Let me be clear that I’m a Worldwide Pants kinda guy. I’ve been watching David Letterman since his morning show in 1980 and I still watch — and love — Dave and Craig Ferguson. However, I’m also a huge Johnny Carson fan. Carson is one of the few entertainers whose death made me cry. And I respect The Tonight Show as a cross-generational American institution. Regardless, I’m a fan of fairness and rationality.
So I don’t give a flying fig newton what explanations Jay Leno and/or NBC executives give. If Jay @10PM isn’t working out, then Jay needs to find another legitimate gig on his own merit (or lack thereof). Fairness and rationality both dictate that The Tonight Show is not an option for him. He retired from there and handed the reigns to a worthy successor. His claim on that turf has — voluntarily — passed. No man of character, no matter how great or small — especially not even Carson himself — would consider muscling back in over the corpse of that successor.
