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The headlines may have been violence in Iraq and a rising death toll in Indonesia, but the top, and only, story on Wednesday’s “Today” show was Katie Couric.

Giving new meaning to the old Raymond Chandler title “The Long Goodbye,” the three-hour tribute to the longtime co-host provided all the expected mush on Couric’s last day: tears, musical montages, a live Tony Bennett performance and a look back at Couric’s 15 years on the job, which, guest Joan Rivers noted, has included 3,421 different outfits and about as many hairstyles.

“I know I’ll never have this much fun and get paid for it,” Couric said during her farewell speech. And she’s probably right. Somehow I doubt she’ll sing backup for Stevie Wonder or fly through the air in a very convincing Peter Pan costume at her new gig anchoring the “CBS Evening News.” (Though her most famous stunt, an on-air colonoscopy, will probably play well with the aging evening news audience.)

Most likely with that new job in mind, “Today” opened its ode to Katie with a look back at her hard news moxie in a segment called, simply, “Tough.” There’s Katie in New Orleans, Katie at Columbine, Katie at the Pope’s funeral. There’s Katie cornering Bush 41, telling him, “Aren’t I great? I’m one of those less contentious reporters who can convince you to stick around and talk with me because I’m so easy.”

I don’t mean to chide — Couric certainly has covered the big stories and interviewed the major players — but that’s not why viewers tune in. She’s beloved for her huge smile, her lack of inhibition, her uncanny impression of “the Elaine dance” from “Seinfeld.” So with the hard news medley out of the way a half-hour in, “Today” wisely went soft, with Couric’s co-workers paying homage in a never-ending series of speeches and remembrances, the best of which came from Couric’s longtime co-host and sparring partner Matt Lauer. “Katie is the perfect combination of Edward R. Murrow and Lucille Ball,” Lauer said as he thanked her for all the laughs over the years.

“I’ll never have a partner like you again,” Couric told Lauer, “because I’ll never be working with a partner again.”

Funny line, but also a good point. No doubt, Couric’s charisma has made “Today” the decade’s most successful morning show, but, from Bryant Gumbel (who, surprisingly, didn’t show up Wednesday) to Lauer, she’s always had the benefit and security of a sidekick, and especially with Lauer, winning chemistry. Come September, we’ll see if her charms can survive on their own.

Much has been made in the past few years about Couric’s declining popularity — viewers apparently haven’t embraced Katie the fashion plate and some changed the channel to Diane Sawyer on ABC — and her backstage tiffs with the “Today” staff. I can’t say she went a far way Wednesday morning in quelling the latter rumor, giving an odd and not exactly emotional thanks to the crew by saying that “the staff scurries around every day like elves on Christmas Eve.”

Still, Couric leaves “Today” with a pretty strong legacy. The show has regained a firm lead in the morning race and continues to rake in the dough for NBC. Couric’s former producer and ally Jeff Zucker, only 25 when he started with the perky newcomer, is now the big cheese as CEO of NBC Universal. And while battered in prime time, he can still point to his morning baby as a lucrative winner.

Above all, Couric leaves “Today” with huge, pointy, designer shoes to fill — no small task for incoming host Meredith Vieira. But if we learned anything from Wednesday morning’s three-hour Katie extravaganza, it’s that we should all be thankful they didn’t give the job to that dolt, Ann Curry.

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