Jay Leno was given the honor of roasting the President at D.C.'s annual White House Correspondents dinner this weekend. But many observers are saying Leno's routine was too routine, especially compared to Obama's own speech, a daringly witty effort reportedly penned in part by writers of "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" (watch both speeches here). Even Leno seemed to realize he was flailing, telling the crowd it was a "tough room." Are critics being too hard on him?
No, Leno was utterly predictable: Admittedly, Obama's "artful skewering" of the attendees left Leno at a disadvantage, says Walter Shapiro at Politics Daily, but let's be frank: Leno's set was a "comic disaster." Mother-in-law jokes? Lawyer one-liners? Leno's "time tested ability to be famously inoffensive" no doubt earned him the gig, but he misjudged the occasion's blandness demand, delivering a speech "about as edgy as a Bob Hope USO routine."
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