Obama likens GOP primary to "Survivor"

President Obama had a light-hearted zinger ready to deliver when asked about his potential 2012 GOP rivals on NBC's "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" on Tuesday.

When asked whether he's paying attention to the race for the Republican presidential nomination, Mr. Obama likened the contest to the CBS show "Survivor."

"I'm going to wait until everybody's voted off the island," he said. "Once they narrow it down to one or two I'll start paying attention."

The president sat down for a taping of "The Tonight Show" on Tuesday morning before leaving Los Angeles to attend a San Francisco campaign fundraiser. Mr. Obama is traveling across the West Coast for three days this week to attend fundraisers and promote his economic agenda.

Mr. Obama also spoke with Leno more seriously about subjects like the death of Muammar Qaddafi.

"Obviously, you never like to see anybody come to the kind of end he did, but I think it obviously sends a strong message around the world to dictators that people long to be free, and they need to respect the human rights and universal aspirations of people," he said.

Mr. Obama's interview on "The Tonight Show" airs Tuesday night.