Here’s something that might come as a surprise to some people — Jay Leno is no tool of the big, bad liberal media. At least, not according to a new study release by the Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University.
The center conducted a study of the jokes told by Leno on his 20-plus year run on “The Tonight Show” — which comes to an end this week — and found that, when Leno joked about public affairs and public figures, he poked fun at Democrats more often than Republicans.
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According to the study, which looked at more than 43,000 jokes about public affairs and public figures that Leno has told since taking the “Tonight Show” reins in 1992, Leno told 10,885 jokes about Democrats — 15 percent more than he told at the expense of Republicans.
Moreover, the study found that former president Bill Clinton was the biggest target of Leno’s jokes, with 4,607 jabs tossed in his direction.
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Hey, who can resist a cheap, easy dig about a stained blue dress?
Somehow, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin was relatively unscathed by Leno’s wit, absorbing a mere 300 jabs from the late-night host.
Read the Top 20 list of Leno’s public affairs-related joke targets below.
1. Bill Clinton 4607
2. George W. Bush 3239
3. Al Gore 1026
4. Barack Obama 1011
5. Hillary Clinton 939
6. Dick Cheney 673
7. Monica Lewinsky 454
8. Bob Dole 452
9. John McCain 426
10. Mitt Romney 361
11. John Kerry 357
12. George H.W. Bush 343
13. Newt Gingrich 328
14. Sarah Palin 300
15. Ross Perot 288
15. Arnold Schwarzenegger 288
17. Joe Biden 274
18. Dan Quayle 260
19 John Edwards 229
20. Osama Bin Laden 216
