President Obama mixed jokes with serious discussion Thursday during an appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."
While presidential candidates have used comedy shows for campaigning as far back as Richard Nixon’s performance on "Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In" in 1968, Obama became the first sitting president to appear before a late-night talk show studio audience.
Obama complimented guitarist Kevin Eubanks on his suit, and he cracked jokes about the Secret Service and "American Idol" host Simon Cowell before moving on to topical discussions of the economic crisis and the AIG bonus scandal.
"Here’s what happened. You have a company, AIG; it was a regular insurance company. Then someone decided to do a hedge fund on top and sell derivatives, etc.," he said.
"This smart person said none of these things are going to go bust. So they sold these things. Billions and billions of dollars … the whole house of cards started falling down. The problem with AIG is it owed so much," he said.
"The immediate bonuses that went to AIG are a problem, but the larger problem is we gotta get back to an attitude where people know enough is enough and people have a sense of responsibility and they understand that their actions are gonna have an impact on everybody," he said. "If we can get back to those values that built America, then I think we’re gonna be OK," he said.
Obama said earlier this week that he’ll "take responsibility" for AIG executives receiving those controversial bonuses — roughly $165 million — while the company took $173 billion in government bailouts. Congress is looking for ways to recoup all or some of that money.
Obama taped the show Thursday afternoon during a two-day swing through the Los Angeles area for town hall meetings focusing on the economy. The show airs Thursday night.
Obama also discussed the "life in the bubble," musing over how Secret Service agents would not let him walk 750 yards from Air Force One to the Costa Mesa fairgrounds, where some of the day’s activities were to take place.
He agreed with Leno’s assessment that flying in Air Force One is "pretty cool," especially because "they give you the jacket with the [presidnetial] seal on it," he said.
The only time Leno appeared to stop Obama in his tracks was when he asked the president whether he thought people intentionally lose basketball games when they play with him.
"I don’t see why they would throw the game, except for all those Secret Service guys with guns around," he said.
There’s some political risk for Obama, according to Washington Post media columnist Howard Kurtz, who also hosts CNN’s "Reliable Sources." AC360 blog: Laughing through the pain
"He has to be very careful about his tone, because if he yuks it up too much and seems to be having too good a time, it will be quite a contrast there with the pain the people are feeling with the crumbling