On "Tonight Show," Obama Defends Geithner

President Says He's "Stunned" By AIG Bonuses - But Also Has A Few Laughs

(AP)  President Barack Obama told Jay Leno on Thursday that he was stunned when he learned of the bonuses that bailed-out insurance giant AIG was paying its employees.

Obama told "The Tonight Show" host the payments raise moral end ethical problems - and vowed again to try to recoup the cash for taxpayers.

"We're going to do everything we can to get these bonuses back", he declared.

Leno asked Obama what he thought when his staff first advised him of the payments, many made to traders in the very division that brought American International Group to ruin.

"'Stunned' is the word," Obama replied in a taped appearance on "Tonight." He said he found it hard to fathom how anyone would accept lavish payments in those circumstances. "People just had this sense of entitlement. We must be the best and the brightest."

But Obama staunchly defended Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who's increasingly come under fire for failing to block the bonuses.

"I think Geithner is doing an outstanding job," Obama said. "He is a smart guy. He is a calm and steady guy. I don't think people fully appreciate the plate that was handed him."

Obama added Geithner's carrying on "with grace and good humor. He understand that he's on the hot seat."

Too many in Washington are trying to figure out who to blame for things - when they should be focused on fixing them, Obama said.

According to NBC, Obama was the first sitting president ever to appear on "The Tonight Show." He'd already appeared twice as a candidate.

Obama spoke with little interference or challenge from Leno, who clearly was enthused about snaring the president as a guest and pronounced it "one of the best nights of my life."

Leno veered away from politics and into the personal toward the end of the 35-minute interview, asking, "How cool is it to fly on Air Force One?" and when Obama daughters Sasha and Malia would get their pet dog.

"This is Washington. That was a campaign promise," Obama replied to audience laughter. "No, I'm teasing. The dog will be there shortly."

The new pet will be in place after he returns from a NATO meeting, Obama said.

The White House bowling alley remains in place, Obama said, bragging that he rolled a 129-point game ("Like the Special Olympics or something," he said), but a basketball court is a priority.

In his opening monologue, Leno said lots of people were surprised Obama would come on NBC - figuring he'd be tired of big companies on the brink of disaster with a bunch of overpaid executives.

Leno also joked about the dismal state of the economy, saying it's so bad Obama flew to California on Southwest Airways - making nine stops.

In recent years, a "Tonight Show" appearance has become a key humanizing touch for aspiring presidents. But its history of such appearances goes back to 1960, when then-Sen. John F. Kennedy came on the show to chat with Jack Paar.

Obama himself has already made two non-presidential appearances - on Dec. 1, 2006, and Oct. 17, 2007.

The White House scheduled the appearance as part of a broader outreach to promote Obama's agenda - one that's already had him on ESPN's "SportsCenter" this week and includes a "60 Minutes" interview airing Sunday, plus a prime-time news conference Tuesday.

But on ESPN, the talk was mostly about basketball. The First Fan filled out an NCAA tournament bracket - picking North Carolina to defeat Louisville in the final. But recalling he picked the Tar Heels last year, he joked, "This year, don't embarrass me in front of the nation, all right? I'm counting on you."

[cbsnewscomme]

http://my.nowpublic.com/world/w-house-knows-700b-bankbailout-and-787b-stimulus-scam-fraud

[bumpedoff1]

rob13 were you saying the same 4 years ago . Or have you become a patriot since they
elected obama.

[speakinup]

robertx13 - you have a good point. Presidents should be given the benefit of the doubt. They always have a very stressful task, and don't need the sharp shooting from the public.

Having said that, please realize that many of the posters on this site that represent the right (wing) have heard nothing but rancor from the left over the last 8 years. Sometimes it was deserved, a lot of the time it wasn't.

Payback is a (rhymes with) witch.

Now, I didn't participate in the payback until I started seeing him distancing himself from not just a few campaign promises, but many campaign promises made by President Obama.

And, frankly, in spite of voting for McCain, after Obama had won, I had hope that Obama would support some of his pledges - stop earmarks, stop the lobbiests, and help eliminate the crooked people in Washington. I was not looking forward to some of his other promises, but that's beside the point.

Unfortunately, either President Obama has not been able to carry off those promises, or he never had any intention of doing so. The former has not been expressed.

He is reaping his just desserts.

[Correct247]

Where you been? they already own half of Kansas. Oddly enough, you can't get decent Chinese cuisine there. On the other hand, they do have a varied selection of milk: non-tainted or tainted. Posted by LawyersGuns-n-Money at 12:22 PM : Mar 20, 2009
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Well, hecht it don't seem as if we have enough times. Don't let another minute go, by -- our voices need to be heard and televised. Where is the media when you need them. There was huge protest in front of the AIG building yesterday and there was very little coverage about two sec. on FOX 5 evening news.

I have not heard any other coverage since. The Media is still protecting the "great one", thats why he feel so special, with a big smile on his face while the american people are suffering like never before.

[Correct247]

My personal favorite is:

"My friends, we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world. I hope you'll join me as we try to change it." - Obama 2008
Posted by Indeptex3 at 10:00 AM : Mar 20, 2009
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Well, he's changing it alright -- from bad to worst! The only thing that I am going to do is "join with americans" to make sure that this nonsense stop -- before we have to speak a new language (i.e., Chinese).

[Correct247]

Potus"...sounds like a Greek Messenger God.
Posted by davicar2 at 10:01 AM : Mar 20, 2009

***************************************************

Okay. Please don't pray to him!

[Correct247]

That was quick! I thought you were sleeping. Is it that nagging sleep disorder that startled you awake? Posted by irishwench-2009 at 10:00 AM : Mar 20, 2009

***********************************************
Yes, I am afraid it was!

[cereally]

DefendLiberty...your name is an oxymoron to your positioning! We were warned by our fore fathers not to blindly follow...to question all decisions made by those we elect....pretending obama is qualified to be president is ruining our country in every aspect !

[Correct247]

The POTUS is defending dishonesty on live television. What does that say about his character. Chris Dobb (liar) and Timothy Geithner (tax cheat) both should be fired.

Please somone wake me up when this hipocrisy is over!

In fact, the american people prefer not to see OBAMA face again, until every american citizen is employed. That should be enough to keep the "celebrity" busy. He really needs something to do, other than bowling and showing up on televison shows while the rest of the country goes hungry and loss their life savings and homes.

The next time he addresses the american people, he should have something positive to say, for instances, "this administration has worked endless in these past months, and as a result, we have created a job for every american citizen that wants to work". When he can say that, let me know, and wake me up!

[Correct247]

The POTUS is defending dishonesty on live television. What does that say about his character. Chris Dobb (liar) and Timothy Geithner (tax cheat) both should be fired.

Please somone wake me up when this hipocrisy is over!

In fact, the american people prefer not to see OBAMA face again, until every american citizen is employed. That should be enough to the the "celebrity" busy. He really needs something to do, other than bowling and showing up on televison shows as the rest of the country goes hungry and loss their life savings.

The next time he addresses the american people, he should have something positive to say, for instances, "this administration has worked endless in these past months, and as a result, we have created a job for every american citizen that wants to work". When he can say that, let me know, and wake me up!

[cereally]

Well if you can't run the country into the ground without being questioned, by all means make your case on the tonight show.....is the view next?

[Markus]

Posted by dowell100 at 9:02 AM : Mar 20, 2009

"On the Leno show, I was appalled about how giddy Obama was over Air Force One. Doesn't he realize it costs a minimum of $60,000 per hour to fly that thing?
Something is wrong with a President who condemns corporate America for their small jets, yet takes such pride in using Air Force One so often.
Air Force One has become the new pimp-mobile with Obama. I'm surprised he doesn't want to put wide white-walls and fur on the dash-board on it.
Obama is showing how sick his lust for power is every time he talks about it."

He's our President.Not some Maddoffesque CEO slease bag. How'd you miss that distinction.And how can you dismiss the value of his appearance on Leno's show.He wants us to know his intent and know him better.I think it was a great idea.

[Audrey_Dern]

Dowell 100....
You are the most ignorant person I have run across in my life. A PIMP MOBILE???? Where the hell is this stuff coming from. Do you realize that our "really most stupid" pesident, Bush, used the same means of transportation to go to Crawford, TX. and back? I have been reading over these messages and...my conclusion....you are simply prejudice. AND..."how important he is"....you stupid ass....he is the President!!!! And...what year did you graduate Harvard?????????????????????

[megawhy]

Decide for yourself: Which Model do you think represents the beliefs of the Democratic Party?

DEFINITION: Capitalism provides a direct reward for accomplishment to those who do the work.

DEFINITION: Communism distributes the reward for accomplishment, equally, among those who did the work and those who did little or nothing.

Socialism: ?From each according to his ability, to each according to his deeds?.

Communism: ?From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs?

----------------------------

Some of you may ask, what is wrong with Socialism or Communism because it sounds good. The problem is that the socialist model supresses achievement and encourages medocrity which in total gives less to everyone. It would be like having everyone on a basketball team limited to scoring only a certain amount of points. Then when one team meets their limit any extra points would be given to the other team. No one loses and no one wins, which means EVERYBODY LOSES!

Democrats today = Socialists/ Communists without question or doubt. All of you need to wake up to what is going on!

[omega39-2009]

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll

The Rasmussen and Pew polling numbers are reflecting what the majority of American People feel about this LOSER of a President Obama who was a FAILURE from Day One!
Posted by scb1111_1

Gallup has him at 62% approval (and up one from yesterday). heh-heh....

[jogger5079]

After this apology, President Obama made this follow-up statement: "I'm sure the republicans will try to take may statment out of context and attack me by imply something negative regarding what I said about Special Olympics. But nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is, I love all those little cripples ... each and every one. Because they make the rest of us feel good about ourselves. But let me be perfectly clear ... they're usually not very good bowlers, and I'm pretty confident I could defeat most of them. Like when I play basketball with my cracker friends. They just can't keep up. Nor can they jump. I hope that clears up this little misunderstanding. So let's just put all this behind us and move on. Thank you."

[Correct247]

I believe the president is only a figurehead. The country is being run by a bunch of greedy, power-mad plutocrats that could care less about us.
Posted by bornin1952 at 8:14 AM : Mar 20, 2009

***************************************************************************

You are absolutely correct and that's the real reason we will never have "CHANGE" in this country with the current administration.

[omega39-2009]

Really? I'm not the PRESIDENT saying it on NATIONAL TELEVISION! If I said something as insensitive as what "The Messiah" said, I'd be out on my bum in a heartbeat. If Bush had said something as insensitive as what "The Messiah" had said, he'd be raked over the coals for days on end rather than receicve a "mention" on a news site.

Posted by NancyLou9

So tell me nancylou9, were you equally outraged when RNC delegates wore bandaids with little purple hearts to their convention in the middle of a war? Was your FAUX outrage on display then, or was it ok because they were helping your "chosen" one?

[jogger5079]

Obama has commercialized the Office of the President in a way no President ever had before. To fulfill his marketing goal of winning the White House, he obtained the endorsement of 90% of the free speech media outlets in this country, several of whom have significant ownership by foreign investors. Now Obama has announced that he will publish light reading books of his life for distribution to elementary and middle school students. Undoubtedly, every public school in America will (be required to) purchase them and distribute them to our 3rd - 8th graders. This is the scariest thing I've ever witnessed in my lifetime as an American citizen: a deliberate effort on the part of a sitting President to brainwash our youth, an effort that is reminiscent of what Hitlier did with German youth in the early 1930's. Before any of you decry that analogy to Hitler, defend Obama's intention to have his publisher(s) distribute to public school elementary and middle school students nationwide abbreviated versions of his life story. Defend why a POTUS should do this, instead of focusing his attentions on direct governance.

[scb1111_1]

This LOSER of a President Obama is now down to 55% approval and 44% diapproval! At this rate, Barack Obama will share the same number of approval GW had before he left Office by the end of this year?