Bob McCarty Writes

In my post, Talk Show Appearances Could Hurt Huck and Hill, earlier today, I reported that two presidential candidates — Republican Mike Huckabee and Democrat Hillary Clinton — would make appearances on the late night talk shows, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Late Show with David Letterman, respectively.

Not unexpectedly, anti-Republican union groups immediately criticized the former Arkansas governor for crossing Writers Guild of America picket lines to appear on Leno’s NBC program. A “rush” transcript of the Huckabee-Leno conversation is available at USA TODAY. At the same time, however, it seems the same groups are giving the former First Lady a pass. Why? Because, technically, she didn’t cross the pickets lines — she appeared via satellite from Iowa.

Though no photo was available, The New York Times reported this about Hillary Clinton’s appearance on Letterman:

After the taping was concluded, the show’s producers inserted a one-line joke to precede the host’s entrance — delivered not by Mr. Letterman but by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, via satellite from Iowa, on the eve of the state’s presidential caucuses.

Tomorrow night, we’ll find out if the talk show appearances helped or hurt the White House hopefuls.