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2009-03-20 12:09:03
By Rajini Vaidyanathan
BBC News, Washington
Barack Obama has achieved many career firsts. His appearance on the Tonight
Show with Jay Leno in the US marked another, as the first sitting president to
appear on late-night talk show.
The seat next to Leno is usually occupied by A-list celebrities who are keen to
promote their new film or television series.
In many ways, the president was there to do the same by selling his economic
policies.
During the interview, which lasted more than 30 minutes, Mr Obama did provide
moments of the personal, revealing that the much anticipated First Dog would be
arriving at the White House on his return from the Nato summit.
And he said that his daughters Sasha and Malia were more impressed with the
candy on Air Force One than the amazing views it afforded of Washington DC.
But much of the tone was serious.
For a president who faces huge challenges in dealing with the financial crisis,
the massive audience and reach of the Tonight Show provided an opportunity to
remind people, if they had forgotten, of what he is doing.
"Well, look, we are going through a difficult time. I welcome the challenge.
You know, I ran for president because I thought we needed big changes.
"I do think in Washington it's a little bit like American Idol, except
everybody is Simon Cowell," Mr Obama said, referring to the popular television
talent programme and its acid-tongued judge.
Politician and personality
Jokes aside, much of the president's rhetoric was a flashback to the campaign
debates, when Mr Obama also set out his economic ideas to huge television
audiences.
The president said he was "stunned" at the size of the bonuses paid out to
executives at AIG, the crippled financial giant bailed out by American
taxpayers.
We're going to get a dog... you know, they say if you want a friend in
Washington, get a dog
Barack Obama
When asked about the public outrage over the payments, Mr Obama spoke of how
the broader culture of "entitlement" on Wall Street needed addressing.
"The question is, who in their right mind, when your company is going bust,
decides we're going to be paying a whole bunch of bonuses to people?" he said.
Words like these are bound to strike a chord with those angry about the payouts
and the way Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has handled things.
But Mr Obama mounted a rounded defence of Mr Geithner: "He is a smart guy and
he's a calm and steady guy. I don't think people fully appreciate the plate
that was handed him."
Critics will argue that an appearance on a celebrity chat show is not the best
place to expound economic ideas; but this appearance fitted in with President
Obama's mantra of wanting to take politics outside of Washington.
"Barackstar" status
His accessible language when explaining why AIG was in such financial turmoil,
or the use of a toaster analogy to argue for more regulation in the banking
system, suggested this was a direct pitch to the millions of Americans who are
counting on him to lift them out of their financial woes.
The smooth segue in conversation from economic policy to more personal matters
demonstrated Mr Obama's so-called "Barackstar" status, as a man equally happy
to play the role of politician and personality.
The president cracked jokes about the huge security operation which follows him
and his family on a daily basis.
He recounted an "example of life in the bubble", when he was told by a secret
service agent that he was not allowed to walk 750 yards (686 metres) from his
plane to a fairground: "So I was trying to calculate - well, that's like a
five-minute walk? 'Yes, sir. Sorry.'"
"Now, they let me walk on the way back. But, you know, the doctor is behind me
with the defibrillator," he joked.
In other lighter moments, the president said he had made time to hit some pins
in the White House bowling alley, but needed more practice, and that he is
going to fit a basketball court with "better rims" at his famous home too.
Mr Obama also revealed the wait for the presidential pooch will be over next
month.
"We're going to get a dog... I think the girls will have a great time - I think
I'm going to have a lot of fun with it.
"You know, they say if you want a friend in Washington, get a dog," he said.
The president's interview with Jay Leno was not about winning friends in
Washington, but winning support and popularity among the American public, on
the toughest issue facing him.