It was announced Wednesday that Barack Obama will appear on NBC's Tonight Show next Tuesday for the fourth time since he's been President. Jobs and the economy are to be the focus.
As NewsBusters has been reporting, despite host Jay Leno having been very hard on the White House resident in recent months, particularly on the economy, he has offered nothing but softballs to the Commander-in-Chief in his previous appearances.
Possibly the finest example was his October 25, 2011, appearance which was so gushing and fawning that the perilously liberal Daily Beast even gave it a scathing review:
Obama couldn’t have found a more willing accomplice. Leno—who wears his American flag pin on the right lapel, in contrast to the president’s flag-on-left—might just as well been scripted by David Axelrod. [...]
Unlike The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart, who piercingly challenged Obama with one tough question after another and at one point called him 'dude' during a fascinating appearance a year ago, Leno seemed content to provide the nation’s top Democrat with an informercial masquerading as a guest-shot.
The teaser to this article read, "You’d hardly know from Jay Leno’s softball questions Tuesday night that Obama was presiding over a tanking economy."
Ouch!
Yet as NewsBusters has been reporting, Leno in recent months has been very hard on the President, particularly pertaining to the economy:
Leno: 'Hurricane Sandy Has Already Created More Jobs Than Obama Has'
Leno: Trick or Treater Played Dead on My Porch Wednesday - Said He Was The Economy
Leno: 'The Economy Is So Bad MSNBC Had To Lay Off 300 Obama Spokesmen'
Leno: 'Good News For the Economy - President Obama Is Out of Town'
Leno: Twice As Many People Attended 2009 Inauguration Because Twice as Many Could Afford Hotels
Audience Cheers and Applauds When Leno Says Obama 'Doesn't Understand Economics'
Leno Tells Obama How to Close Gitmo: 'Declare it a Small Business and Tax it Out of Existence'
Leno: Obama Says We’re Distracted By Phony Scandals, Time to Get Distracted By Phony Recovery
As Tuesday's appearance is supposed to be about jobs and the economy, will the recent tough on Obama Leno show up, or the one from 2011 who "seemed content to provide the nation’s top Democrat with an informercial masquerading as a guest-shot?"
In case you were wondering, the first time Obama appeared on the Tonight Show after becoming President was March 19, 2009, when he made a rather tasteless joke about the Special Olympics that he had to subsequently walk back.
When Obama appeared on the Tonight Show a week before last year's elections, Leno actually asked him, "What is the cure for Romnesia?"
With that in mind, let's hope the more feisty Leno shows up next Tuesday.
Stay tuned.
