C'mon, admit it. Watching the snow-bound antics of Hillary, Bill, Huckabee, Mitt and all the others is pretty entertaining -- but it's just not the same without Leno and Letterman laughing along with the rest of us, is it? Well, the good news is the bad boys from late night are all queuing up to get their writers-strike-stricken shows back on the air. Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien are coming back on Jan. 2, and David Letterman isn't far behind, the Daily News reports. Letterman, apparently, is trying to get an exemption from the Writer's Guild of America that would allow him to come back with his writing staff. But Leno and O'Brien are apparently going to come back on the air without jokes. This is from TV Editor Richard Huff in yesterday's Daily News:

As members of the guild, Leno and O'Brien would be in violation of their contracts if they actually write jokes, according to WGA rules.

How the shows will look without writers is unclear. Producers for "Tonight" and "Late Night" said yesterday they would now sit down to plan out shows without comedy bits and sketches, which require WGA members.

No jokes? What is The Tonight Show without jokes? Charlie Rose? And get this: even if you wanted to help, NBC is saying "thanks but no thanks." The network's Web site is telling would-be comedy writers in no-uncertain terms to keep their jokes and bits to themselves (the main concern seems to be avoiding lawsuits over authorship). "NBC cannot accept, consider or pay for any unsolicited creative ideas or materials," NBC says on the "Contact Us" page. "If you send something anyway, you waive any claims with respect to your submission. So why send it?" Sheesh. What's comedy without a little kibbutzing? So NBC doesn't want your joke? Send it to us. Click on that comment box below and let's see what you've got. If we uncover a budding comedy genius out there, there could be a Washington Times coffee mug or key chain in the deal. Hey don't laugh, these key chains are practically Franklin-Mint worthy! OK. The gauntlet's tossed. Crack us up. -- David Eldridge, managing editor, WashingtonTimes.com \

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