Believe me, you're not alone. Carson was priceless, a true professional.
Although Leno has his good moments, he could never adequately fill Johnny's shoes. As for Letterman, once upon a time, his Top Ten Lists and Stupid Pet Tricks could be amusing and downright funny at times. But he couldn't hold a candle to Carson at all.
And even though Jon Stewart isn't a part of the Network Meltdown, you can add his name to the list of excruciatingly Unfunny Comedians posing as Talk Show Hosts.
If the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences wishes to completely decimate and bury the Oscar telecast even further than six feet, Stewart's their guy. That was also one of the television entertainment chores Johnny Carson handled superbly.
I disagree, he was well on his way to replacing Carson. He got screwed by NBC and that was the end of his magic. He would have been the perfect fit for an era which was passing Carson by. Carson left at the right time; he was getting stale.