Willie,
You really shouldn't be all
that critical of Ned Stuart's "touchy-feely" contact with other people. The poor fellow obviously watches the "ageless" Regis Philbin and the unfailingly self-effacing Kelly Ripa, hugging and smooching the eclectic likes of Courtney Cobain, Snoop Doggie-Dog, Joy Behar, Jennifer Aniston and Perez Hilton, etc., on their enthralling t.v. show each and every day.
So, Ned is merely following the accepted contemporary social etiquette set by Regis, Kelly and that other paragon of unremitting class and good taste, Maury Povich, simply
THE greatest man who ever lived!
Bob the Bartender, President of the Ricky Paul Goldin Fan Club