Conan O’Brien’s 10th anniversary

This weekend NBC will air the 10th anniversary celebration of Late Night with Conan O’Brien. In those ten years, I’ve gone from someone who would watch the show on occasion to someone who desperately needs to be asleep by the time he’s on. That said, he’s still a funny guy. For those fellow readers who ...

By , a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast.

This weekend NBC will air the 10th anniversary celebration of Late Night with Conan O'Brien. In those ten years, I've gone from someone who would watch the show on occasion to someone who desperately needs to be asleep by the time he's on. That said, he's still a funny guy. For those fellow readers who need their sleep, go read Conan's commencement speech to the Havard Class of 2000 -- it's pretty damn funny. Here's part of his closing:

This weekend NBC will air the 10th anniversary celebration of Late Night with Conan O’Brien. In those ten years, I’ve gone from someone who would watch the show on occasion to someone who desperately needs to be asleep by the time he’s on. That said, he’s still a funny guy. For those fellow readers who need their sleep, go read Conan’s commencement speech to the Havard Class of 2000 — it’s pretty damn funny. Here’s part of his closing:

So, that’s what I wish for all of you: the bad as well as the good. Fall down, make a mess, break something occasionally. And remember that the story is never over. If it’s all right, I’d like to read a little something from just this year: “Somehow, Conan O’Brien has transformed himself into the brightest star in the Late Night firmament. His comedy is the gold standard and Conan himself is not only the quickest and most inventive wit of his generation, but quite possible the greatest host ever.” Ladies and Gentlemen, Class of 2000, I wrote that this morning, as proof that, when all else fails, there’s always delusion.

Read the whole thing.

Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner

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