Did Jay "Face the Nation" (with Bob Shieffer)?

Jay Leno for President campaign supporters are awaiting word from CBS about a rumored appearance by Jay on the popular Sunday morning news program, "Face the Nation." A cellphone picture, taken on the Washington set of "Face the Nation" was sent to campaign headquarters by an anonymous supporter, and clearly shows Jay chatting amiably with Bob Shieffer.According to Jay Leno for President chairman, Howard Lester, Jay's alleged appearance on "Face the Nation" could have been to announce his candidacy. But, for an unknown reason, the segment with Jay never aired. "All I can think happened," said Lester, "is that CBS somehow pulled the interview with Jay at the last moment. My guess is that they [CBS] may be considering running some comedian from their own network in the 2008 presidential race and didn't want an announcement by Jay to complicate things. In any case, they didn't have Jay on last Sunday morning, so I guess we'll never know."

The possibility that Jay may not have appeared on "Face the Nation" did little to dampen the enthusiasm among his growing hoard of grassroots supporters. One smiling grassrooter from Spokane, Washington, summed up the overall mood in the campaign by saying, "It would have been nice for Jay to announce he's running on 'Face the Nation,' especially since Bob Shieffer seems so friendly. But no one ever said drafting Jay Leno to run for president was going to be easy. And, besides, he'll probably want to declare his candidacy on NBC."

Indeed, many political analysts, who are paying close attention to the Jay Leno for President campaign, agree that the rumors on Jay's appearance on "Face the Nation" can only strengthen his position. "Once again, Jay's proven he knows what he's doing," commented one political analyst. "While everyone waits for him to throw his hat into the ring, his shrewd political strategy of making them wait is going to result in an exponential surge in his popularity as a prospective presidential candidate."

Many within the Jay Leno for President campaign believe he'll make the actual announcement that he's running on The Tonight Show. "Even though he has not acknowledged the campaign to this point, we do expect it soon, "said campaign chairman Lester. "And, if he's going to appear on anyone's Sunday morning news show first, it'll probably be "Meet the Press" with Tim Russert. Tim's been on Jay's show before and appeared to have fun. What better way for Jay to reciprocate than to confirm he's running for president on 'Meet the Press'?"

As huge numbers of people continue to visit the Jay Leno for President campaign website to offer their support, we'll continue to track Jay's public statements to make sure his fans and supporters are the first to know the minute he formally declares his candidacy for the 2008 presidential race.