WASHINGTON (UPI) -- President Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle, two of comedian Jay Leno's favorite late-night targets, summoned him to the White House Thursday only to be told that Quayle, at least, has been replaced as the best source of material.
Denying he has given Quayle undue attention -- ``I don't give him a hard time'' -- Leno said there were no hard feelings.
``They're both very good sports,'' he said. ``Actually, I said I haven't been doing many Quayle jokes lately.''
Instead, he said it was the outgoing chief of staff, John Sununu, who was the real gold mine these days, as well as the new slate of Democratic candidates.
``People are targets because they are visible but now you've got so many candidates out there that it's a wonderful time,'' said Leno. And watch out.
--Of former California Gov. Jerry Brown: ``The sad thing about Jerry Brown's candidacy is that all the people who want to vote for him are locked inside that Biosphere experiment.''
--On the current governor of New York, Mario Cuomo: ``He did a public service campaign that a mind is a terrible thing to make up.''
Leno said he was summoned to the White House in the morning for his first meeting with Bush. He previously had visited the White House to meet with Ronald Reagan.
But he said he hadn't tried out any new material or given the president any tips for his upcoming State of the Union address. ``No, I find it best not to give the president of the United States advice,'' said Leno.
He also got to meet Sununu, recently resigned under fire, who he said provided one of his own favorite cracks. ``Bush had to jog because Sununu took the car. That was my all-time favorite,'' Leno said. Asked if he would be sorry to see him go, he added: ``That was a pretty good source of material for me, actually. ... I tried not to bring that up.''
Quayle seemed genuinely pleased at having heard a few about someone other than himself for a change.
``He had a couple of good lines about others,'' the vice president said of Leno, who will soon take over the ``Tonight'' show from Johnny Carson.
But he did admit he grabbed the chance to urge Leno to give him a break.
``I told him to ease up,'' Quayle said. And Bush noted that Leno indeed has seemed to pick on Quayle less.
``He hasn't been on your case,'' he told his vice president. But that's not necessarily going to be the case for the president.
``He had a couple about me, but I can't tell you what they are,'' Bush said.
Leno also attended one of White House press secretary Marlin Fitzwater's daily briefings for reporters, asking the spokesman if there was ``any connection between Sununu resigning and Panam going under.'' Fitzwater looked tempted -- but only for only a minute. ``I've got an answer for that one but in my business, Jay, sometimes the best jokes you can't say.''
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