Sen. Obama jokes about possibly running for president on 'The Tonight Show With Jay Leno'

(AP) Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger first announced his candidacy on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno." Might Barack Obama, who is considering a run for president, do the same?

"This is a great place. Everybody who has announced here has been successful," Leno hinted to Obama, who appeared on Friday's show.

"This is true, but I have to say that I've already committed to the Food Network to announce," Obama quipped before offering his standard answer to a question that follows him everywhere he goes.

"I think that if I'm going to run, then I've got to dive in early next year, and I've got a little bit of time," Obama said.

When Leno asked whether he would consider running for vice president, Obama said: "You don't run for vice president. So I don't think about it as much."

Earlier Friday, Obama gave a speech about fighting AIDS at the Saddleback Church in Orange County. His visit was a source of dispute among evangelical leaders, with some of the most conservative saying that a politician who supports abortion rights should not have been allowed to speak at such a prominent church.

"Everybody was reporting on me going to this church," Obama told Leno. "It was like, a Democrat in church!"