NBC screwed up big time in deciding to replace Jay with Conan on the Tonight Show.  They should have replaced Leno with Obama.

There he was, in a very expensive looking suit,indeed, exchanging barbs with the Tonight Show host….jokes about Washington; jokes about himself; even a joke about his bowling and the Special Olympics which he later had to apologize for.

But say this for the Jokester-In-Chief, he has pretty good timing….of the comedic type, that is.

Sure most of his “material” was probably written in advance by professional comedy writers (members of Congress?)–but he still had to hold his own with Leno, and he did a pretty impressive job of it.

If Obama (all talk show hosts are known by their last names—Paar, Carson, Letterman, O’Brien…etc) is out of work in four years (or out of work,for sure, in eight) the networks really ought to weigh offering a talk show.

He’s smart, well-read, clever and he wears designer suits well.  That’s very important,btw.

Now Obama has proven that, if nothing else, he plans ahead….way ahead.

His speech at the Democratic Convention that brought him to the public’s attention in the first place was , it turns out, the foundation upon which his future bid for the presidency would be built.

Might his appearance with Leno the other night also be his way of staking out a claim to his own future as a talk show star?

He already has fans lined up for days (think Orange County, California) to see him in person…think they would do that for David or Jay or any of them? Don’t think so.

So, try this on for size—–

“From Hollywood, it’s the Tonight Show, starring Barack Obama along with the NBC orchestra….Barack’s guests tonight are……………………….”

See, sounds good, doesn’t it?

For More Commentary, Please Visit www.notimetothinkbook.com, The Official Website For THE Media Book Of 2009, No Time To Think