Is Ryan Seacrest the next Larry King?

So, the fallen King of Cable News would like to name his own successor.

Not that there's any surprise in what the soon-to-be-retired Larry King had to say on the subject. He simply repeated what he's said more than once before:

"If it was up to me, I'd have Ryan Seacrest do it," King told CBS News.

If Seacrest actually wants the job — and he hasn't said so publicly — he can't be thrilled about that. Because, clearly, none of this is up to Larry King.

If you believe that King wasn't pressured into stepping aside — as he claimed during his CNN show earlier this week — well, you ought to be very careful the next time somebody offers you a sure-fire investment.

The biggest question is which of two reasons do you believe prompted King's bosses to gently nudge — or simply shove — him out of his seat? Was it because of his atrocious ratings, or was it because he's become a laughingstock because of his messy personal life?

The obvious truth is that it's because of his lousy ratings, because if "Larry King Live" was still a success, CNN would overlook any and all of the host's personal flaws.

Hey, this is the network that hired disgraced former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer to co-host an upcoming show. And if CNN executives can get past Spitzer's history with hookers, they could certainly get past King's on-again, off-again divorce and reported affair with his sister-in-law.

Although King's messy personal life certainly provided a convenient excuse to shove a little harder to get him out of that chair.

It would be nice if CNN hired someone competent to do interviews to replace King. It would certainly be a change of pace.

And Seacrest does have experience conducting interviews on his nationally syndicated radio show.

It would be nice if CNN hired someone who had enough gravitas to be credible when he/she interviewed actual newsmakers (as opposed to simply celebrities).

Gravitas Seacrest does not have. As a matter of fact, that may be the first time "gravitas" and "Seacrest" have ever appeared in the same sentence.

Of course, any gravitas King has is simply a function of having done his job for a long time. Not ability or competence.

It's a question of what CNN wants more. You might be able to get ratings with Seacrest, although that's a very iffy proposition. It's difficult to imagine that any big fan following he might have built by hosting "American Idol" will follow him to CNN.

Unless he happens to be interviewing Adam Lambert.

But given Seacrest's increasing bizarre behavior on "Idol," can CNN even consider him? The guy seemed determined to replace Paula Abdul as "Idol's" resident lunatic this past season.