Ever wonder what Johnny Carson's political persuasion was?

[senseandsensibility]

Well, you wouldn't be alone. He ribbed both parties and all administrations mercilessly!!

However...it might make some of you mourning his death a little more cheerful to know that he was ONE OF US!!

My source? Al Franken's guest today on his AAR show. Al interviewed a longtime friend and co-worker of Johnny's. Sorry, didn't get the name. The guy said that Johnny was a "flaming liberal."

Johnny Carson was a flaming liberal! He was a class act. RIP, Johnny.

[Catch22Dem]

1. RIP, JC

[w4rma]

2. From Drudge

XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX MON APRIL 29 2002 13:08:27 ET XXXXX

JOHNNY CARSON BREAKS SILENCE: KNOCKS FOX FOR TOO MUCH PATRIOTISM AT SUPER BOWL; THINKS BUSH IN ENRON COVER-UP

**Exclusive Details**

(snip)

Reporter Bill Zehme has been courting Carson for years and the relationship has paid off in spades: On May 8th, ESQUIRE rolls out an exhaustive exclusive interview with the press-shy Carson, running 10 pages.

Carson rips FOX for its Super Bowl red-white-and-blue coverage following 9/11: "When you look at the production -- give me a break!" Carson says. "Norman Mailer said something about patriotism being a nice thing, but just ease up a bit... It's nice to live in this country, but ease up!"

Carson takes on Bush: "Can you believe this Enron mess? I love how his good friend 'Kenny Boy' suddenly turned into 'Mr. Lay'... Give me a break! It will be a long time before we ever understand what's going on behind that story."

(snip)

Developing...

[senseandsensibility]

5. Interesting

I would have loved to have heard about that back in 2002. I don't remember hearing about it at all.

[peacetalksforall]

3. Aren't all smart, good-hearted people liberals?

[senseandsensibility]

4. Absolutely

And I'm not kidding.

[BamaLefty]

6. Yay Johnny!

RIP my friend.

[tmooses]

7. I knew it. Johnny had a heart.....and a brain.

[fooj]

8. From what I understand he donated $ many times to the DNC!

What a class act!

[indigobusiness]

9. Johnny was clearly a Democrat. He didn't wear it on his sleeve

like Letterman, but anyone could see he was no fan of the Republican agenda.

I couldn't believe Novak declaring that Johnny was a Republican (today at the close of Crossfire). Another indication of how clueless (or deceitful) Novak is. Not that any further indication was needed.

RIP Johnny...

[alittlelark]

10. Franken interviewed his best friend today

Who said Carson was a "FLAMING LIBERAL!!!!" He and Carson talked politics alot, and that they both loved waatching really bad TV shows and making fun of them.

[Piperay]

11. I never had any doubt

I always knew for some reason that he was a Democrat.

[senseandsensibility]

13. His class and humanity

were pretty good clues.:loveya: Don't you find that you tend to feel a rapport with people who are liberals even before you know their political beliefs? I've noticed that many times. Plus, conservatives aren't funny, unless you're into mean spirited bashing.

[Jade Fox]

12. Check this out from James Wolcott..

JOHNNY CARSON
POSTED BY JAMES WOLCOTT

Unable to let go, some entertainers hang around so long (too long) that
they fade and enfeeble before our eyes, milking out guest spots and relying
on the affectionate memories of the performers they once were. They
overdraw on our memories until our memories become as tired as they look.
Once death finally comes, it's the end-point of their diminishment, a
drawn-out tapering-off from peaks reached in the grainy past. This didn't
happen with Johnny. He decided not to let it happen, and stuck to his
decision. After three decades as host of the Tonight show, Carson quit at
the top and never glanced back or sideways, preserving the memory of a
comedian in his silvery prime and making everyone who came after him look
primitive. His poise, his polish, his precision, were unsurpassed. I was
dispatched to LA to catch one of his last shows for Vanity Fair and what
struck me sitting in the audience--something that one didn't come through
simply watching at home--was the power of his presence. He was taller
than one expected, and when he popped through the curtain, he project a
physical force that one didn't expect. (Letterman's a big guy too, but he
doesn't have the concentrated energy that Carson had--the dynamic
focus.)

In retirement, Carson became appalled by the degeneration of cable news
coverage and political discourse post 9/11. I received a wonderful note from
him a few years ago--a note from Johnny Carson! I've never opened an
envelope more gingerly--in which he lamented the dying out of voices of
reason such as astronomer Carl Sagan, a frequent guest on his show. An
astronomy buff himself, Carson prized science and reason. In his latter years
he must have felt even more estranged from a country embracing its own
hysteria.

http:www.jameswolcott.com

[senseandsensibility]

14. Thanks for posting that

Carson was right; TV rapidly became a wasteland after he left, and especially so after 9-11.

[deadparrot]

15. He donated several thousand dollars to the DNC in 1996, I think.

Something around $10,000.

Johnny rocks.

[E_Smith]

16. Howard Stern said that he hit his first wife

Stern said he struck his first wife in the middle of a party. he was also married four times.