White House Scrutinizes Leno Jokes TargetingÂ Obama
Some observers in the Obama Administration have raised questions about Lenoâs jokes made at the expense of the White House.Â  Deputy White House communications director Josephine Robles said in a statement that the White House âis monitoring carefully the statements made over the public airwaves concerning the administration.âÂ  She also said that the White House âexpects public commentators to abide by established decency guidelines.â NBC Entertainment president Jennifer Salke said that the network was âengaging in straight talkâ with Leno about his jokes targeting Obama.Â  âNBC is proud of its positive relationship with the White House which will endure after Mr. Leno's retirement,â she added. In Lenoâs Thursday night opening monologue he made reference to the latest spying scandals engulfing the Obama administration in which it was revealed that the National Security Agency is massively snooping on phone records and email messages. Leno said, âSee, when I was growing up, we were always afraid of Big Brother watching us. And now with Obama, we actually have a brother watching us.â In 2014, as part of the networkâs musical chairs, Jimmy Fallon will replace Leno as Tonight Show host while Seth Myers will take over Fallonâs gig.