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Last night was President Barack Obama’s sixth appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman, but his first as sitting president. Obama has only made one other appearance on a late-night show as sitting president, and that was his trip to the Tonight Show this past spring. Although, I still kind of count his pre-taped appearance on The Colbert Report over the summer, when Obama did a bit ordering General Odierno to shave Stephen Colbert’s head. Which was maybe one of the funniest bits Obama has ever participated in. But anyway…

Obama is really in New York for the opening session of the United Nations, and this appearance was added sort of late in the schedule. When Letterman asked Obama if he enjoyed his schedule, especially the occasional late-night appearance, Obama replied: “That was unexpected… seeing that on the schedule. That‘s one of those, where you ask your advisors, ‘Who‘s responsible for this?’ And everybody sort of looks down…nobody is accountable.”

There were a lot of politics in Obama’s appearance, much of it stuff we probably don’t want to get into on a celebrity gossip site. They talked about the American military’s ongoing 8-year involvement in Afghanistan, and the Obama administration’s attempt to change our Afghanistan policies, which will include sending more troops (“I’ve got to make sure that the policy in place was worthy of their sacrifice.”).

Letterman also asked Obama about the “vitriol” and “bad behavior” that was reported at many of the health-care town halls across the country, and the response to that “vitriol” by certain prominent Democrats, like former President Jimmy Carter. Carter said last week “I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man.” When asked about it by Letterman, Obama responded, “Well, I think it’s important to realize that I was actually black before the election. So the American people gave me this extraordinary honor, and I think that tells you, I think, a lot about where the country’s at. I actually think that whenever a president begins to bring about serious changes, particularly during times of economic unease, there is a certain segement of the population that gets very riled up.” Obama then drew comparisons to FDR, John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, and the changes they tried to make, and the names they were called. He also said, “One of the things you sign on for in politics is folks yelling at you.”

On a happier note, Obama was also asked about the short vacation he took with his family, and he said that his daughters Sasha and Malia “they basically goofed off over the summer… which I couldn‘t do.” Letterman responded, “Others have,” prompting a big laugh from both the audience and the president. All in all, I think it was a good appearance. Letterman is a good interviewer, and a good enough host to let his Presidential guest be the funny one. I thought the same thing about Obama that I’ve been think the past few months – the man looks tired. Maybe less late-night appearances and more sleep is called for.