Obama first sitting president to visit "Late Night with David Letterman.
Though he's in town to address the United Nations this week, President Barack Obama took some time out of his busy schedule on Monday night to notch another first: He became the first sitting president to appear on the "Late Show With David Letterman."
Serving as the night's only guest, Obama answered questions about his daughters, Afghanistan and the economy, but the instant classic moment of the night came when Letterman quizzed the commander in chief about recent suggestions from former President Jimmy Carter that racism might be behind the intense criticism of his health-care push.
"First of all, I think it's important to realize that I was actually black before the election," Obama said to a roar of laughter and applause from the audience and Letterman. The host shot back, "Really? How long have you been a black man?"
The evening kicked off with a top 10 list (which did not air because of the length of the Obama interview, but which has been posted online) in which Letterman asked why the president would agree to do the show. Among the answers? "We told him Megan Fox would be here," "Said yes without thinking, like Bush did with Iraq," "Thought it would be fun to watch someone else get heckled," "Needed some time to hang out before check-in time at his hotel" and "Something to do with the whole 'Cash for Clunkers' deal."
Asked how the economy is doing, Obama said it is turning around, but that unemployment is still a "big problem" and that it will be for another year or so. He said that when the economy does rebound, it's "going to come back stronger than before." On the war in Afghanistan, Obama said he has not yet made a decision on whether to send more troops because, "The most important duty I've got is before I send some young man and woman in uniform over there and I'm answerable to their parents that if they don't come back I've got to write a letter to them saying that their child has sacrificed on behalf of America — before I make those decisions, I've got to make sure that the policy in place is worthy of their sacrifice."
The president also said his number-one job is to make sure the terrorists responsible for the attacks on September 11, 2001, can never harm the U.S. again.
Though Obama's been on Letterman's show five other times, he is the first sitting president to appear on the late-night veteran's show, and their easy rapport was evident when the talk turned to the Obamas' two daughters, Malia, 11 and Sasha, 8. On the subject of his daughters dating when they get older, the president joked, "and they'll have all these men with guns around. At that point, they may have some stress."
In the meantime, though, he said they have sleepovers at the White House and they are allowed to sleep at friends' houses, though their parents should be ready to get frisked by secret service agents.
The president did not go away empty-handed after the 40-minute segment, either. Before the president came out, Letterman chatted with a woman in the audience who had brought along a heart-shaped potato. Obama quipped that the main reason he was there was to see the spud. He got his wish when the woman, Missouri's Mary Apple, tossed it up to Letterman, who then delivered it to the president. "This is remarkable," he joked. "Thank you."
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