So far, in the California governor mess, the big winner looks to be Jay Leno. Last night, with Arnold announcing his candidacy, The Tonight Show got a 6.9 rating. This is more than Late Show with David Letterman (3.1) and Nightline (3.0) combined.
Not only that but we'll probably see Jay and his program exploit the recall election for further numbers. Letterman is on the other side of the country, away from the action, and in reruns next week and the week after. Hell, if Leno can just get everyone who's running for governor to watch him, his ratings will be through the roof.
I'm still getting around to writing that piece here about how both Dave and Jay have really started to bore me, by the way. I think both programs have gotten into a rut and show the effects of hosts who are phoning it in. One of these days, I'll elaborate on this thesis.