Write in the Kisser

As if the world didn’t have enough on its mind already, MSNBC is reporting that there is a good chance Ryan Seacrest might actually take over hosting duties on “Larry King Live” in 2009.

Ummm, wtf? Ryan Seacrest? The guy who hosts some of the most vapid and superficial shows in American media today in American Idol, E! News, On Air with Ryan Seacrest, American Top 40, and Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, among others? That Ryan Seacrest?!?

Larry King himself is apparently enthusiastic over the choice of Seacrest, praising him in the New York Times as “the classic generalist.” King then goes on to muse, “the only thing I don’t know, and I’ve gotten to know him pretty well, is how versed he is in politics, world affairs. Does he read the paper? Is he interested in Iraq? Because if he is, he’s going to be very good.”

Yes, I have no doubt that the man who E! has tapped to helm its red carpet awards show coverage until basically the end of time is extremely well versed in politics and world affairs. I can’t wait to hear him interrogate truculent dictators on the efficacy of their tie and jacket combinations, followed with a penetrating and insightful musical montage devoted to “A Visual History of Jackboots in Dictatorial Regimes.”