Obama to appear on Leno - will he bring a teleprompter?

The news that President Obama will appear on Jay Leno's show Thursday night could be told in a couple ways depending on what type of site you're on.

More right-leaning: Faced with plummeting polls and Boston Tea Party-like rebellions popping up all over the country, President Barack Obama is attempting to save his faltering presidency by going to the last place that still accepts him: Hollywood.

More left-leaning: With rock solid poll numbers (higher than Reagan at this point in the presidency), President Barack Obama has the courage to leave the Washington echo chamber and talk to the common man.

History

Whatever the spin, Obama's appearance on the program is history-making.

This will mark the first time a president will sit in a chair next to country singer Garth Brooks in California on a Thursday. (Brooks is the musical act).

NBC also points out that it's the first time a sitting president has appeared on one of the late night talk shows.

Funny

Everyone wants to know: Will Obama be funny?

A White House spokesman, who didn't want to be identified because the information he was sharing was so sensitive, told the Vote, "As funny as the times allow."

See? Perfect out. If Obama O-bombs, it wasn't appropriate to be funny. If he brings down the house, we've got a leader who in great times of crisis can still make America feel good.

Jokes

With apologies to non-sports fans, perhaps he could try out this hilarious joke, which appeared in the Denver Post his morning:

"The Broncos need to make the best possible trade to get [Jay] Cutler out of Denver with a deal that also moves the team closer to Super Bowl contention."

Risky

Although the move carries some risk, Leno should be a safe spot for the president. It's not like we're going to see a repeat of the Jon Stewart - Jim Cramer shellacking.

Nor will it be anything like the McCain-Letterman disaster from last October.

Leno's got 5 million people who watch the show. That's a lot of people. About a quarter of Rush Limbaugh's audience.

Leno shots

Sure, Leno has had fun with the Obama administration, like saying that the president's new slogan is "Spare change you can believe in."

But this will be a lot easier than facing the Washington press corps. Let Robert Gibbs be the human pinata.

Here are some other recent Leno jabs at the president:

"President Obama got some good news today. It seems so many of his cabinet appointees have been forced to pay their back taxes, he now gets a finder's fee from the IRS."

"The economy is in bad shape. In fact, the economy is so bad, even people who don't like Barack Obama aren't paying their taxes."

"President Obama today came out against human cloning, but I think he might be a little hasty here because there should be exceptions. For example, let's say Obama can find a nominee who has paid his taxes. Clone that guy."

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