By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

March 20, 2009 – President Obama became the first sitting president to appear on a late night talk show.  But he handled it well and managed to land a few jokes with host Jay Leno while keeping it real about the current economic crisis facing the nation. 

Leno will surely see a ratings boost if the lines that formed outside the Los Angeles studio are any indication of interest in the commander-in-chief’s appearance.  Some folks camped outside almost 24 hours to get a shot at being in the audience.

While the president didn’t break any news, he did confirm the progress on the “first pooch,” giving a timeline of early April when the family returns from Europe.  “When we get back, the dog will be in place,” Obama said. Admitting to the old adage, he joked, “They say if you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.”

During his appearance on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” Obama’s dress was presidential, wearing a red tie and his American flag pin.  He walked out to thunderous applause.

Keeping the interview light and yet serious, Obama addressed the government bailout of AIG. “The immediate bonuses that went to AIG are a problem,” he admitted. “But the larger problem is we’ve got to get back to an attitude where people know enough is enough.”

As for adjusting to the personal side of life in the White House, Obama is having a basketball hoop added, he told Leno.

Obama’s visit to California included a tour of the Edison Electric Vehicle Technical Center in Pomona, Calif., where he spoke to workers. Following the tour he visited the  Miguel Contreras Learning Center in Los Angeles where he held a town hall meeting with local residents. 

California is faced with a 10 percent unemployment rate and budget short falls.  That could be why he was joined by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis.  California was able to  keep the state up and running with stimulus dollars allotted in the American Recovery Act.

The White House scheduled the president’s appearance on the late night talk show as part of a targeted outreach to fill folks in on his economic agenda.  Leno follows the prez’s appearance on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” where he made his NCAA Final Four picks and previews his appearance on  “60 Minutes” Sunday and his prime-time news conference Tuesday.

Did you see the president on the “Tonight Show?   

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

March 18, 2009 – President Obama is calling for more effective ways to deal with troubled companies like insurer AIG, after learning the company spent millions of tax-payer dollars on bonuses for the folks who created toxic assets and the need for the bailout. 

Before departing Wednesday for two days in California, the president told reporters gathered on the South Lawn, “So my economic team is going to be consulting with the Hill.  We’re going to be moving that on a fast track.  This is part of the broader package of financial regulatory steps that we’re going to be taking that ensures that going forward in the future we’re not going to find ourselves in these kinds of terrible positions again.”

AIG has come under fire  for giving millions in employee bonus payments after begging the feds for help and being given government support to the tune of  $182.5 billion.

Outrage has been the theme in recent days, and Obama wants to get out in front of this issue before his credibility on the bailouts is tainted by this kind of behavior.  And he’s not alone; Congress held hearings Wednesday and grilled AIG company executives so intensely that they were showing signs of remorse and suggesting ways they could get the bonus money returned by employees.

“People are rightly outraged about these particular bonuses.  But just as outrageous is the culture that these bonuses are a symptom of, that have existed for far too long — a situation where excess greed, excess compensation, excess risk-taking have all made us vulnerable and left us holding the bag,” Obama said.

Right now the American taxpayers and holding the bag and it’s running on empty. 

The administration lead on AIG’s problems is Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.  Obama said, “Nobody is working harder than this guy.  He is making all the right moves in terms of playing a bad hand.

“I want to repeat something that I said before the joint session:  My interest is not protecting banks.  My interest is protecting the American people; the people’s 401(k)s; ordinary folks who have a credit line with a bank for their small business; people whose pension funds are invested in some of these financial institutions,” Obama said.

Now we’ll have to see if the White House and Congress can come together and make it happen.