Like Rodney Dangerfield, Vice President Joe Biden just can’t get no respect.
Biden will appear on the debut episode of “Late Night with Seth Meyers” Tuesday morning, but the man second in line to be president of the United States will not get top billing: He will be the second guest, not the first.
The honor of being the show’s first guest goes to comedian Amy Poehler, who Meyers hosted “Weekend Update” with when they both were cast members on “Saturday Night Live.”
Traditionally, the most important non-musical guest gets to be the first guest out on the couch on all late-night shows. The importance of being the first guest was satirized on a recent episode of the Showtime show “Episodes” when former “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno made a cameo appearance. Matt LeBlanc, who plays himself on the show, verbally accosts Leno over the indignity of being the second guest.
LeBlanc’s slight was fictional. Biden’s is all too real.
Biden isn’t the only political figure to get second-guest treatment. Recently John Boehner and Ted Cruz got the second position during their appearances on late-night shows, though in fairness, both appeared on an 11:35 p.m. late-night show and neither are vice president of the United States.
“Late Night with Seth Meyers” premiers on NBC at 12:35 a.m. ET Tuesday.