Nice and fitting goodbye to Jay Leno

[fujiyama]

13. I found Leno's humor hackneyed and formulaic

but his audience skewed older, and that's where he found his niche.

Leno's jokes were trying to appeal to a wider audience so it wasn't very edgy and he stuck to monologues with tired punch lines about OJ or Bill Clinton. His interviews were also not very incisive.

But all that said, this whole thing about him being a right winger is absolutely silly. His wife was a major proponent for women's rights in Afghanistan and promotes family planning and birth control. He sounds like he grew up working class and he made a very specific point at the end of the show that it was UNIONIZED. It wasn't subtle in the least, in an age where bashing unions is more the rule rather than the exception. He also clearly said, "I pay my employees well" (also may or may not be coincidental after Obama's state of the union). I think it was a shout to union workers everywhere, especially in the midwest and Detroit in particular. He clearly identifies with working class people and even had a free concert in Michigan a few years ago.

So no, I never cared for his humor but he's a pretty "stand up" guy. I wish him the best. And it was a great closer. Very heartfelt and sincere.