Leno, Carlin, and Coulter

Liveblog of Carlin-Coulter:

This much is made clear in Leno's monologue: the audience has been seeded with a goodly pro-Coulter contingent, nothing like the boos that accompanied mention of her name Monday and Tuesday night.

Carlin first: a pretty good monologue that nevertheless comes off as an entry in a poetry slam. Four laughs, maybe. Commercial.

(The problem with Carlin is that he's said it all. People use language to distort, government screws everything up, the modern world alienates us. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Twenty-five years ago, I howled at his stuff, bought his albums, everything. Now, four laughs, maybe.)

Then, a not-bad Carlin interview session half of which focuses on death. Carlin says he's been on the "The Tonight Show" 140 times. Impressive. (Of course, he counts the early Steve Allen model, back in New York, when he snuck in to the theater.) Commercial.

Coulter introduced by Leno, and The Moment: What will Carlin do?

Coulter comes out. Leno embraces her. Carlin, a two-handed handshake.

Carlin, a gracious moment, moving from the chair to the sofa: "I never thought Ann Coulter would make me move to the right." Gives her a gentle arm-punch.

Coulter makes reference to one of Carlin's jokes, the set-up is, "The Catholics don't have a bomb yet." (The idea is that the Vatican is too small for uranium enrichment.) Mutual smiles. I'm telling you, it's a love-feast.

Okay, now some tension. Wizard of Oz references, via Leno. Is Coulter the Wicked Witch of the West? Coulter: "I'm Dorothy, landing my house on the mainstream media." Cheers from the neo-con peanut gallery. Carlin turns away, makes a sour face.

"Jersey Girls" talk ensures. Two-shot: Leno and Coulter. Carlin out of frame. Carlin manifestly out of frame. Coulter talks.

(Coulter at 1200 words is much more reasonable than Coulter at 200 words; and at 80,000 words more reasonable than 1200, and therein lies her problem. Coulter sought to make a very valid--and if not valid, arguable--point, that the summer, 2004, 9/11 Comission hearings were highjacked by four pro-Kerry widows, basically Cindy Sheehan prototypes: I'm grieving, so get out of my way. I was disgusted by their applause at the hearings; any other time, any other hearing, they would have been thrown out. As a basic tool of defense, one had to look past their grief to what was best for the country. But their grief was presented as an absolute moral authority, so who would stand up to them if they happened to be wrong? Nobody. This was the problem. Did they rejoice in their husbands' death? Certainly not. Did they, three years on, exploit a political opportunity? Sure. This was what Coulter was after, and her overreach brought her all the attenton, good and ill.)

Coulter talks about the smartest liberals she would meet, says she gave her book to same, says she thought she would never meet smarter liberals, then says, to Carlin, "Of course, I didn't know I'd be on with you." Carlin looks away, smiles.

Back to two-shot. No Carlin. Coulter references how liberals never mind being called "Godless," which happens to be the title of her book. Chatter ensues.

Pull away at end of segment. Carlin blowing on his hands, then clapping.

Okay, not expecting Jon Stewart-Tucker Carlson tonight. But nothing to stir about. Yawn festival, really.