Obama appears on The Tonight Show

President Barack Obama appeared on the Tonight Show last night and in doing so became the first sitting president to appear on a late night talk show. The Tonight Show, hosted by Jay Leno, is better known for interviewing film and music stars. But last night, Obama took to the couch to talk about the economy and his new life.

Early in the interview, Leno asks Obama to explain the problem with executives giving themselves generous bonuses in these times of economic strife. Obama easily explains the situation with regard to insurance giant AIG; and it makes you think how Bush might have hmmed and hawwed his way to a non responsive answer.

Presumably part of this appearance was designed to reach out to Americans who don't always watch the news, so it's hard to see how this couldn't be a success. But you can't please everyone as one quote I found online demonstrates;

'Does anyone care about how much of the tax payers money was used for Obama - his family and secret service - to take a trip to the Leno show? Doesn't he have anything better to do??? Great use of our money...'

If nothing else this appearance might make the American public see the value of getting politicians and leaders in front of TV cameras without the PR smokescreen of the White House Press Room. In other countries, leaders are routinely called to answer on television but this is largely something that has never caught on in the US. This is perhaps how GW Bush managed to blunder his way through two terms in the Oval Office without anyone really coming down on him.

When RTE's Carole Coleman interviewed George Bush back in 2004 the American media and public savaged her and RTE for essentially 'not being nice' to GWB. Her interview, while possibly slightly heavy handed, was exactly the kind of accountability that is missing in America. The American public took her style of questioning as lacking respect for the President. This was because she often interrupted GWB's incoherent ramblings to bring him back on track. Would we just call that style 'forcing leaders to be accountable'? This interview was like no other for GWB, and he is clearly bewildered by Coleman's approach as you can see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fze2J2Ve9is

The full twenty five minute Obama/ Leno interview is available at http://www.nbc.com/The_Tonight_Show_with_Jay_Leno/video/clips/president-obama-319/1067541/