Howard Dean and Jay Leno

On Wednesday, Howard Dean was on The Tonight Show.

Dean was wearing a giant flag pin. I don’t know if that's a new addition for him, trying to give the country the impression that the Democrats don't have a fear of American flag pins. Whatever, it reminded me of those enormous, distracting pins that Madeleine Albright likes to wear. You couldn't miss it.

Jay Leno brought up the "Dream Ticket" notion. Naturally, Dean wouldn't choose between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Dean said that he has to be neutral, that he's still the referee and he wouldn’t take a side. He noted that the nominee gets to pick their own running mate.

That makes sense. Obviously, Dean didn’t want to alienate Hillary supporters by saying she should get out now. I think he decided that it's best for the party if he keeps his mouth shut in that regard.

Leno questioned Dean about the lengthy primary battle between Hillary and Obama and its potential to damage the party. Dean started to babble about having "50 primaries" and "35 million names" of voters. Then, it seemed as if the tape was edited. In any case, there was a sharp interruption in the flow of the conversation.

Dean said both Dem candidates would take the country forward. of course, he said that John McCain will take the country backward. No surprise there.

Leno asked about the Florida and Michigan mess. He argued that the states should play by the rules. Dean countered that the Democrat Party didn’t want to punish the voters because the politicians screwed things up.

Dean said there will be a compromise, and like all compromises, not everyone will be happy. However, he believes that Florida and Michigan will be seated on the floor of the convention. Dean noted that the Dems need to win Florida and Michigan in November.

Leno asked Dean's opinion on John Edwards' endorsement of Obama.

Dean replied, "I'm not allowed to have an opinion."

They chatted about Edwards releasing his delegates. Dean said that he released his delegates when he lost to John Kerry in the 2004 election.

Basically, Dean was blah. He had nothing new to say. His segment wasn't entertaining and it wasn't interesting.