SALON

Thursday, Oct 25, 2012 3:40 PM UTC

Obama delivers an unflinching, witty performance on “Leno”

The president was at ease on "The Tonight Show," discussing rape, Romney and his childhood with Trump in Kenya

By

Topics: tonight show, President Obama, Elections 2012, Donald Trump, Jay Leno, TV, Barack Obama, Television, Trump, ,

Obama delivers an unflinching, witty performance on

There’s been much spin of late that Obama’s on the defensive — because, you know, criticizing a front-running senatorial candidate for saying “God intended” rape is what nervous losers do. But it was pretty hard to argue that last night in the president’s assured, charming performance on a very friendly “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.” As Jay joked in the monologue, President Obama “only does these [type of] shows once or twice a week now,” so he’s no stranger to the format. We’re only two weeks from Election Day, and Obama seemed remarkably at ease, exhibiting none of the uptight professorial vibe he sometimes trots out at these things. Those notes he got after the first debate seem to have stuck.

Really, though: When Leno asked about the first debate, Obama copped to having done a poor job. “Clearly I had a bad night, because the whole point is for Americans to understand the stakes,” he said. “If you don’t have the energy to make people snap up, you’re not doing your job.”

This note seemed to suffuse Obama’s casual late-night performance. Whether cracking jokes or glossing policy, Obama was his second and third debate self, bright-eyed and keyed up, numbering his policy positions, keeping it clear and sticking it to Romney. Asked about his position on the Detroit vs. San Francisco World Series, Obama went there, pointing out he hadn’t let Detroit go bankrupt. Asked about Richard Mourdock’s recent comments, Obama said, “Rape is rape.” (Or actually, “I don’t know how these guys come up with these things. Rape is rape. It is a crime. These various distinctions about rape don’t make too much sense to me, don’t make any sense to me. This is why you don’t want a bunch of politicians, mostly male, making decisions about women’s healthcare.”)

For a late show appearance, this one was fairly substantive. Leno played the Jim Lehrer role of setting up the topics (so what about Afghanistan?) and letting Obama knock ‘em down. But the purpose of shows like this is to push the candidate’s likability, more than their wonkery: The jokes matter most. And they were pretty sharp and very well-delivered. (And also, presumably, pre-scripted.) Obama has a very dry sense of humor, which sometimes plays as stilted or awkward, but his deadpan wit served him very well last night, with each punch line relying on the president keeping a straight face.

When Leno asked if he was relieved the debates were finally over, Obama replied, “You know, I was sort of getting the hang of it.” Asked what the issue between him and Trump is, Obama answered, “This all dates back to when we were growing up together in Kenya.” Later, taking a pre-written audience question, he fielded “What is the cure for Romnesia?” with “Obamacare covers preexisting conditions.” Reminded that Michelle had handed out fruit at last year’s Halloween, Obama said, “Michelle is serious about healthy eating. But it is an election year. So candy for everybody.”

Willa Paskin

Willa Paskin is Salon's staff TV writer. More Willa Paskin.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
    Credit: AP/LM Otero

  • Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
    Credit: AP/Matt Rourke

  • A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
    Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher

  • Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
    Credit: AP/Molly Riley

  • Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
    Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite

  • Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

  • O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
    Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid

  • Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
    Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield

  • When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
    Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin

  • A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
    Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 2 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

vote
Oklahoma senator: Tornado aid “totally different” from Sandy aid
2993 points2994 points | 1596 comments
vote
Anyone Regret Slashing National Weather Service Budget Now?: With GOP-backed cuts to forecasting agency, experts warn future storms will go undetected and more lives lost
909 points910 points | 449 comments
vote
Oklahoma senator wants to offset tornado aid with other cuts
141 points142 points | 42 comments
vote
Horrifying new trend: Posting rapes to Facebook " In Chicago this weekend, prosecutors announced three teenaged boys will tried as adults for aggravated criminal sexual assault after allegedly raping a 12-year-old girl — and posting a video of the attack on Facebook."
23 points24 points | 13 comments
vote
Recent scandals are Whitewater redux, not Watergate
21 points22 points | 2 comments

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: So long, Sookie Stackhouse

Recommendations