Conan and Jay fight for the Tonight Show as Haitians fight for life

As we have watched the tragedy unfold in Haiti this week, we are also witnessing a battle of the absurd. Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien have been sniping at NBC and each other for the past two weeks.

We learned this week that Leno's 10 p.m. show will be cancelled. The network proposed moving Leno back to 11:35 and moving O'Brien's show just past midnight. O'Brien balked at the idea and he has spent the past few days attacking the network and Leno. His jokes have been very biting, hurtful and personal. Leno has come across as the bigfoot villain, and public opinion seems to be on O'Brien's side.

Last night Leno had Jimmie Kimmel on his show. Kimmel had done a very unflattering Leno impression the night before, so Leno decided to have him as a guest on the "10 at 10" segment of his show where the guest is asked 10 questions.

Kimmel took this opportunity to not only stick it to Leno, but to also twist the knife. Kimmel went from being slightly amusing to extremely brutal. He too is a member of the Conan fan club.

Under any other set of circumstances, this celebrity spat might really be interesting to me, but in light of the earthquake in Haiti it seems so very trivial.

Let's look at the facts. Both Conan and Leno make millions just to make us laugh. They, as well as their families, are well taken care of, and if either of them were released from the network today, they would be fine.

The same can not be said for the real life battle that is being waged in Haiti. People lost their lives, and I get chills every time I hear a reporter say they are probably already in their grave, which is buried under the rubble of a crumbled building. They are in a fight for life.

So maybe next week I might be ready to take a side in the Leno/O'Brien scuffle, but I think I'll sit this week out and pray for the citizens of Haiti who are truly in a fight for life.

[Original Entry]