I'm surprised there hasn't been more talk about two Tonight Show appearances this past week by men ostensibly running for the Democratic Presidential nomination. I say "ostensibly" because Dennis Kucinich's on Thursday night seemed like such a desperate bid for attention. He came on, not to discuss politics or what he'd do as Chief Exec, but to participate in a sketch. They did The Dating Game with bachelor Kucinich picking from three celeb bachelorettes — Jennifer Tilly, Kim Serafin and Cybill Shepherd. Radio talk show host Serafin gave some anti-Democrat responses and Shepherd was acting boisterous, so Kucinich chose Tilly…for a "dream date" at a Vegan restaurant in Santa Monica. Jay Leno kept thanking the Ohio congressman for being a good sport, which is always a tip-off that someone is being demeaned. It should have been, "Thanks for coming here and sacrificing the last scraps of your image as a serious politician so we could do this during Sweeps Week." More humbling was that elsewhere in the show, Leno talked about how much he was looking forward to chatting with Senator John Edwards the following night. In other words, at this key time in the primaries, Edwards would be coming on to boost his candidacy and speak about a few issues, whereas Kucinich was only welcome if he let them poke fun at his height, diet and lack of spouse.
It's hard to say what was on Kucinich's mind. It's long past the stage where he can have any delusions about being this year's Democratic nominee, and I haven't heard anyone mention him for the veep slot. Like Al Sharpton from the start, he's running to enhance his profile as a statesman, perhaps for future candidacies, and also to get his message out. I don't see that playing The Dating Game does either of those things. He looked awkward and not thrilled to be there, and I can't imagine one viewer coming away from the experience more likely to mark his name on a ballot…not even Jennifer Tilly. That Kucinich was ever even marginally a contender came from the fact that he's a good, fiery orator with the ability to mobilize an audience. When they don't let him do that, he certainly doesn't look like leadership material.
The following night, John Edwards did. Sitting (unlike Kucinich) in the guest chair, the Senator was folksy and managed to get in a lot of personal anecdotes that suggested he was "one of us" but still managed to hit a few issues. He said flatly that he was for letting individual states decide on the matter of gay marriage…and it wasn't so much his position as the fact that he said it so clearly that may have impressed some voters. Much has been made of the fact that Edwards is from the South, and some believe a Democrat cannot win the presidency without some Southern support…but what struck me was that Edwards' real strength may be that he's just plain a better, more interesting speaker than anyone else in the contest, except maybe Sharpton who, of course, isn't really in. Kerry seems to be racking up delegates in landslide numbers but I suspect that's mostly a matter of him being the front-runner at a time when people who hate George W. Bush are eager to get behind a Democrat. I can't help thinking that most of them are buying Kerry but would be happier with Edwards.