Dear Jimmy Kimmel: Now It's Time To Have Beto O'Rourke On Your Show

Late night television's relationship with high-profile political guests is always fraught with danger. No politician is going to come on a show where they feel it's likely they'll be attacked for two segments. But if the host tries to keep it light-hearted and friendly, then they run the risk of having a moment like Jimmy Fallon's infamous playful ruffling of Donald Trump's hair during a September 2016 appearance on "The Tonight Show." National television exposure - especially when it's mostly friendly - is a gift to any politician. Especially a politician locked in a tough election campaign.

ABC host Jimmy Kimmel has raised the level of his political jabs in the past couple of years, primarily due to his opinions on health care. But at his heart, Kimmel is still a lovable goofball who is more comfortable taking a jab at a politician's clothing choices than their beliefs. And from my perspective, this week's shows culminated in an event which I think is probably as tone deaf as Fallon's attempts to see if Donald Trump's hair is real.

Earlier this month, Kimmel poked fun at Cruz for attending a Houston Rockets playoff game with a "super cool T-shirt over the polo look." That led Cruz to challenge him to play some basketball to settle the score and the two faced off last night at a charity basketball event in Houston.

So why was this a bad idea? Wasn't it for charity? Yes, both Cruz and Kimmel pledged $10,000 to their opponent's charity. And the event gave Kimmel plenty of attention the chance to take some more shots at Cruz, like this video of Kimmel taunting Cruz on the court with "Did you spend more time this week practicing basketball than trying to get those kids out of that detention center?"

But for all of the fun, it's important to remember another important fact about Ted Cruz. He's in the midst of an increasingly tough Senate campaign and this week's game and all of the press surrounding it was worth millions in free publicity to Cruz. Even Cruz's biggest supporters will admit he can often be awkward and distant in public. And like Fallon's playful antics with Trump, Jimmy Kimmel has given Ted Cruz the opportunity to soften his image. Not just nationally, but back in Texas where he really needs the help.

So on the same weekend Ted Cruz was getting his basketball skills on, Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke was on the U.S./Mexican border arguing against the Trump immigration policies that separate children from their parents at the border. He was also criticizing rival Ted Cruz for supporting the Trump Administration. But comparatively fewer people saw O'Rourke's events, since every local TV newscast and radio report this weekend highlighted the charity basketball event.

There's nothing inherently wrong with shooting some hoops with Ted Cruz for charity. And to give yourself plenty of fun footage to air on next week's shows. But I think it's only fair that if Jimmy Kimmel has decided to gift the Cruz campaign with such a wonderful amount of free press, the least he can do is to try and level the playing field a bit and invite Beto O'Rourke on to his show to talk about why he's running against Ted Cruz.

C'mon, Jimmy. Let's play fair.