Appearances

Obama’s Late Night with Leno

Amiable appearance includes one gaffe.

President Obama established himself as virtually gaffe-proof during the campaign, but he slipped last night on The Tonight Show when he compared his bowling skills to the Special Olympics. The White House immediately issued a clarification. In other conversations with Jay Leno, Obama compared Washington to American Idol: “Everybody is Simon Cowell," he said. "Everybody's got an opinion. But that's part of what makes for a democracy. You know, it's contentious, people are hitting back." Asked whether AIG executive should go to jail, he said, "Here's the dirty little secret though. Most of the stuff that got us into trouble was perfectly legal. And that is a sign of how much we gotta change our laws."