Dressed in a dark blue suit, red tie and looking reasonably relaxed, President Barack Obama made history again—this time as the first sitting president to appear on a late-night talk show. The President walked out to a rousing applause on NBC’s “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” Thursday night, giving band leader Kevin Eubanks a hearty handshake before sitting down with Leno. The two bantered about the President’s first 59 days in office, where he’s had to face everything from the AIG bonus debacle to convincing the country that the Recovery Act will work.
The President spoke at length about his plan to break the indulgent, greedy patterns that got the country into the economic crisis we’re currently facing and making decisions to ensure that checks and balanced are put into place.
“The problem is not just what’s happened over the last six months. The problem is what was happening for years, where people were able to take huge excessive risks with other people’s money, putting the entire financial system at risk,” said President Obama.
After the hard questions about the economy, our banks, the recession, and ultimately being the one guy who’s responsible for fixing it all, the President opened up about how he spends his free time which apparently includes improving his bowling skills in the White House.
“I bowled a 129,” said Mr. Obama. “It was like Special Olympics or something.” A line that unfortunately got the President in a bit of hot water and forced the White House to issue an apology, explaining that the President meant no harm by his statement.
And finally, we learned that the Obama family’s long-awaited dog is on its way. The President promised that by the time he returns from his trip to NATO, the “First Pooch” will have its new home. “We’re going to get a dog that I think the girls will have a great time with. I think I’m going to have a lot of fun with it,” said Mr. Obama. “You know they say if you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.”
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