Campaign Intensifies to Draft Jay Leno as Presidential Candidate

[From a recently published national news story]

The campaign to draft Tonight Show host, Jay Leno, as a presidential candidate has intensified as fans and supporters have flooded the campaign's website, www.JayLenoforPresident.com, to urge the popular comedian into the race for president.

Though Leno has not yet declared his candidacy, the huge number of hits received at the website indicates strong support for a Leno presidential bid. Grassroots supporters are anticipating an announcement by Jay Leno some time in the next few weeks.

Jay Leno for President campaign chairman, Howard Lester, said the idea to draft Jay Leno came from the Pat Paulsen for President campaign of the late 1960's. "The similarity between then and now is remarkable," Lester said. "There's an unpopular war going on with an unpopular president in office; there's increasing polarization within and between the political parties; and there's a lot of unrest among young people, though nowadays it's being voiced on-line instead of in protest marches."

"Pat Paulsen's campaign provided comic relief in that pressure-filled race of deadly serious issues and candidates. Though few took him seriously, Paulsen's humor and wit throughout the presidential campaign helped Americans laugh at a time when there was very little to laugh about. We're confident that Jay Leno can bring that same kind of comic relief to the 2008 campaign by becoming a candidate himself, just like Pat Paulsen did forty years ago."

The Jay Leno for President campaign website was launched in late February and its popularity has skyrocketed as the race for president heats up among Republican and Democratic candidates. The website bears few similarities to other candidates' websites. A major difference is that the campaign has declared itself "donation-less." To date, it has not raised or spent one penny on its grassroots efforts to draft Leno as a candidate.

"Our goal is to raise consciousness, not money," added campaign chairman Lester. "It's ridiculous how much money is wasted on presidential campaigns. If we can't draft Jay Leno as a bona fide candidate for president by word-of-mouth and millions of website visits, no amount of money is going to do it for us."

To date, none of the major presidential candidates who've appeared on The Tonight Show have mentioned the Jay Leno for President campaign. Leno himself has not spoken about the campaign publicly, though many supporters believe it's just a matter of time until he formally acknowledges it. "Support is too strong," Lester said, "and the need for Jay as a candidate is too important for him to wait much longer."

The Jay Leno for President campaign is on-line at www.jaylenoforpresident.com.