Obama to appear on 'Tonight Show'

President Barack Obama is to appear as a guest on NBC's The Tonight Show With Jay Leno this evening.

Other Presidents have appeared on similar shows while campaigning for office, but Obama will be the first in-office leader to guest on a programme with a comedy format, CNN reports.

The President plans to discuss his ideas on improving the American economy with host Jay Leno.

"We don't look at it as a process of demonstrating the president's sense of humour. We look at it as a way of discussing the economic situation that we find ourselves in," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.

However, some political analysts have cautioned Obama about his demeanor on the show.

"He has to be very careful about his tone, because if he yuks it up too much and seems to be having too good a time, it will be quite a contrast there with the pain the people are feeling with the crumbling economy," said Howard Kurtz, the host of CNN's Reliable Sources.