White House Correspondents' Dinner: Obama vs. Leno

If the execs at NBC are making any post-Leno succession plans for "The Tonight Show," perhaps they should consider the up and coming comedian Barack Obama. He might have some free time in, oh, about three or seven years.

According to reports, Obama kicked Leno's butt at the White House Correspondents' Dinner -- thanks to a set of jokes that included gags penned by longtime "Daily Show" scribe Kevin Bleyer. The prez "came armed with fresh and funny material that prompted some of the biggest laughs I’ve witnessed the Leader of the Free World receiving in more than two decades of attending this strange Washington media-political celebration of self-congratulation," wrote the Daily Beast's Lloyd Grove. "Obama is a natural entertainer who has, among all the other things he has been doing in the past year, sharpened his comic timing and delivery." Leno, on the other hand, "recycled and repurposed old material from his television show."

“The only person whose ratings fell more than mine did last year is here. Great to see you, Jay!” quipped Obama.

According to an Associated Press report, "Obama also said he was glad he was appearing before Leno. Obama told the 3,000-strong mix of celebrities, elected officials, political appointees and journalists that 'we've all seen what happens when you take the time slot after Leno.'"

Watch the video and judge for yourself. I particularly love the president's dig at CNN's Rick Sanchez about eight minutes in, because making fun of Rick Sanchez is never not funny. (For some reason, the cameraperson kept the camera on Leno the whole time, so we can't see the gags where he used photos and video.)