Obama Does 'Tonight Show,' But Did He Strike the Right Tone?

President Obama appears Thursday on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" -- the first such appearance of any sitting president.

Timing is everything in comedy -- but was President Obama missing his cue with a late-night TV appearance in the middle of an economic crisis?

Obama, who is in California for a set of town hall meetings, appears Thursday on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno."

Though late-night shows are a staple nowadays for any political candidate, traditionally they've been avoided by anyone in the Oval Office. The Leno visit marks the first such appearance of any sitting president.

And with the markets still well below their highs and the sudden firestorm over bonus pay at AIG, critics suggest Obama might be showing a little tone-deafness by heading to Hollywood.

"It's not an accident that no sitting president has ever done a show like this," media analyst Steve Adubato told FOX News.

Obama didn't shy away from typical late-night banter with Leno, joking about his bowling skills and the clothes worn by Leno's band leader, Kevin Eubanks, but the president also discussed a range of hot issues in Washington, from AIG bonuses to the performance of his treasury secretary.

Adubato noted the difficulty any commander-in-chief would have balancing levity and seriousness in that Los Angeles setting at a time of crisis.

"I'm not convinced this was the smartest move," he said Thursday before Obama's TV appearance.

Mary Kate Cary, a speechwriter for former President George H.W. Bush, wrote in a U.S. News & World Report column that Obama's Leno appearance could be damaging.

"There's a reason presidents don't do comedy on television, especially in tough times," she wrote. "Doing Jay Leno lessens the stature of the office, and diminishes the man. On Leno, he becomes just one more talk show guest."