Jay Leno, the last of the true nighttime comics, burned in a fire

Jay Leno responds after reports of 'serious' burns in fire (nypost.com)

 Andrea Widburg

Leno harks back to a time in America—the 1990s and first decade of the 21st century—that seems like a distant memory. Like Johnny Carson, the late-night host who preceded him, Leno’s humor was based on the premise that Americans are all willing to laugh at political foibles regardless of their, or the politicians’, party allegiance.

Back when late-night comedy was enjoyable :

. . ."With Leno’s retirement, late-night TV became a leftist wasteland. Even if he wasn’t the numbers leader, Jon Stewart set the tone for what was to come: Make a nasty remark about a Republican and then wait for the trained seals in the audience to bark out their cued laughter. Stewart eschewed wit or charm. This was “comedy” for the initiated.

"Stewart’s show gave rise to three other mean-spirited leftists: John Oliver, Samantha Bee, and Stephen Colbert, all of whom knew that their jobs required an unending stream of venom directed at Republicans and, especially, at Donald Trump. Indeed, the nastiness on cable TV shows infected the networks. By 2016, Jimmy Fallon was forced to apologize for daring to have then-presidential candidate Donald Trump on his show and actually treating him with friendliness and respect.

"I wish Jay Leno a swift, uneventful recovery. I also wish he were back on TV when late-night comics brought America together in shared laughter over the foolishness and foibles of the American political scene."

Now here is quality political humor, involving Reagan, Chinese President HU, Secretary of the interior James Watt, Yasser Arafat.

So far above anything Colbert, Letterman, Kimmel or any other nameless ones are capable of. TD