Barack Obama: Feels at ease at 'Tonight'

Barack Obama: Feels at ease at 'Tonight'

Jay Leno and President Barack Obama seemed to have gelled together quite well thereby proving the assumption that television talk shows become a battleground where hosts and newsmakers criticize with each other.

"Mr. President, I must say this has been one of the best nights of my life." A beaming Leno made the announcement at the end of Obama's visit on Thursday to the "Tonight" show.

From Barack Obama Leno enquired about difficult issues like AIG's executive bonuses and criticism of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

Truly it was a sharp contrast to the recent high drama of CNBC host Jim Cramer's painful appearance on Jon Stewart 's show or David Letterman 's roasting of John McCain during the presidential campaign.

Welcoming Mr. Obama Jay Leno remarked, "I'm excited, I'm honored to introduce my next guest, the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama." Leno said it while his studio band played "Hail to the Chief."

From the beginning Barack Obama knew that it would not be a grueling exercise. Leno asked whether it would be fair to be "judged so quickly" after less than 2 months in office.

Obama added, "I welcome the challenge," "In Washington, it's a little bit like 'American Idol,' but everybody is Simon Cowell . Everybody's got an opinion."

The tone became serious when the economic crisis was the topic. However it was never Leno’s intention to make the president sweat.

Leno observed that Barack Obama had appeared "angry" and "stunned" about the AIG bonuses.

"Stunned is the word," replied Obama and then launched into a lengthy description of how the insurance giant collapsed and why the company bonuses symbolize the larger issue of Wall Street's "attitude of entitlement."

If Leno had a bone to pick, it was with federal efforts to tax the AIG bonuses out of existence.

Mr. Leno said, "If the government decides they don't like a guy, all of a sudden, 'Hey, we're gonna tax you”.

However  the biggest dig was against Leno's own network.

"A lot of people were surprised that the president came to NBC. You'd think by this time he'd be tired of big companies on the brink of disaster with a bunch of overpaid executives." Leno said so during his monologue.

The White House scheduled the "Tonight" appearance as part of a broader outreach for the promotion of agenda of Barack  Obama's agenda . Also he already had appeared on ESPN's "SportsCenter" this week and includes a "60 Minutes" interview that is scheduled to be aired on Sunday, plus a prime-time news conference on Tuesday.

On "Tonight," Obama had enough running room on to display his comedic chops as Leno delved into what he called "some personal things" with the president.

Leno pressed him on when daughters Malia and Sasha would get their pet dog.

"This is Washington. That was a campaign promise." This was Barack Obama’s reply  to the pet question, drawing audience laughter. He continued, "No, no, no, no, no, I'm teasing. The dog will be there shortly."

This thirty five minute interview with U.S president was the only one on the show, which ended with a performance by Garth Brooks and with Leno warmly applauding Obama.