Facetious Feuding: Cory Booker & Conan O'Brien Quash The Beef On The 'Tonight Show' (VIDEO)

(VICTOR EPSTEIN, AP) NEWARK, N.J. — Conan O'Brien and Newark Mayor Cory Booker turned their frivolous feud about the gritty city into comedy on NBC's "Tonight Show" on Friday.

The chatty 40-somethings worked off one another like a comic duo. But the jokes eventually gave way to a plug for Booker's efforts to fashion a national blueprint for urban transformation in Newark, long an icon for urban decay, and a $100,000 donation to his Newark Now charity from O'Brien and NBC.

Booker's appearance on O'Brien's show culminated a facetious feud that began Sept. 23 with O'Brien joking that Booker's new health care program consisted of a bus ticket out of Newark, which is just west of New York City and is often scarred by violence. The mayor responded with a humorous video on YouTube in which he banned O'Brien from Newark Liberty International Airport.

"Many jokes are made about Newark by comedians," O'Brien said on Friday's show. "You honed in on me like a cruise missile. Why me, Mayor Booker?"

"When there's a herd going after you, you have to sort of look at the weakest gazelle," Booker joked.

The 15-minute segment, taped in California, confirmed Booker's newfound status as a national figure in U.S. politics, said Robert Thompson, a Syracuse University professor of television and popular culture.

"They were like Abbott and Costello," Thompson said. "Those two could go on the road."


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The symbiotic relationship comes at an ideal time for O'Brien, who took over as "Tonight" host in June, after Jay Leno's 17 years on the job. The show averages about 2.6 million viewers a night with O'Brien, compared with more than 4.5 million for Leno, and has been trying to attract younger viewers.

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Booker already is a darling of that demographic thanks to a new media pedigree that includes 839,000 followers on the Twitter online social network. His first response to O'Brien on the YouTube video file sharing site has been viewed more than 183,000 times.

Those numbers dwarf Newark's 281,000 residents.

The 40-year-old Booker is one of the youngest elected leaders ever invited onto the iconic show, whose usual political fare consists of senators and former presidents. U.S. Sen. John McCain, who lost to Barack Obama in the November presidential election, was the last political guest in the studio.

Booker has become an entertainment media darling the past year with appearances on HBO's "Real Time With Bill Maher" and "The Colbert Report" on Comedy Central. He's also featured prominently in the Sundance Channel's "Brick City" documentary series.

He's the first Newark mayor to appear on the "Tonight Show" and the first to garner positive national attention for the city, said Steve Adubato, a local political power broker who allied himself with Booker this year after a lengthy rivalry.

"The only time a Newark mayor made national headlines before Cory Booker was when they were indicted or went to jail," Adubato said.

Booker's three predecessors have been in trouble with the law. One of them, Sharpe James, is in prison for his role in the cut-rate sale of city land to a former mistress.

O'Brien admitted admiring Booker, who described himself Friday as a longtime fan of the "Tonight Show."

"Sometimes on the toughest days you make me laugh," Booker said.

There's no shortage of tough days in Newark, whose port, warehouse, trucks and airport keep nearby New York City humming.

Homicides are down 36 percent since 2005, when James was in office. However, Newark is still periodically convulsed by shocking violence, like the execution-style slayings of three college-bound students in the summer of 2007. Its unemployment rate was 14.7 in August.

O'Brien, 46, is the latest in a long line of celebrities to embrace Booker and what the former Rhodes Scholar is trying to accomplish in Newark. Their ranks include Jon Bon Jovi, media mogul Oprah Winfrey, basketball player Shaquille O'Neal and actors Brad Pitt and Ashton Kutcher.

"It was one joke," O'Brien quipped, "and, man, was it expensive."

Comments

[Peter007]

I didn't see the interview but I work in Newark. I grew up there. That cities housing market is a lot worse now than it was 20 years ago. Back in the 70's it looked like a war zone. The subprime money and city government corruption allowed the Real Estate market to prosper during the past 8 years but since subprime mortgages are gone,, houses are boarded up and can't be given away for $50,000.
The sad truth is that city Newark Hall killed the city by bleeding it during the 60's and 70's. The "feel good" community programs are merely band aids in a cancer patient. They may make a press story but they are insignificant in the aggregate. I like Cory, but I hope he realizes that the market will determine Newark's fate, not community action programs run by the government.

[miller36]

I have a whole new respect for Conan what a good person god bless him.

[fromdnorth]

Does Hillary get a cut? After all she made it happen.
Or does she have to match Conan's, his wife and NBCs' donation?

[jennylynn]

Hillary is a has been.

[yweston]

Corey Booker for POTUS in 2016

[jennylynn]

Hope and Change?

[Balzac]

Mayor Cory Booker does a good job for Newark. But don't forget about Hoboken.

Conan's donation was nice. Now how about Fred Armiston? His Governor Paterson impression took some cheap shots at the whole state of New Jersey. Maybe it's time to shake down Lorne Michaels.

Also, Men's Warehouse is a great place to get a suit or a jacket.

[brettrobbins]

Wow. Great guy, great ambassador for NJ.

[Sardonica]

Always good to see a mayor stand up and fight for his city. And always good when Conan has a good running gag. Win win.

[iceage7]

A son of civil-rights activists who integrated a white neighborhood in northern New Jersey, Booker is a poster child for the civil rights movement. Excelling in high school where he was an all-American football player, he went on to Stanford, to Oxford where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and then graduated from Yale Law School. Upon graduating, Booker didn't seek high-paid law work, but instead embraced his parents' activist ideals, moving to Newark, setting up house in the Brick Towers high-rise projects, and starting a nonprofit to fight slumlords. He also got himself elected to the city council when no one gave him much chance. He undertook unorthodox actions, such as living in an RV parked at notorious drug corners to drive away the dealers.

[iceage7]

Booker will run for governor come 2012 and then come 2016 he will run for president or he will be a VP nominee...But i think he will over shadow whoever the president nominee is. Booker is articulate, smart, humour, charismatic, intelligent., can delver a great speech, good looking...he has all the ingredients of a president.

[jazzblues]

me totally loves Corey. I saw the guy a few years ago and I said...man, I could totally see him running for President one day. This was before BHO announced his candidacy and I thought I wish we could get to that day where we can elect a black man to the greatest office in the world. We are already there :)))

Corey is totally awesome!

[jennylynn]

good looking??

[JhNyc]

yes

[Terry6202]

I love Cory Booker - "pay attention to the little things, decency, kindness and love" as being transformative. GREAT guy.

[brooklyncitizen]

He's very attractive....not Conan.

[slaxx]

what a great guy. booker, that is. conan's okay too.

[sviolette]

We need more public officials like him. Not Conan.

[JanaK63]

Mayor Booker is going to be a key figure in the future of the Democratic Party...he is simply fantastic.

[jazzblues]

absolutely agree with that!!...absolutely!

[00Ruth7]

We need more politicians like him.
he is always amazing on Real Time with Bill Maher.

[Bounceem]

I wish somebody could point out to me where the "frivolous feud about the gritty city into comedy..." in this appearance. I'm a big Conan fan, and found these two segments a real snooze.

"They were like Abbott and Costello," Thompson said. "Those two could go on the road."

No, Abbott and Costello were funny. This was more like Conan O'Brien and a local Mayor chatting about the Mayor's city. Maybe the long, funny part edited from these clips? Hey, perfectly nice, personable dudes, with perhaps three quips throughout 15 minutes - but basically a boring chat. Does HuffPo have a "boring chat video" section. here are the inaugural clips.