Monday was the first night back for late night television’s bitter rivals, and it’s easy to see why Jay Leno is clobbering David Letterman in the ratings.
The sweeps figures are in, the White House scandals are growing, and Leno and Letterman are back from vacation. This side-by-side comparison dramatically shows the difference between the two monologists. While Leno’s writers see the IRS scandal as legitimate, Letterman is still hung up on the elitist notion that it’s just a bunch of Republicans making a big deal out of nothing.
Here’s Leno hitting a populist home run–and earning big applause–with his anti-IRS gags:
President Obama says he’s renewing his efforts to close Guantanamo Bay. Guantanamo Bay? How about closing the IRS? Why don’t we do that?
….Well, more problems with the IRS. A new report has found that they spent $50 million on employee conferences and retreats in just two years. They would have investigated sooner, but it turns out, you know, they don’t belong to any conservative groups. So nobody really noticed. They didn’t really see it.
Meanwhile, Letterman focused primarily on the amateurish video of IRS employees dancing on the public’s dime:
“I don’t have a problem with that, that’s fine with me,” he cracked while mocking the video.
That little dance tape which cost $1,600 to produce might be silly, but when you realize that it was just part of $50 million in entertainment expenses, there is very little to laugh about. (Which is probably why Letterman ignored that point.)
Further, out here in the real world, a $50 million entertainment deduction would red flag any other tax return, if you could even find a CPA who was willing to sign off on it.
Finally, I would like to point out to any Senators or Congressmen who might be reading this, the amount of applause that Leno got for his suggestion. If Fox doesn’t give Jay a show when his contract expires, perhaps he might consider running for office.
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