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Why Obama, Entertainer In Chief, Wins by Going on Leno’s Show

Posted Mar 19, 2009 by Walt Belcher

Updated Mar 19, 2009 at 08:49 AM

President Barack Obama has nothing to lose and plenty to gain by sitting next to Jay Leno tonight.

This president just keeps on making history. It’s a first for a sitting Commander in Chief to appear on the “Tonight” show.

If nothing happens to derail this appearance (such as a national crisis) then Obama’s 10-minute guest appearance could double Leno’s audience from the usual five million viewers to more than 10 million.

Detractors are crying that the appearance demeans the presidency and is just stunt to push Obama’s $3.55 trillion budget package. Well, dud? Yes, the Entertainer in Chief is one crafty dude.

We haven’t had a president this comfortable on camera since Ronald Reagan who also pushed his favorite legislative projects by garnering public support.

Despite Republican snipping, continued criticism from powerful conservative trend setters like Rush Limbaugh and an economy still in the toilet, Obama’s popularity remains high.

His personality is his biggest strength and there’s a chance to build some public goodwill before his primetime pitch on Tuesday, aimed at reassuring Americans on the economy while interrupting our favorite prime-time series.

Leno may be an Obama fan but he might get in at least one or two prickly jabs.

Here are some recent examples:

“President Obama got some good news today. It seems so many of his cabinet appointees have been forced to pay their back taxes, he now gets a finder’s fee from the IRS.”

“I tell you, the economy is in bad shape. In fact, the economy is so bad, President Barack Obama’s new slogan is ‘Spare Change You Can Believe In.’”

“Barack Obama said yesterday that the economy was ‘going to get worse before it gets better.’ See, that’s when you know the campaign is really over. Remember before the election? ‘The audacity of hope!’ ‘Yes, we can!’ ‘A change we can believe in!’ Now it’s, ‘We’re all screwed.’”

Obama is no stranger to “Tonight.” He came off as charming and clever when he was Leno’s guest during the presidential election.

White House aides say the President wants to use media other than the traditional press corps to get his message across. This is the first President to use a blackberry and the first with online communication savvy.
Obama’s so hip that we can’t rule out a Twitter news conference as guest role on “Desperate Housewives” or “24.” And if he can sing, he might even show up on “American Idol.”

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