Late Night: ‘Chunky’ Mindy Kaling thinks she’s Bill Clinton’s type

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When author and ‘The Office’ star Mindy Kaling was asked to appear on ‘Today,’ she was surprised to discover that she’d be taping the segment with former President Bill Clinton.

Kaling was told that she’d be appearing alongside another author to recommend a few books for holiday gifts. As she told Conan O’Brien on Thursday night, she didn’t expect to be paired with a dignitary like Clinton. ‘My most exciting person was like Michael Crichton,’ she said. (Surely that would have been a bigger surprise; Crichton died in 2008.)

Making matters worse, Clinton’s book recommendations -- James Joyce, Marcus Aurelius, the Bible -- were uniformly serious. ‘Mine was like a photo book with Lady Gaga photos in it and Gwyneth Paltrow’s cookbook,’ Kaling lamented.

Kaling was intimidated, but unlike many of her friends, she at least doesn’t harbor a crush on the famously charismatic leader. ‘He could, like, be on a coin someday. ... It’s like weird to think of him as cute,’ she explained.

If anything, Kaling suspected Clinton might have a thing for her. As she sat next to him, a thought occurred to her: ‘I’m, like, ‘Oh, I’m kind of Bill Clinton’s type.’ I was thinking like Monica Lewinsky, like, if he was going to throw away a marriage, I was, like, I think ... I have a good shot at this.’

Asked to elaborate, Kaling said, ‘I’m kind of peppy and psyched and, like, I’m a little chunky.’ (Chunky? We beg to differ.)

Further evidence that Clinton might have a thing for Kaling? After their segment finished, Clinton stayed on the show to discuss the situation in North Korea. Kaling left, assuming ‘they probably don’t care what I think about North Korea.’

When she got back to her hotel, Kaling’s inbox was flooded with emails. Clinton wanted to say goodbye and was wondering where she’d disappeared to.

Perhaps she’s on to something?

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— Meredith Blake
Twitter.com/MeredithBlake