Barack on Leno -- My Take

President Barack Obama was on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno last night. It was a historic situation as Obama became the first sitting president to guest on the late-night talk fest. I thought it was cool that Kevin Eubanks and The Tonight Show Band were dressed in suits for the occasion.

Jay and Barack exchanged pleasantries as Barack joked about how his life had changed since becoming president. He mentioned the Secret Service, his motorcade, and all the trappings of living in what he called "The Bubble." He also compared Washington to American Idol, with everyone acting like the caustic judge, Simon Cowell.

The interview took a serious turn as the president explained the AIG situation, and how the financial sector needs to get back to common sense values. Jay asked Obama why there weren't more people going to jail in conjunction with the financial problems. The president said that, contrary to popular belief, most of the actions that contributed to our current crisis were legal.

Naturally, Leno lightened the mood by asking President Obama about flying in Air Force One. While the Commander in Chief thought it was cool, First Daughters Sasha and Malia weren't that impressed. In fact, the girls were more interested in dividing up the Starbursts they found onboard.

Who is Barack's pick for the NCAA champion? None other than the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Finally, Jay addressed the one question that's been on the minds of Americans since the election -- when is the dog coming? You may recall that on Election Night, Barack promised his daughters a canine. After joking that the pet was a campaign promise, he said that the dog will be in place after he returns from the NATO summit.

Overall, President Obama reminded us -- once again -- why we love him so. If you missed any part of what Leno referred to as the greatest night of his life, here's the entire transcript of the interview here.

***UPDATE***

After all the wonderful things Barack said in this interview, can someone please tell me why so many mainstream media outlets have chosen to focus on his remark about the Special Olympics? (He issued an apology, by the way).

While I have nothing against the SO, I think the interview covered so much more than that. Besides, I think we can let that remark slip in light of what the New York Post did. Just my two cents, people.

The Real Reason Behind the Presidential BlackBerry

Even though I don't need another reason to love President Barack Obama, I found out that he and I have something in common -- a love for BrickBreaker, the game exclusively found on BlackBerrys. Even though the official story on why Obama wanted to keep his cell phone was to keep in touch with his friends and family and do work on the fly, Star Magazine is saying that it's all about the game. An insider said, "He plays to unwind. Every night before bed, he gives it a few minutes.” And get this -- he's actually good at it. The source said his high score is around 15-thousand.

Not to burst your bubble, Barack, but MackDiva's high score is 18-thousand. Get like me, Pres!

The NY Post Offends Again

Regular readers of the New York Post are used to their racist overtones and innuendos. After all, what can you expect from a newspaper owned by Rupert Murdoch -- the same man who owns Fox News? However, this latest incident may actually be over the top for even The Post. Unless you've been under a rock, you've probably seen this awful caricature, drawn by cartoonist Sean Delonas:


Since President Obama is the author of the current stimulus package, and a monkey is racist symbol, this is a direct attack on him and -- by extension -- African Americans in general.

Rev. Al Sharpton and his National Action Network have called for a boycott of the paper. Barbara Ciara, the president of the National Association of Black Journalists, was quoted as saying, "To compare the nation's first African-American commander-in-chief to a dead chimpanzee is nothing short of racist drivel."

At the prompting of Sharpton, protesters gathered outside of the News Corp building Thursday to demand an apology from the paper, and the jobs of Delonas and any editor who signed off on the cartoon.

Late Thursday evening, The Post released this statement:

It was meant to mock an ineptly written federal stimulus bill. Period. But it has been taken as something else - as a depiction of President Obama, as a thinly veiled expression of racism. This most certainly was not its intent; to those who were offended by the image, we apologize.

However, there are some in the media and in public life who have had differences with The Post in the past - and they see the incident as an opportunity for payback. To them, no apology is due. Sometimes a cartoon is just a cartoon - even as the opportunists seek to make it something else.

The opportunist reference was obviously directed toward Sharpton, who wasn't buying any part of the apology. He said, "They made what could have been a noble gesture ignoble by trying to attack people at the same time they're trying to apologize to them. It's not opportunistic to say 'I've been offended.' This makes it hard to take them seriously."

Also, Sharpton said that it wasn't until he raised the question of challenging the FCC waiver that allows Rupert Murdoch to own more than media outlet in the city that the paper started trying to play nice. He said, "They brought the rhetoric down and got a little more civil."

As for The Post's implications that this protest was payback for past attacks, Sharpton said, "They've done a number a cartoons on me over the years and I've never marched on them. They just don't get it."

I wish I could be surprised, but I'm not. The Post has never been a friend to the African American community, and this latest incident just solidifies for the world what New Yorkers have always known.