President Obama made a stop at the Tonight Show with Jay Leno tonight. It is the first time a president has made an appearance on a late night show while the sitting president. Personally, I watched looking forward to seeing the president's funny side, but I did have high hopes. I hoped Obama would not just dance around the issues and tell fluff stories, but actually use this medium as a way to reach members of the American public who may not read newspapers or watch broadcast news.
During Jay's monologue he made a few president related jokes. One was about how they wanted to also have Vice President Joe Biden on the show but because it is only an hour long show, they didn't think they would have enough time. Another joke was about how of course Obama took the chance to travel to California this week since what else are guys to do when their mother-in-law's move in with them? Another included Jay mentioning how fun he thinks it would be to be president. He joked that is he were president he would watch Air Force One while on Air Force One. Also during the opening minutes of the show, Jay pointed out how Kevin, the band leader, was dressed in a suit for the first time ever and when Obama walked out on stage, the first thing he mentioned was how good Kev looked in his suit.
I liked that Obama used this platform to share personal stories. In particular, I liked how he talked about the extreme amount of secret service protection he has and how he now has to live in a bubble. They of course also talked about cars - when does Jay not? - hybrid cars to be specific. Jay also asked Obama how exciting it is to travel on Air Force One. Obama mentioned how his daughters are not as excited about the perks of being president as they should be - for example, they would rather eat Starbursts than look at the Lincoln Memorial. And Jay even asked about the White House puppy and Obama jokingly said it has to be there shortly because he has to fulfill his campaign promise.
In hard news Obama mentioned the AIG bonuses debacle and talked about it in great detail; the new tax bill; his desire to take little steps - without rushing - to guarantee steady economic growth in the future. He talked about how he wants to break the pattern in Washington where everyone tries to find someone else to blame and even spoke directly to the public, telling them that no matter how bad the economy is, do not forget that we, as a country, have a bright future.
Jay seemed to have a good handle on the types of questions he needed to ask and also stuck in a few non-newsworthy questions that allowed Obama to relate to the audience. Overall, it was enjoyable - not too newsy as to turn off the entertainment-central audience, but also not too fluffy as to ignore the bigger issues.
Here is the entire interview:
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Did you notice how quiet the audience was throughout the interview? No cheering for good lines and policy statements, or laughing at the president's jokes. It was weird.
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