Clinton Emphasizes the Economy

She also continued to mock her own ads about taking 3 a.m. phone calls during emergencies on security issues or the economy. A short segment at the start of the show had Clinton taking a call from Leno in the wee hours of the morning, and she referred to it again later.

"It happens every single night, somebody calls up and they've got something to say," she said. Looking at Leno, she added: "You've got to stop calling."

Clinton repeated her standard defense of the role of superdelegates and called for new primaries in Florida and Michigan, but with a little added humor. Asked by Leno about superdelegates, she said: "They walk around with capes on."

Asked about a crusader for her own campaign, her husband, Clinton didn't exactly rebut Leno's comments that the former president seemed to have "lost his cool" and that he had become "literally red-faced" at times while campaigning for his wife.

"I told him, 'Okay, honey, that's all right -- we don't have to go get excited about it,'" Clinton said. "He's doing a great job for me, but he does get a little carried away sometimes."

-- Perry Bacon Jr.

COURIC'S PRIME-TIME SHOT

CBS Aims for North Carolina Debate

Hillary Clinton and Katie Couric have said yes. Now it's up to Barack Obama.

CBS, the only major network that hasn't sponsored a presidential debate this season, would very much like to hold one in North Carolina. As an added incentive, the 90-minute session would air on April 27, right after "60 Minutes," with its large audience as a lead-in.

But both Democratic campaigns were dragging their feet. So the invitations from the North Carolina Democratic Party somehow leaked, informing both candidates that Couric and Bob Schieffer were ready to host the prime-time debate in either Raleigh or Charlotte. The Clinton camp quickly agreed; the Obama team hasn't responded.

With no North Carolina face-off currently scheduled, the April 27 event, if it comes off, would be crucial in the run-up to the state's May 6 primary. Obama has no objection in principle; his campaign had earlier agreed to CBS's first suggested date, April 19, until someone discovered that it had been brilliantly scheduled for the first night of Passover.

As important as the proposed debate may be to the Democratic contenders, it is equally important to CBS executives, who have seen Couric shut out this year, while NBC's Brian Williams and ABC's Charlie Gibson have moderated a number of debates. (Gibson and George Stephanopoulos will do it again in Pennsylvania later this month.)

Couric's one shot fell through when CBS journalists threatened to join the Hollywood writers' strike, and a Democratic debate in Los Angeles had to be canceled.

-- Howard Kurtz