Chris Rock doing his stand up routine

Very unusual. It's starting to feel like Letterman's stint. The audience is laughing politely (after giving him a standing ovation.) Not bad stuff, as Rock's pretty funny at times...but a weird vibe, like a lion-taming act going wrong.

Getting political...not his strong suit. This is why we avoid politics here...you can't do it without looking like a jerk to half your audience. This audience is loving it now of course. The Bush White House is putting Mr. Rock's name on the "prohibited from the grounds" list, along with Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, and Sean Penn.