The Red/Blue state divide doesn’t just involve politics. Turns out television watching habits are sharply influenced by how people pull the voting levers on Election Day.

A new survey conducted by Entertainment Weekly shows that Democrats prefer sarcastic comedies and morally entangled heroes, while Republicans gravitate toward workplace scenarios.

Yet both the Left and the Right adore “Modern Family,” a pro-gay comedy with plenty of Emmy appeal. Sounds like a media meme takes a hit with that news.

There’s some unintentional comedy packed into the intriguing report, too. Consider this description of why “The View” fares better with liberals:

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[T]his is how it works in the world of late night.  The last election cycle saw the late night hosts go into overdrive for the Obama election campaign.  Between January 1, 2008 and July 31, 2008, the Center for Media and Public Affairs found that Jay Leno​, Conan O’Brien, and David Letterman​ made a grand total of 169 jokes about Obama, compared with 428 about Bush and 328 about McCain.  Comedy Central comedians were more even – Colbert made 129 jokes about McCain to 91 for Obama, and Stewart made more jokes about Obama than McCain, although the vast majority of jokes about Obama were fawning compliments and the vast majority about McCain were brutal slams.

Perhaps that was the real purpose of Obama’s routine appearances on late night television as president of the United States, an unprecedented breach of traditional decorum: he wanted to make it routine for all candidates to appear on the shows run by his allies.  By appearing himself, Obama essentially dared anyone who opposes him to take the seat opposite the Jon Stewarts and Jimmy Fallons of the world – and, as they have to, Republicans have taken the bait.  That’s why we’ve seen Rick Perry reading a top ten list on Letterman about his debate foibles.  That’s why Bachmann was on Fallon.  That’s why McCain deigned to appear with Stewart, even knowing what was coming.

Dennis Miller​ was both brave and correct when he bashed Jay Leno​ for kissing Obama’s royal arse last week.  He actually recommended that Leno hire Obama after Obama loses his re-election effort: “I could see you guys doing comedy bits on here where you come out as Carnut the Magnificent and you have the turban on and the mechanic overalls and he reads ‘You are correct, sir!’ off a teleprompter.”

More likely, Obama will end up hiring all of these comedians as his court jesters sometime in the near future.  Their ratings are dropping, and their biases are now obvious.  And we already know the relationships are good: the Comedy Central writers are Obama’s brain trust of hilarity, writing jokes for his speeches and giving him tips on how to win over an audience.

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Had Peter Schweizer’s new book, “Throw Them All Out,” hit stores a decade ago it would be easy for the press to ignore it.

Now, thanks to the Internet, pugnacious bloggers and a high-profile expose on “60 Minutes,” the book’s revelations that members of Congress are making a mint from insider trading can’t be hidden. Even Jay Leno is aware of the book’s most contentious material.

Leno referenced the book’s charges this week during one of his “Tonight Show” monologues:

“You ever notice these guys only spend their money when it’s a sure thing?”

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Wash Times:

If President Obama can spare a moment from such chores as winning re-election, he might find a few chuckles on late-night TV.

Times are tough for Mr. Obama, especially when it comes to his approval ratings. But things could be worse.

With Election Day looming one short year away, Mr. Obama’s most effective heat shield turns out to be his loyal opposition: Republicans scrapping to unseat him and getting lampooned for it by late-night TV comics.

The jokes range from blistering to silly to simply sophomoric. But it should be all the same to Mr. Obama: They’re not targeting him.

Among Republican challengers, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney holds steady as “the uncontested front-runner for everyone’s second choice,” in the wry appraisal of “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart. Meanwhile, Mr. Romney’s rivals scramble to gain an upper hand without falling prey to the next punch line.

In that latter mission, they often stumble as they, not the White House, take the brunt of late-night talk shows’ jibes.

On a recent edition of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,”Mr. Stewart played sound bites of such GOP contenders as Mr. Romney, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota.

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The quickest way to become a jerk in this country is to defend someone in the entertainment business, which is exactly what I did when I defended the recent  interviews ‘Tonight Show’ host Jay Leno did with Rep. Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain.

In both of those interviews, Leno made the central point of his conversation the perceived gaffes and weak points in the GOP candidates’ statements and policies. What I defended was that at the very least, as Leno grilled them, his guests were given the chance to respond. And, at the time, it made sense for Leno to drill down on those issues because they were the elephants in the room.

Well, when President FailureTeleprompter arrived on the ‘Tonight Show’ set, you would think the herd of elephants that follow Obama everywhere had never existed at all.

Here’s a rundown of Leno’s talking points questions:

How awesome is your foreign policy? How great is is that you and Hillary came together for America? How about your approval rating being three times higher than Congress?  Do you find Mitch McConnell’s desire to defeat you as unpatriotic as I do? Great job quitting smoking! How do you cope with the awesome responsibility of being President? How were those chicken and waffles? How’s the family? How about that heartbreaking NBA lockout?

Nothing about the failed stimulus. Nothing about Solyndra, Fast and Furious, unemployment or record deficits.

As a longtime defender of  Jay Leno, I think he’s done real damage to his non-partisan everyman image.

At least he has with me.

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Herman Cain is simply fabulous here as he and “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno cover topics ranging from Sarah Palin calling him “Herm” to his thoughts on the other GOP contenders to his initial misstep when it came to appointing Muslims.

Pay special attention when he discusses his 9-9-9 plan.

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Leno is a good interviewer. He asks all the questions on everyone’s mind but isn’t sitting back waiting to strike with a “gotcha.”

Cain, however, couldn’t be better. He’s confident, polite, brimming with charm, and is obviously prepared for any question that comes his way. As Cain himself said earlier this week, America is over the whole “black president” thing, but how about the “non-politician who actually wants to reform the immoral tax code and is obviously making that reform part of any mandate should he win” thing?

Bring it on.

We have the most vulnerable incumbent in office since Jimmy Carter and are we really going to allow a few to once again frighten us into nominating yet another ”electable” Big Government Republican who only pays lip service to reform? Are we really going to allow that to happen again?

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Leno crosses the line from “Tonight Show” host to something closer to a journalist, but at the very least he’s respectful, inquisitive, and lets Congresswoman Bachmann speak — which is how I wish more so-called journalists would behave.  Obviously this issue was going to be the elephant in the studio, so Leno probably felt it was necessary to discuss it, and I’d say he handled the elephant with some class.

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Don Rickles is hilarious in this clip being … Don Rickles. If you haven’t seen 2007’s “Mr. Warmth,” a terrific documentary directed by John Landis that looks at the last comedian still allowed to stick his finger directly in the eye of political correctness, it’s currently streaming on Netflix. May the 85 year-old live to be a 110.

Something I noticed during her interview with Sean Hannity a few weeks back is that even though she’s only been on the national scene for a few years, we’ve really had the opportunity to watch Bristol Palin grow into a lovely and poised young woman. The wicked Left personally targeting her with their wicked Alinsky tactics (and domestic terrorism) during her season on “Dancing With the Stars” has obviously backfired in a major way. Like her mother, Bristol has only come out stronger — with a new book and a reality show that will focus on her work at a small charity.

While the desperate Left tries to label as hypocrisy”  the act of learning from your mistakes, Bristol just keep on keeping on. And that she’s chosen to bring her values into a venue where it is most needed — the world of pop culture — is especially gratifying. 

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There’s a dirty little secret in the entertainment industry (ok, there are a LOT of dirty little secrets, but I’ll just reveal one in this post):  A lot of people have jobs for the sole purpose of protecting others from looking like assholes.

In the inherently egocentric world of entertainment, no one wants to reveal themselves to be the bitchy, obnoxious, catty, vindictive, mean-spirited and selfish person that they really are.  So they hire others to do it for them.  This is especially true with the part of the business revealed by Steven Crowder’s stunning new video that shows how Jon Stewart’s PRODUCER told Crowder’s MANAGER that the Daily Show doesn’t book conservative pundits.  In the extra sensitive realm of hiring or not hiring (especially in such a subjective and sensitive industry as ours) these extra layers are essential to keeping everyone looking like the great guy and gal we are all sure they are.

Think about it: Jay Leno was the nice guy back in the late show booking wars, Helen Kushnick was the monster, right?  And actor’s are never to blame for the outrageous demands their cut-throat agents squeeze from the studios, right?  As a theatrical general manager I handled duties like this all the time.  I was the asshole who had to tell Val Kilmer he couldn’t do all the crap he tried to do, and the producer who hired me came in right behind me and gave Val’s ass a nice air kiss, but make no mistake, if I air-kissed any part of Kilmer that producer would have canned me.  My job was to be the asshole so my boss could schmooze with Val Kilmer.

And so it goes.

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At the 1:44 mark Cher worries that if she comments on Palin or “teabaggers” that no Republicans will see her new movie “Burlesque.”

Little late for the aging diva to worry about that. She alienated us long ago.

Nikke Finke calls the opening of “Burlesque” soft. With a reported $50 million production budget and a $17.8 million opening, “soft” is another word for disappointing.

Only in Hollywood are the company’s primary spokespeople allowed to cheap shot 50% of the customers. If you remember, until we found out she didn’t like us, we “teabaggers” used to like Cher. Think the movie might have done a just a teensy bit better had Cher been born with the “class” gene. Maybe even good enough for the few millions dollars necessary to move from “soft” to “solid” — which is everything on opening weekend. (more…)

When politics, Tea Party style, carried Republicans to a 62-seat gain in the House of Representatives on November 2nd, it really seemed like things couldn’t get any better for conservatives. They had recovered a place in the sun, the likes of which they hadn’t enjoyed since the Republican Revolution of 1994.

But last week, the political glory was complimented (and advanced) by the all-out trouncing conservatives gave to liberals in America’s pop culture.

Just think of it: Over the course of just one week HBO aired Dennis Miller’s new stand-up special, Bristol Palin secured a place in the finals for Dancing With The Stars (DTWS), “Sarah Palin’s Alaska” premiered t huge ratings, and President George W. Bush brought the house down on Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show.”

While decidedly more libertarian than conservative, Miller’s “The Big Speech” will grate on many liberals because of his ongoing unapologetic support for military actions against terrorism and his abiding love of country. At the same time, his common sense approach to many of life’s quandaries will continue to be a breath of fresh air to the myriad of conservative fans he won to his side in the days and months after 9/11. (This type of approach allows him to remain more comedian than political pundit, yet say of the recent midterm elections: “I think the kids’ table has been in charge for a while now and it’s time for something else. …I’m not anti-Obama, I just disagree.”)

As for Bristol Palin’s ascension to the finals for DTWS, the middle ground is harder to find than it might be with Miller’s show: Her climb toward the top on DTWS has literally driven the Left apoplectic. So much so that liberal bloggers have cried foul, accusing her of cheating and claiming that Bristol has only done this well because “Sarah Palin paid someone off.” (more…)

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In front of an all-military audience, Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show” saluted America’s fighting men and women for Veterans Day. Part of the show included comedian Dennis Miller who did a few minutes of stand up that ended with a heartfelt thank you to the men and women who make everything good possible.

Afterwards, the popular radio talk show host sat down with Jay for a few minutes of not mincing words about Nancy Pelosi, the terrorists, Newsweek, and more  — all to an appreciative military audience who obviously aren’t used to hearing Miller’s uniquely clear-eyed and always hilarious pro-American truth-telling from our current class of entertainers.

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UPDATE: Gawker also wonders if Jay Leno was in on the “joke”:

After Louis C.K.’s drunken ‘twitter rampage’ in which he called Sarah Palin a “C*nt-Face Jazzy Wonder Girl”, we were surprised at the little amount of fanfare that erupted when Louis and Bristol Palin appeared together on the Tonight Show Friday.

Personally I like to imagine Leno was in the know and he’s just far more of a sociopath than anyone expected—making then perform together for his own sadistic pleasures[.]

It’s no secret in show business comedy circles or to anyone with access to Twitter that comedian and television star Louis C.K. is crudely and sexually obsessed with former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin — so much so that he sends her direct tweets calling her the vilest of names [NSFW screen shot below]. The star of the FX series “Louie” not only savages the former Governor in such a way that I’m forced to publish the evidence below the fold with a strong warning, but his breathtakingly vicious attack on Trig Palin is quite popular on YouTube.

Louis C.K.

So infamous is Louis C.K. for this cruel and misogynistic (a word I don’t use lightly) behavior towards all things Palin, that a good number of his fans didn’t miss the “joke” when he appeared with Bristol Palin on Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show” last week. Gawker sure enjoyed it. Therefore, there’s little doubt in my mind that the decision to book Louis C.K. and Bristol Palin — to have them sit next to each other on  the “Tonight Show,” was an intentionally smug inside joke in order to allow a bunch of elitist show-biz and journo types to chuckle behind Bristol’s back as she was unknowingly humiliated on national television in front of all of Hollywood.

If we’ve learned anything about some show-bizzers since Governor Palin stepped into the national spotlight, it’s that they are a bottomless pit of dark-hearted hate and cruelty. To intentionally humiliate a politician’s family, especially her children, is so far beyond the pale… But to go after a child with Down Syndrome. I’m simply speechless.

And never did I think I’d see the day — but here we have Johnny Carson’s storied “Tonight Show” brought to an all-time low where, apparently, it’s in on the joke:

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WARNING: What you’re about to read and watch below would win the Gold Medal at the Degenerate Olympics. Also, although Twitter hasn’t verified Louis C.K.’s account, we have done so through two separate sources — both of whom love his Palin-hate.

Poor Andrew Dice Clay. He might still be a superstar had Sarah Palin been around in his day to turn what he said into a Hollywood Resume’ Enhancer.

Without further comment: (more…)

Very smart move on Letterman’s part. Now that he once again has the gritty taste of Leno’s dust in his mouth, doing things like showing Red State, blue collar America a little respect is something he’ll need to do more of in order to remain competitive. His bitter partisanship and savage attacks on Sarah Palin and her family cost him dearly in the audience goodwill department. Maybe this clip is a sign that he’s finally figured out that there just aren’t enough elitists in this country to bring him back to #1.

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[Part 2 and 3 of the interview are below.]

His guest, Pam Stout, is the kind of Tea Party representative the left is desperately hoping to smear as ignorant, frothing-at-the mouth racists. But as you can see she’s just like you and I: an everyday American who loves her country, knows something’s terribly wrong and, though never politically active before, has taken the time to become an activist, but only after educating herself on the issues.

Pam Stouts are springing from everywhere, and her ability to intelligently answer Letterman’s tough but fair questions is what most terrifies the Obamabots and their corrupt supporters in the media. Our bullshit detectors have always been there but now we’re moving beyond instinct and starting to teach ourselves the truth behind the media spin. These past few years, we haven’t been as vigilant as we should have. But now that America’s awake, the left’s in for a real fight because we are fundamentally too good of a people to simply stand by as they decimate our country — even if the price is being called “racists.”     (more…)

In addition to its well-publicized, disastrous experiment with moving Jay Leno to primetime, NBC has done some good things this year. Perhaps the best of these is the new sitcom Community.

The concept is simple but rich in characters and potential comical situations. Suspended lawyer Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) has been sent back to college because his academic degree was discovered to be phony. Now he’s stuck at the local community college—which he describes as a “school-shaped toilet.”

The show includes at least a few genuinely amusing moments per episode, but it also takes its characters seriously to some degree, which makes it more than just a string of gags. In the first episode, Winger ends up leading a Spanish-language study group even though he has little grasp of the language. The various members of the group are comically beset by a multitude of emotional, social, and functional problems.

Winger, however, very quickly (and somewhat implausibly) turns the group into what he describes as a “community.” The tables are soon turned on him, however, as he is revealed to all as a shallow, selfish, conceited moral relativist. This is not characterized as a good thing. (more…)

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Wow. This audience loves her and only grows to love her more as the interview rolls on. About ten minutes in she shows more guts than any politician maybe ever by agreeing to make her stand up debut … on The Tonight Show … in front of a Los Angeles audience. What poise.

If Sarah Palin can win over this audience in this way in one of the bluest regions of the country, if I were Barbara Boxer I’d be pretty worried right now.

Something’s in the air. (more…)

If you want to identify the most controversial person in television, forget about Glenn Beck and Keith Olberman. The answer is obvious: Jay Leno. 

The once and now returning host of NBC’s Tonight Show has incited hostility and outright hatred for many years, simply by virtue of being more commercially successful than rivals David Letterman and Conan O’Brien. In particular, fans of his competitors have derided Leno for being overly conventional and failing to challenge late-night viewers by pushing the boundaries of taste. 

That, however, has almost certainly been a primary reason for Leno’s success: he amuses viewers without overwhelming them with sensational material such as O’Brien’s masturbating bears and potty-mouthed dog and Letterman’s aggressive non sequiturs. Leno is clearly out to amuse, not to change the world, and that is exactly the sort of programming most people seem to want in that 11:35 time slot. 

As a result, Leno returned to his Tonight Show helm last night after a hiatus of several months in which NBC tried moving him to primetime and shifting O’Brien from The Late Show at 12:35 a.m. to the Tonight Show at 11:35. As has been well-documented, the change was a predictable disaster both for NBC’s primetime ratings and for the Tonight Show. O’Brien toned down his comedy for the earlier audience, which didn’t work, and Leno could not make a nightly show consistently special enough to draw viewers at 10 p.m.  (more…)

Super Bowl ads have become a competition themselves and are often better than the game. At a reported cost of over $3 million for a thirty-second spot it would be hard for me to imagine that any of the ads are cost effective but it’s not my money, so roll the tape!  Judging from some ads there are either a lot of advertisers who don’t want conservatives to buy their products or a there are a lot of liberals making television advertisements.

Qualcomm’s combined leftist ideology and male bashing in its two ads featuring a guy who is “spineless” and a heavy political video montage by Obama idolater Will.i.am. I guess his stage name is supposed to be clever but it makes me think he was just raised on a little too much Dr. Seuss. Can you imagine the flack a company would get if it let Ann Coulter or Glenn Beck produce a video montage for its Super Bowl commercial? Watch the above clip for visuals of everything from Castro to Al Gore “winning” Florida.

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This is from last week’s Jay Leno Show. Leno interviewed “Avatar” director James Cameron and the relevant parts quoted below start at the 5:50 mark.

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Cameron: The anti-military [criticism] is kind of tough for me because my younger brother Dave was a Marine. … I got nothing but respect for those guys. …

I made my main character a Marine … and I imbued him with all the characteristics of heroism, courage and intelligence, and all the stuff I thought would honor them. And I think people are thinking about it too simplistically. …

I asked a special request, I want to talk to Marines that are on the ground. Guys that are forwards. We’re trying to organize going to Afghanistan to show the film to some Marines that are on the ground there. This is my tribute … my tribute to them.

Leno deserves credit for bringing the subject up, but he asks the question as though it’s only “critics” making noise over “Avatar’s” 3D trashing of the military. The United States Marines are none too happy with Cameron’s “tribute,” either. Here’s their Director of Public Affairs: (more…)