Out of the White House: President Obama Interviews with Jay Leno

In today’s world, political leaders from around the globe utilize unconventional media channels to reach a wider audience beyond their typical followers. Knowing that people will usually support those they appreciate and connect with on a personal level, President Barack Obama recently appeared on The Tonight Show with host Jay Leno, where he discussed “politics, the economy and adjusting to his new lifestyle." While others have obviously turned to television shows for publicity during their candidacy or after their term in office, Obama is the first sitting president in the United States to appear on a talk show, and for good reason. The appearance of a figure as prominent as the President of the United States of America on live national television is risky – it leaves the interviewee open to countless amounts of criticism, while at the same time providing an incredible amount of publicity. The President, however, chose to embrace this challenge in order to achieve his political goals of gaining popular support for his current projects in Washington.

President Obama’s objective with this particular interview was clear from the onset as he demonstrated his desire to connect with the average American. From cracking jokes about the White House and the slow manner in which Washington takes care of business to teasing about picking winning teams from swing states, the President holds no bars in trying to side with the American people about the current state of our nation. Even his choice of which talk show would be best indicates that the President had a wide range of individuals he intended on reaching with his message, as the program has a regular audience of approximately 5 million viewers from practically every demographic in the United States. One critic has even argued that, “The White House move is every bit as calculated as a Hollywood studio’s campaign for a new blockbuster.” The President utilized his easygoing personality and pleasant sense of humor as he took this publicity opportunity to explain aspects of the country’s current financial crisis that are difficult concepts to grasp for someone not educated in economics and creative financing. Clearly aware of his audience, the President broke down the crisis into simple terms, gearing viewers’ understanding towards a more accepting point of view of the policies of his administration. Obama’s comments steered those viewers that happened to be on the fence in their opinion on the President’s direction with the financial crisis to take a more favorable view and hold fast to their faith in his plan. As some critics have noted, it seems as if President Obama attempted to lengthen, or at the very least, to continue, his honeymoon period with this interview.

The positive attention and welcome reception of TV audiences is one of the many positives to this type of publicity. Audiences from coast to coast see the President talking one on one with someone they are already comfortable watching on a nightly basis, discussing not just politics and economics, but also his own day to day life. In this sense, the President becomes a real person, rather than an out of touch, elitist figure in Washington. Furthermore, the audience that he does reach is extremely diverse. Obama’s message about patience and endurance which he carries over from his inauguration speech reaches not just those viewers who regularly tune in to political news shows and the State of the Union address, but people from every age, ethnicity, background, occupation, and status across the nation. And in this interview, he demonstrates that he has a personality, and an infectious one at that. In his discussions about his family, his free time, his dog, and his athleticism, the President shows his likeness to the very people he leads, giving him credibility with those who would like to see more of their own in leadership. There is, however, a considerable amount of criticism for the President’s decision to appear on The Tonight Show. Mary Kate Cary, former speechwriter for President Bush #41, writes in her blog that the type of public appearance that President Obama chose has the tendency to decrease his political legitimacy. Cary argues that, “As much as President Obama would like to be a man of the people, a ‘regular guy,’ he's not anymore.” She states that his duties are to be the Commander-in-Chief and the leader of the Executive Branch of the government. Cary feels as if Obama’s appearance on Leno’s show makes him, “just one more talk show guest, a celebrity on the circuit promoting his latest movie or book.” Cary and other politically minded Americans feel that the President should pay his respect to the office and the position that he holds, and stop attempting to devalue it to make it a more casual, down-to-earth process.

Cary’s attitudes are shared by many others that are not part of the inner circle in Washington or any part of the political arena. In responses to her blog, as well as in responses to other posts written about the Presidential TV appearance, viewers expressed their disappointment with the President. Many focused on specific quotes that they disagreed with, particularly focusing on Obama’s comment about the Special Olympics. Quoting directly from the interview, the President said, “I bowled a 129…It's like -- it was like Special Olympics, or something.” The joke was meant to be all in good humor, with Obama teasing himself, and was not meant to be demeaning to disabled or handicapped citizens. Many took the joke to be offensive, or simply found it to be an inappropriate comment for a President. While some focused on specific quotes, others were angered by the very idea of Obama taking the time to do this interview, just as he takes the time to do other leisurely activities in his free time. One person said, “the Economy is in shambles.....and he's picking out his Basketball final four? He's working on his bowling? AND NOW HE'S LAUGHING IT UP ON THE TONIGHT SHOW????!!!!!! For all of you out of work that happened to watch the show....how's your confidence in our Prez now?” Viewers that agree with this statement feel that the President should be doing more to fix the country’s financial problems rather than taking the time to fly across the country to appear on a television show, much less taking the time to watch sports on TV and practice playing basketball with his assistants.

Obama’s publicity technique of sharing his infectious personality and upbeat sense of humor publicly on a talk show is not a typical one for American Presidents. The harsh criticisms of his audience are the risk that he took when he decided to do an unscripted, unprompted live television interview on a comedy talk show. He left himself at the mercy of the American people. He was required to be funny in order to win the hearts of his citizens, but he took the chance knowing that not everyone would think his jokes were humorous, nor would he win unanimous agreements. The type of interview he did had little to do with policymaking; its purpose was more to make the American public fall in love with him and to maintain the honeymoon period of the beginning of his term in office. Mary Kate Cary, on the other hand, feels that this appearance has the opposite affect on the President’s popularity. Cary contends that this interview will actually lessen his honeymoon period because it will diminish his reputation with elite government officials who are looking very critically at the President’s every move. Her ideas were also supported by several comments to her post, which express views that this publicity move is mainly about being a celebrity instead of being a policymaker.

In plowing about the blogosphere, however, it becomes apparent that those who criticize Obama now are those who have always criticized him. The most adamant members of the opposition to the President have been so since the beginning – they were the ones who did not vote for him, who have consistently argued against him, and who have been very vocal about their disagreements. The politically conservative, like Cary, disagree with his approach to the White House and prefer a more traditional, formal type of policymaking process, rather than Obama’s more casual and down-to-earth methods. Events like the appearance on The Tonight Show add fuel to their fire: they see publicity moves like this as wastes of taxpayer time and money. However, these are not necessarily the people that Obama attempted to reach with his appearance on the talkshow. The most impressionable audience for the President’s charm correspond with the audience of The Tonight Show. They are people who are not necessarily politically-minded, who may not have know an extensive amount of Obama’s background, and who typically turn to the media to help them form their ideas about politics. Along with these people come those who have been uncertain of what to think of the President and his first few days in office, as well as those who started out as supporters but have begun to doubt. This audience, as opposed to those who already have a bitter taste in their mouth for Obama, is a more receptive one. The President’s requests for patience, endurance, and understanding from the American people are geared towards these viewers that are willing to listen to what he has to say and are not opposed to taking a liking to the President if their hearts allow. Thus, President Obama’s methods are effective for his purpose – he wins over those who have yet to be won over, and remains consistent in his methods of managing his job as President of the United States.