Democrats Slam Schwarzenegger's "Tonight Show" Appearance

With an election about four weeks away, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is getting a free publicity boost thanks to late-night host Jay Leno.

If Schwarzenegger had to pay for it, the five or seven minutes of national TV exposure that "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" is providing him Wednesday undoubtedly would cost the governor several million dollars.

Now, Democrats and state Treasurer Phil Angelides are going after Leno for treating Schwarzenegger more like a celebrity than a politician. They want equal time on the NBC program or nothing at all for the Republican.

Today, Rep. Xavier Becerra, who represents a large section of Los Angeles County, wrote a letter to the Federal Communications Commission asking it to "act immediately" if Schwarzenegger appears on the show.

Becerra wrote: "Use of the broadcast spectrum is granted as a public trust. It is not to be used to favor certain candidates. Clearly, an appearance by a candidate on an entertainment program that reaches all of California's voters provides favorable treatment to that candidate."

As this simmers, Angelides backers are using a snippet from Schwarzenegger's 2003 appearance on "The Tonight Show" to label the governor a hypocrite. The California Democratic Party has produced a voter mailer quoting Schwarzenegger saying, "I do not have to bow to any special interest. I have plenty of money. No one can pay me off, trust me." The new brochure features several newspaper clippings about Schwarzenegger's campaign contributors and fund-raising.

Schwarzenegger's campaign referred calls to "The Tonight Show." Tracy St. Pierre, a press spokesperson for NBC Entertainment, said in a statement: "Consistent with 'The Tonight Show with Jay Leno's'  previous practice, NBC is following the news guidelines for interviewing a political candidate. Under the news guidelines, the scheduled appearance of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ... is not subject to the FCC's equal time provisions."

Since news shows and entertainment often blur together, the "equal time" rule adopted by the FCC has been stretched. In general, broadcast entertainment programs must provide equal time if a left-out candidate requests it, but news programs are exempt on free-speech grounds.

Becerra noted that "The Tonight Show" is controlled by the NBC entertainment division, not its news operation, and bills itself as "quality late night entertainment." According to the NBC schedule, Schwarzenegger is set to appear on the show along with model Heidi Klum.

In 2003, the FCC ruled that Howard Stern (in photo) did not have to abide by the rule because it was a "bona fide news interview" program and therefore could talk to Schwarzenegger exclusively on his radio show and exclude the hundred-plus other candidates. Also during the recall, an NBC spokesman said Schwarzenegger's appearance did not trigger the equal time rule because the action star appeared before he had filed papers, and then after he had been elected.

Like Oprah Winfrey, Leno has frequently used his national platform to boost Schwarzenegger. Leno often jokes about the governor on his show, but in the kindest of ways.

"California has become the first state to limit the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere," Leno joked recently. "Gov. Schwarzenegger signed the legislation and promised — 'to travel back to the future and see what kinds of effect it would have in the future.'"

(Photo: Brad Barkett / Getty Images)