Well at least now we know when Letterman will retire. The day after Leno does, so he can say "Mwahaaha! I outlasted Leno! Now I can finally die in peace after having lived for years on bitterness alone!"
Honestly, before the hoopla about Letterman not becoming the Tonight Show host, the only person that thought Dave Letterman was going to be the Tonight Show host was Dave Letterman.
There were like two or three people (including Leno) that were ahead of him as far as a shot at the hosting job. As far as I know, no one at NBC had him picked as the host (though when ratinsg for ths how bombed for a few weeks during Leno's early tenure, NBC panicked and thought about offering Dave the show).
It'll be kind of sad to see Leno go, though I don't think he's the funniest talk show host. Letterman is good and funny, but alot of times he gets too caught up with showing everybody how funny he thinks he is (even when the jokes are bombing, a common occurance on his show). As for Conan, great for him, but like pretty much everyone in this topic, I wonder if he will have to change so much that he won't be funny anymore. At any rate, at 45-46, he'll be young enough to be the Tonight Show host for a long time.
As for when Letterman retires, I think Paul Schaefer should get the show. He deserves some reward for all those jokes where he was the only one laughing to make things look good. Though by that criteria, I guess Kevin Eubanks should be hosting the Tonight Show after Leno goes.
