At his latest stop on the talk show circuit, President Obama enjoyed the limelight of “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” on Wednesday evening.
Mr. Leno’s mix of questions ranged from “Meet the Press” caliber inquiries to total softball questions a la “The View” and covered topics from Obama’s debate performances to who he favors in the World Series. Here are five big takeaways.
About That Debate Performance…
Leno made sure to ask the President about his shockingly dismal performance during his first presidential debate against opponent Mitt Romney. Wanting to maintain the perennial cool guy position, Obama settled on formatting as the primary problem.
“This is not a natural way of communicating, sitting next to someone and having an extended argument,” said Obama.
I suppose the President skipped the day in law school they discussed effective arguing techniques.
Obama: Defender of Detroit
When asked about his pick for the World Series, President Obama walked the crowd through his logic for cheering on the Detroit Tigers.
“I’ve spent a lot of time in Detroit. I didn’t let Detroit go bankrupt. I’m a little partial,” said President Obama. Clearly, this is airtight logic for cheering on a sport’s team.
Later in the interview, Obama made sure tout his love of electric cars when describing a joy ride he took around the White House driveway. The car he loved a lot was of course the Chevy Volt… manufactured in Detroit.
For all intents and purposes, President Obama “has Detroit’s back.”
No such thing as women’s issues
On one of the more serious notes, Leno asked the President his thoughts on Richard Mourdock’s recent “controversial” remarks about rape. The President took this time to comment on the importance of Planned Parenthood and Roe vs. Wade.
President Obama reminded the crowd, “These are not women’s issues, these are family issues.” Apparently the War on Women just ended at midnight…on Leno.
And what’s more, the president entirely mischaracterized Mourdock’s comments, saying they were about “various distinctions about rape.” The President appears to have been confusing Mourdock’s comments about God’s plan for babies conceived via the tragic and criminal circumstances of rape with Missouri Senate Candidate Todd Akin’s comments about legitimate rape.
Birtherism Doesn’t Go Unnoticed
With the release of Donald Trump’s “October Surprise”, Leno asked the President his thoughts regarding the longstanding feud with Trump.
“This dates back to when we were growing up together in Kenya,” the President quipped.
This zinger drew big laughs from the crowd, but also showed Obama’s irritation with Trump’s fixation on the birther issue.
Ohio 101
An innocent question about Halloween candy showed the President’s preoccupation with Ohio. Leno asked President Obama if the First Lady planned to hand out healthy snacks for Halloween this year.
“It’s an election year, candy for everybody. Also, if anyone comes from Ohio, you get a big Hershey bar.”
I guess everyone could use a little candy after the last four years.
