Obama on Tonight Show (Sorry, Johnny)

Several bloggers attempted to post President Obama's Thurday night appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno today but wound up with blank screens due to NBC's assertion of copyright. Here is the sanctioned NBC uplink to the entire visit:

As Enterprising Investor Forum wrote, "It’s really excellent that he actually went on the show and also good to see that the President has not lost his sense of humor!"

Alternatively, you can just check out NBC's highlights reel of the interview:

This was the first appearance by a sitting president on the iconic late-night Tonight Show; George W. Bush appeared on the game show Deal or No Deal late in his term, and Presidential candidate Bill Clinton played the saxophone on The Arsenio Hall show in 1992.

See also NYT's review of last night's show.

Direct link to NBC video

Comments

[User 373658:]

The weather report must have been bad. Talk about a snow job.

Mar 20 04:28 PM

[Tony Petroski:]

I couldn't tell from the clip (and I missed the live show): Did the president take a seat on the couch and sit through the next guest? If so, then he is truly a man of the people. If not, I won't be voting for him next time.

Mar 20 08:10 PM

[FE812:]

Preface: If he wants to go on the Tonight Show more power to him. I'm simply using this occasion to make a point.


There was so much commotion over passing the stimulus bill ... We had to have it that day ... There was no time to waste ... So little time in fact that the bill had to be voted on only hours after it was finalized; before anyone could read it (a fact now showing it's ugly head with AIG). But now that the stimulus has been passed, the country is saved, all is well and there is time to go visit Jay ...

Mar 21 12:06 AM

[PROXIMO:]

Obama's comment about the Special Olympics landed him in some deep sh#t. Don't you know he'd like to take that one back.

Mar 21 12:16 AM

[notsosmart:]

blah,blah,blah.so much time to kill.LOL

Mar 21 11:31 AM

[Mad Hedge F...:]

Good job! I thought President Obama did a pretty good job with comedian Jay Leno last night. With some pundits already pronouncing his administration a failure, he has the moxie to appear on a late night talk show. For the last eight years, presidential visits to California have been about as frequent as Bigfoot sightings. You can diss all those rumors about Treasury secretary Tim Geithner resigning anytime soon. After 59 days in the White House his bowling score is up to 129. All of his favorite picks for the Final Four basketball championships were in politically sensitive swing states (North Carolina, Indiana, Iowa). While playing basketball, he doesn’t get knocked down as much while the secret service is watching, guns at hand. Obama still has the magic touch, speaking with the deliberateness of a trial lawyer, but with the folksy charm of your local barber. One thing is for sure though. Your taxes are going up, baby.

Mar 21 11:45 AM

[Ted Aguhob:]

I saw it..it was funny

Mar 21 12:21 PM

[Obamitall:]

He is still campaigning-or is it for the next election?

Mar 21 03:17 PM

[Ajax:]

How un-Presidential! Somehow I thought the President was suppposed to provide leadership, etc. not late night entertainment. What a quaint thought.

Mar 21 07:57 PM

[tc1:]

President Obama DID provide leadership, not just entertainment, on Leno's Tonight Show. For instance, his explanation of the AIG crisis was lucid and cogently articulated why AIG needed to be bailed out due to counterparty risk with the investment banks. He also reaffirmed our true American values of solidarity and fairness.

Btw, I'd rather have our president out in front and upfront with us, rather than hide in the shadows like W. Bush and Dick Cheney (evidently the real power behind the throne these last 8 years).

Mar 21 11:38 PM

[Paul H. M.:]

My thoughts exactly. Obama rocks.

Well after Bush, I guess any president with the slightest amount of intellect seems awesome.

Just hope that if the GOP beats Obama in four years, they finally pick somebody smart, thoughtful, and articulate like Obama.

Reagan, Bush 1 and 2, McCain: all guys who didn't have much of a brain (Reagan had Alzheimer while in office).

I actually agree with the GOP on certain issues, but I can't vote for the retards they put in front of me. Why does the GOP always nominate mentally handicapped people to be President? Doesn't make sense.

On Mar 21 11:38 PM tc1 wrote:

> President Obama DID provide leadership, not just entertainment, on
> Leno's Tonight Show. For instance, his explanation of the AIG crisis
> was lucid and cogently articulated why AIG needed to be bailed out
> due to counterparty risk with the investment banks. He also reaffirmed
> our true American values of solidarity and fairness.
>
> Btw, I'd rather have our president out in front and upfront with
> us, rather than hide in the shadows like W. Bush and Dick Cheney
> (evidently the real power behind the throne these last 8 years).

Mar 22 01:04 AM

[CNN Circus:]

<Messiah Obama the demo figurehead has done it again---he and the house &senate democrats making all this noise about Aig bonuses worth a bit over a million while they were in the "back room" devaluing our dollar to the tune of one and a half trillion bucks laying the groundwork for the sizeable taxes coming down the pike to pay for all the stimulus {union perk jobs}, tarps, auto bailouts, and other pork in various forms, etc.
Yes, Bush and Cheney aren't as lucid and articulate as Obama, however, the democrats have been in charge of congress for the last 2 1/2 yrs. and have been in control the congressional finance committees{led by Franks}. They made decisions for quite some time now , which have in this financial hole, which seems to be getting darker. Your articulating leader Obama is buffaloing a nation of mostly sheep, lulling them into the land of much higher taxation and recession and shifting the war from Iraq to a much larger engagement in Afganistan and Pakistan.
Your scapegoats are gone. Never put the blame on one man for the failures of this nation! To do so is idiotic! Political party control is to blame and this power sits in our Congress in the Ways & Means , and Finance committees especially.
Hold on for the real rough ride ahead!!!!


On Mar 21 11:38 PM tc1 wrote:

> President Obama DID provide leadership, not just entertainment, on
> Leno's Tonight Show. For instance, his explanation of the AIG crisis
> was lucid and cogently articulated why AIG needed to be bailed out
> due to counterparty risk with the investment banks. He also reaffirmed
> our true American values of solidarity and fairness.
>
> Btw, I'd rather have our president out in front and upfront with
> us, rather than hide in the shadows like W. Bush and Dick Cheney
> (evidently the real power behind the throne these last 8 years).

Mar 22 02:01 AM

[TCK:]

I thought Obama was trying out for his next job. He has already been working on the comedy routine while in office. I really liked the ones about no more earmarks and an end to lobbyists. Unfortunately, most of the people who voted for him don't really get those jokes. Look for him to "tweak" his routine by adding some populist knee slappers such as cutting the deficit in half after just doubling it.

While most people don’t enjoy dry humor, I think it is hilarious !

Mar 23 07:42 AM