by Shannonn Kelly
6:45AM, EST, March 20, 2009
Last update 11:46AM, EST, March 20, 2009

Last night, Thursday March 19, 2009 was the 2nd time in 59 days that President Barack Obama made history. President Obama is the first sitting president ever to appear on “The Tonight Show”, or late night television or any program for that matter.

Barack Obama already appeared twice as a candidate which many believe gave him the edge with red voters that watch Leno.

It was a different night for sure. Even Kevin Eubanks and the rest of the band wore suits.

In his opening monologue, Leno said lots of people were surprised President Obama would come on NBC — figuring he’d be tired of big companies on the brink of disaster with a bunch of overpaid executives. NBC is owned by General Electric (GE) which owns 80% of NBC Universal with the remaining 20% owned by Vivendi SA. The company develops, produces, and markets entertainment, news, and information to a global customer base.

I loved President Obama’s joke that he feels like the Presidency is like American Idol but everyone in Washington is Simon Cowell.

President Barack Obama has told Jay Leno he was stunned when he learned of the bonuses that bailed-out insurance giant AIG was paying its employees and that those payments raise moral end ethical problems. He also maintained that his administration is going to do everything it can to get that money back.

He also added that the  bigger problem is the culture that allowed traders to claim them. He says that’s got to change if the economy is to recover.

“Everybody’s angry… but I think that the best way to handle this is to make sure that you close the door before the horse gets out of the barn. And what happened here was the money’s already gone out, and people are scrambling to try to find ways to get back at them” .

“The important thing over the next several months is making sure that we don’t lurch from thing to thing, so we try to make steady progress, build a foundation toward long-term economic growth,” he said. “That’s what I think the American people expect.”

Earlier in the day, the President spoke at a town hall meeting in California, a state hit hard by the recession, where unemployment is at 10%. President Obama was there to promote his budget plan and priorities, to tout the impact of the economic stimulus law, and to hear concerns of everyday people.

He warned an audience anxious over cuts to schools that it will cost money to pay for high-quality education.

The President met a crowd filled with supporters, who cheered nearly every answer he offered. While tickets were distributed online and none of the questioners were preselected, the questions were friendly, and packed with compliments to the new President.

“You inspire such a passion,” said one man, who identified himself as a campaign volunteer. “How can we best partner with you?”

The President replied that what he needs first is patience. He noted the excitement generated during the presidential campaign and then said: “We are moving systematically to bring about change but change is hard; change doesn’t happen overnight.”

President Obama also asked supporters to engage in debates going on in Washington over the budget, energy and other matters.

“We are not always going to be right,” he added. “I don’t want everybody disappointed if we make a mistake here or there.”

In the second town hall meeting he attended in two days, the President heard for a second day complaints about cuts to local schools.

“The state doesn’t have the money and we’re having to lay off thousands of teachers, you know. It’s scary for our children,” said one woman. An eight-year-old boy, smartly dressed in a tie, spoke clearly into the microphone to say: “President Obama, our school is in big trouble because of budget cuts. Twenty-five of our teachers already have been fired.”

President Obama sought to lower expectations for what the federal government can do to help and said it is up to local communities to prioritize education.

He said the federal government is ramping up education spending but the vast majority of dollars will still come locally and said people need realistic expectations.

“You can’t ask local elected officials to raise teachers’ salaries and cut taxes and balance the budget and increase roads,” he said. “At some point you’ve got to make some choices. So if you want a high quality education … then somebody has got to pay for it.”

He was introduced by Govenor Arnold Schwarzenegger who is a Republican.  The “Governator” recounted the benefits to California of the stimulus package and gave President Obama credit for making it happen.

“This is the greatest package. I’m so happy to be getting these kind of benefits from the federal government and President Obama,” Govenor Schwarzenegger said.

President  Obama called the governor an “outstanding partner” and “one of the great innovators of state government.”

The only faux-pas of last night’s interview with Jay Leno might be when toward the end of his interview President Obama  said he’s been working on his game at the White House’ bowling alley, that President Harry Truman installed in 1947; but that he wasn’t happy with his own score of 129. President Obama said, “It was like the Special Olympics or something,” which got laughs from the audience.

Since that remark, Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton said the President’s remark was not meant to disparage the Special Olympics, only to poke some fun at the commander-in-chief’s bowling skills.

President Obama has since apologized for this remark.

 During a campaign photo op a year ago at a bowling alley in Altoona, Pa., he rolled only a 37 in seven frames. Despite making fun of his score, it is getting better. Hopefully he’ll continue on that streak with the rest of his Presidency…

To watch the full video please click here.