was the host for Kennedy's only visit to the White House since his father's assassination in 1963. This is wrong, since JFK Jr. had been back at least twice before, in 1971 to visit President Richard Nixon and 1985 to visit President Ronald Reagan.
Clinton correctly said that he was "speaking off the cuff" and didn't do his research. Of course, he should have since his remarks were prepared earlier. But instead of sticking to the this excuse, which would have been just fine and quickly forgotten, Clinton had White House spokesman Barry Toiv respond that Clinton was relying "on what John Kenneday had told him."
This is what made me angry. The rest of the story had breezed through my mind as a simple story of false information in respectable remorse to the event. But to blame his lie on the dead man who he is supposed to be mourning is the tackiest move the president has made since last year's sex scandal debacle.
On CNBC's Hardball, host Chris Matthews asserted: "It strikes me as another Clinton moment." He then asked guest Tom Squitieri of USA Today: "What is it about this President that makes him make claims that are really irrelevant. It’s not important except that it’s a character problem I think, he just keeps doing this." Squitieri couldn’t bring himself to call Clinton a liar, instead he impugned politicians: "This often happens to some politicians. They overreach when they don’t really need to overreach."
Did the media go overboard in their coverage of the deaths of John F. Kennedy Jr., wife Carolyn Bissette Kennedy and her sister Lauren? Some say yes, others no, but the substantial ratings boost proves that most were riveted by the deaths of such a promising American icon.
I am not sure just how intense the coverage was, being in Brazil during the tragedy until the funeral. But I do know that considering how much time CNN International spent on the story, as well as even Brazilian and Spanish news outlets, it had to be ten times that in the U.S. I was tired of the intense coverage after a few days, considering much of the time consisted of "Hey Ralph, any news?" To which the reporter at a very important location along the Martha's Vinyard coast would reply "Nope. Back to you."
Am I too cynical at my young age? I hope not, but being a news employee, as well as a news junkie, that sometimes coverage can get out of hand. Or, maybe I just didn't want to deal with such sad news while on a fun vacation.
What's really silly is that some complained about the lack of coverage of the funeral of Morocco's King Hassan II. I tell you what, name me five Americans who knew he existed before his death, and I'll be surprised. Leaders of countries that have no bearing on our policies and appear on our news once a decade do not have to be given round-the-clock coverage when they die. Yep, I'm too cynical. Time for another vacation.