Barack Obama's appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno was hyped almost as much as an American Idol finale.
The difference: American Idol finales actually are entertaining, having at least some elements of suspense and surprise.
The biggest surprise of Obama's visit to the Tonight Show was that Kevin Eubanks was wearing a suit and tie.
Obama on the Tonight Show was so familiar, and in a creepy way. There was an odd time warp aspect to it.
It was eery. He's not a candidate anymore but he still acts like one. It was déjà vu in the sense that he was in campaign mode.
Watching Obama was like watching Tonight Show reruns from December 2006, or October 2007.
Of course the conversation was coming from a different perspective, Obama being president instead of wanting to be, but it was so reminiscent of his past late night appearances. He was telling the people what he thinks they want to hear.
Occasionally during the interview, there were hints of the vast Obama plan.
OBAMA: Here's the dirty little secret, though. Most of the stuff that got us into trouble was perfectly legal. And that is a sign of how much we've got to change our laws -- right? We were talking earlier about credit cards, and it's legal to charge somebody 30 percent on their credit card, and charge fees and so forth that people don't always know what they're getting into. So the answer is to deal with those laws in a way that gives the average consumer a break.
When you buy a toaster, if it explodes in your face there's a law that says your toasters need to be safe. But when you get a credit card, or you get a mortgage, there's no law on the books that says if that explodes in your face financially, somehow you're going to be protected.
So this is -- the need for getting back to some common sense regulations -- there's nothing wrong with innovation in the financial markets. We want people to be successful; we want people to be able to make a profit. Banks are critical to our economy and we want credit to flow again. But we just want to make sure that there's enough regulatory common sense in place that ordinary Americans aren't taken advantage of, and taxpayers, after the fact, aren't taken advantage of.
Typical Obama populist stuff, but also scary.
When Obama says "that is a sign of how much we've got to change our laws," I get very nervous.
Obama left no doubts that he's standing by his man, Tim Geithner. In discussing Geithner, Obama misrepresented the situation. To put it nicely, Obama was being deceptive about Geithner's role in the AIG bailout and screw-ups. He wasn't honest with the American people.
It was disgusting when Obama said "everybody should have complete confidence in the banks."
Before, Obama was causing a panic and scaring the hell out of people. Now, he's cheer leading. The future's bright. He's morphed from a crazed Chicken Little into Pollyanna.
Yes, this was definitely Obama in campaign mode.
After all Leno's "tough" questions on the issues, there was talk about bowling and basketball and the dog.
Very stale stuff, though his line about the Special Olympics and bowling is likely to get some attention. It was thoughtless and inappropriate and not cool.
Although NBC promoted this as a news event, it wasn't. Leno was fawning, not acting as a member of the press.
Overall, Obama came across as a pleasant and likable guy, if you didn't realize that his appearance was a campaign ploy, exploiting the forum to sell his agenda via political spin and propaganda.
The main problem: Obama seemed small, not presidential.
That's probably because he's the freakin' sitting president of the United freakin' States and he was a guest on the freakin' Tonight Show!
Watch the full interview.
5 comments:
So where is your post from last April when President Bush was a guest on Deal or No Deal, joking that it was the gig with the highest ratings that he could get? Or is it only unpresidential when President Obama appears on entertainment shows?
seems like Obama would be a talk show guest since he's so good at rolling with the punches
Where's my post about President Bush? It's right here.
Bush didn't appear in the studio. He wasn't a "guest" in the sense that Obama was a guest last night.
It was a brief taped segment and the President did it to honor U.S. soldier, Captain Joe Kobes.
It's apples and oranges, "anonynous."
________
From CNSNews:
President Bush has taped a surprise "good luck" video for a U.S. soldier, Captain Joe Kobes, who is a contestant on the popular television game show, "Deal or No Deal," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said Friday.
The president's video will air on Monday's episode of NBC's "Deal or No Deal," and the network will be previewing clips from the video over the weekend.
The president's video will thank Kobes for his military service and wish him luck on the game show, in which he will compete for a top prize of $1 million. "It really is actually an emotional moment for Captain Kobes and his family," Fratto told reporters at the White House press briefing.
The president agreed to make the video when he learned from the producers of "Deal or No Deal" that he is one of Kobes' heroes.
Kobes, however, has his own claim to "hero" status, having served three tours of duty in Iraq and receiving a Purple Heart for injuries he sustained when his truck was blown up in 2004. The 29-year-old Army transportation officer volunteered for his last two Iraq deployments and has signed-up for another three-year stint with the Army.
That's right, coffee.
He's great at talk show banter. He's so smooth. He knows just what to say, especially when he's talking about his bowling game.
Looks like Obama's "foot in mouth" disease is contagious. The first Anonymous just caught it. LOL!
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