You and Me

It’s the perfect pairing, writes Salon: Sarah Palin and Jay Leno, who share a common foe in David Letterman, teamed up to deliver a blow to his ratings on Tuesday night. But there was more to Palin’s appearance on the Tonight Show than met the eye. “Her poll numbers, after all, have plummeted to alarming depths. More than 70 percent of all Americans – and more than 50 percent of Republicans – now believe she is unqualified for the presidency. And there are only 23 months until the Iowa caucuses. So she was wise to sit down with Leno, who provides the kind of image boost to Republican political figures that Larry King’s does for fallen celebrities. In the last few years, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Fred Thompson launched their campaigns from Leno’s couch and Mike Huckabee stopped by on the eve of his 2008 Iowa triumph. And don’t forget Rush Limbaugh, who took a seat just a few months ago. One of the knocks on Leno is that he’s too eager to please people to be very interesting. But this is a trait that can serve someone like Palin just fine. Little was required of her on Tuesday night. She participated in the obligatory cold open gag – informing Leno that, instead of cue cards, his monologue would be printed on her hands – walked on stage to the tune of ‘Everyday People,’ and smiled and laughed through Leno’s please-like-me questioning.”