Jay Leno Speaks Truth with Late-Night Humor

By James Hirsen

Something intriguing has been happening at the "Tonight Show" with the content of host Jay Leno's humor. The jokes that are flying are going where no late-night hosts have gone before.

Leno's late-night TV colleagues, for the most part, have been blatantly partisan, particularly in the manner in which their material has been written. Leno's peers have made the occasional reference to President Obama within the context of their jokes; however, in a similar vein to the mainstream media, they have been perfunctory at best in their targeting of Obama or his administration, reserving their sharpest comedic barbs for the GOP.

Not that Leno has shied away from making jokes at the expense of Republicans. An October 2012 study released by the Center for Media and Public Affairs (CMPA) indicated that, much like his competitors, Leno ribbed GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney more than he did Obama. [more...]