Big Red
Conan O’Brien swooped into the NBC Studios on Nebraska Avenue on Friday, as part of tour of NBC local affiliates. After he did some on-camera promotional spots, Yeas & Nays sat down for an exclusive interview with the “Late Night” host, as he prepares to say farewell to the show next month and take over the “Tonight Show” later this year.
Yeas & Nays: You’re late. All the celebrities were here last week.
Conan O’Brien: I prefer it this way. I loved coming in today because everybody’s cleared out. It’s just me and 40,000 porta-potties.
Y&N: So are you already lobbying to be the entertainment for the first White House Correspondents Association Dinner under the new president?
C.O.: I have a lot on my plate right now. I think it’s time for Howie Mandel to do it.
Y&N: Are you offended that Max [Weinberg, his drummer and an E Street Band member] didn’t get to play with Bruce Springsteen at the inaugural concert?
C.O.: Max went there and he was just out of the camera shot holding his snare drum and the sticks. Springsteen actually used a drum machine and put some glasses on it.
Y&N: What will you miss most about President Bush?
C.O.: His childlike innocence. His sense of wonder every time he saw words. There was an amusing quality about Bush when he would speak extemporaneously.
Y&N: How hard is it to poke fun at President Obama? What are his weak spots?
C.O.: Right now the most amusing thing about Barack Obama is his almost insane popularity. But that isn’t the best vein to mine. People don’t want to laugh at him right now. No one wants to see Barack Obama undemined right now. It makes comedians work a little harder.
Y&N: Is D.C. inherently funny?
C.O.: That is was built on a swamp is inherently funny. But when [you joke about the] Washington bureaucracy stalling, sometimes you feel like the audience says, ‘OK, move onto other stuff.’ It’s like ‘Larry King is old’ or ‘Paris Hilton sleeps around.’
Y&N: You’re tall enough. Could you beat Obama at basketball?
C.O.: I lack coordination, which I’m told is necessary. I think Obama would school me.
Y&N: You’re about the same size. Could you beat David Gregory in a fist fight?
C.O.: I’ve tried, actually. He handily defeated me. He used only the back of his hands, and I cried. Every time I see him, we fight instantly.
Y&N: You’re going through transition of your own right now. How’s that?
C.O.: What they forget is I have to wind down the late night show and say goodbye [in addition to beginning the “Tonight Show”]. I’ve got [to] do them simultaneously.
Y&N: First you were moving into Jay Leno’s time slot. Now he’s going to be on at 10. Is NBC like a Team of Rivals?
C.O.: Jay is Salmon P. Chase. I’m Stanton. Carson Daly is Seward. Howie Mandel is President Lincoln. He’s got the best time slot. That’s basically what’s happened to our country.
Y&N: Will you soon be the most famous redhead in America?
C.O.: There are a lot of people vying for that spot. Carrot Top. Donnie Most, who played Ralph Malph on “Happy Days.” Seth Green. Oh, and Jimmy Neutron.
Y&N: Finish this sentence: If I were president and I could reorganize the cabinet, I’d have a secretary of _________.
C.O.: Nachos.
