Anderson Cooper, Jay Leno, and American Idol

On Monday's Tonight Show, Anderson Cooper was Jay Leno's guest.

They talked politics, and of course they paid homage to Obama.

It was boring. Same old, same old. The audience was bored as well.

After the stale political talk, Cooper and Leno talked about American Idol.

Apparently, Cooper is a big Idol fan. When he gets home from work, he says he enjoys watching it, to decompress and relax.

On a card, Leno had the photos of the four remaining contestants. Leno asked Cooper to say a few words about each of them.

Cooper claimed he didn't know their names. That's crap. He said he's a fan. At this point in the show, when there are just four contestants left, there's no way Cooper wouldn't know any of their names.

Starting with Adam Lambert, Cooper said, "I know that's Adam, and he has black nail polish, and he's really good."

Then on to Allison Iraheta. Cooper said, "She's amazing." He also knew that she had just turned 17 a week or two ago.

The only thing Cooper had to say about Kris Allen was that he bites his lip. I never noticed that. I guess Cooper really pays attention to Kris.

The final photo was of Danny Gokey. Cooper said, "This one, I think he's gonna get voted off."

Some in the audience reacted to that by booing, disagreeing with Cooper. Obviously, Danny has plenty of fans.

Cooper said to the audience, "I'm not saying he should. I just think that. I don't know."

UPDATE, May 6, 2009: Cooper was wrong. Allison Iraheta was sent home. Danny is in the Top Three.

Leno asked Cooper which contestant he thought would win. Cooper hesitated. He didn't want to answer, but finally indicated that it would be between Adam and Kris by pointing at their photos.

I don't believe that Cooper is a fan and doesn't know their names. Either he's not much of a fan or he does know their names.

Leno pressed Cooper for a prediction. Eventually, he pointed at Adam. "I'd say him."

Leno also brought up the rumors about Simon Cowell leaving the show. Cooper mentioned that he had interviewed Simon for 60 Minutes.

He said that he likes to hear what Simon has to say, but sometimes he'll fast forward through the other judges when watching the show, "just Paula, actually."

The audience laughed and booed and hissed. Cooper tried to explain that he doesn't have time to watch it all.

Then, Cooper reiterated that he would fast forward through Paula's comments. He said, "I don't have the time for her. She goes on so long. And I don't know what she's saying half the time."

The audience really reacted to that. Some applauded, some booed.

Cooper went on, saying he enjoys watching Paula talk but not hearing what she has to say.

Leno asked Cooper if he could get him a bigger shovel to dig a bigger hole for himself.

Of course, it was a very lighthearted conversation and all in good fun.

I'm really surprised that Cooper thought Danny would be voted off this week. He's the only contestant of the remaining four to have never been in the bottom three.

Cooper is wrong. Danny is not going home.

Leno noted that it wasn't until they started talking about American Idol that the audience reacted and became vocal. People didn't get excited about Pakistan or Afghanistan.

No kidding. We get enough news and lib propaganda throughout the day. I don't know why Leno keeps booking these Lefty news channel personalities.