Leno, Letterman, and O'Brien

I know this has been done to death, and I don't have anything new to contribute. However, I found it interesting to revisit this article from 1994. I am particularly struck by this juxtaposition:

When Johnny Carson took over "The Tonight Show," in 1962, Letterman found an idol.

and

To Leno, Carson was not so much an idol as the foreman of the most important plant in the business.

This cuts to the heart of the difference between Leno and Letterman (and, I believe, Leno and O'Brien). Two men saw it as something worth doing. One man saw it as something worth having, simply because it was the thing to have. And that is why I find Leno so unappealing.