With apologies to Hannah Arendt, Leno represents to me the evil of banality, the tragedy of a gifted stand-up comedian dumbing down his material for the lowest common denominator. In sharp contrast Conan bravely if insanely seems to assume that his audience is every bit as weird and smart and off-kilter as himself. He is a glorious anomaly, a beautiful freak, a man who became a television institution without compromising his fundamental weirdness.