Obama On Letterman: 'I Was Black Before The Election'

As part of his continued push to sell health care reform to the American public, Barack Obama did something that no sitting president has ever done before: He accepted the guest chair on "The Late Show with David Letterman" last night. The veteran host chatted with Obama about a number of issues, including the Joe Wilson incident, the current state of the economy and the recent suggestion by Jimmy Carter that the criticism of his presidency stems from race. Obama laughed off the idea that racism fueled any sort of vitriol. "I think it's important to realize that I was actually black before the election," he told Letterman.

"How long have you been a black man?" the host joked in response.

Obama was game for the whole interview, which touched on serious issues as well as plenty of humor. He was even the subject of the evening's Top Ten list, which was "Top Ten Reasons President Obama Agreed To Be On The Late Show." The list, read by Letterman, included a handful of gems like, "Said 'Yes' without thinking, like Bush did in Iraq" and "We told him Megan Fox would be here."

The appearance on "The Late Show" last night marked the latest in a flurry of high-profile television appearances for the president, who is trying to drive the biggest health care reform bill in decades, which will certainly be the piece of legislation that will define this term of his presidency. He swept through interviews on CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC and Univision, leaving Fox News out in the cold.