Conan vs. Newark, New Jersey

It all started a few weeks ago when Conan made a joke about Newark, New Jersey. It went a little something like this:

“The mayor of Newark, N.J. wants to set up a citywide program to improve residents’ health. The health care program would consist of… a bus ticket out of Newark.”

Har har. Standard Newark, N.J. joke material, right?

But the mayor of Newark, Cory Booker, responded by posting a video on his Twitter account announcing that Gingerclops had been “banned” from Newark Liberty International Airport. That prompted Conan to form “alliances” with Newark’s surrounding territories, and gain access to one segment of the airport that lies outside the Newark metro area. Which then prompted mayor Booker to extend the Conan ban to all of New Jersey (and parts of Ghana).

It all came to a head last night when Booker visited the tonight show. The two have made nice-nice by exchanging a few jokes, a few handshakes, and a few thousand dollars. O’Brien and NBC have donated $100,000 to Booker’s Newark Now charity.

Admittedly, the feud was facetious, and I feel sorry for the few Newark residents that took it seriously– not because they were duped, but because they live in Newark. (badum-ching!)

Whoever is doing PR for Cory Booker deserves a big bonus. The guy has almost a million followers on Twitter, and has made successful appearances on Real Time with Bill Maher, The Colbert Report, and now The Tonight Show. By becoming a “new media darling” he’s also managed to get the first positive press for Newark in my lifetime (and probably yours too). To quote one reporter, “The only time a Newark mayor made national headlines before Cory Booker was when they were indicted or went to jail.”