NewsBusters’ archive of references to Jay Leno is filled with instances of Noel Sheppard whipsawing between bashing Leno for making a joke about conservatives and patting Leno on the head for a joke making fun of President Obama. This week, Sheppard managed to perform one of these flip-flops in a 24-hour period.
In an Aug. 21 post, Sheppard huffed that Leno was “feeling the need to take a cheap shot at presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney” by quipping that recently reported layoffs on his show’s staff and Leno himself taking a pay cut was the result of “taken over by Bain Capital.”
The next day, however, Sheppard was gushing over Leno airing “a mock video of ABC’s Jake Tapper reading a question at Monday’s press conference from cue cards held by the President.” Sheppard added: “Was this NBC spanking Tapper for telling the truth about media’s complicity in aiding and abetting the White House? Only Leno’s hairdresser knows for sure.”
Sheppard’s inconsistency on Leno seems to undercut the MRC’s “liberal media bias” message.