President Barack Obama became the first sitting president to appear on a television talk show last night when he sat down with Jay Leno on “The Tonight Show.”

Among other topics, Obama and Leno discussed bank bailouts and when lending and personal loans would be back on track again. Obama also talked about energy and technology.

Leno asks “Where is the money?”

During the interview, Leno pointed out that bailout money had been given out to many financial institutions months ago, even before Obama took office.

“I would have thought by this time it would have sort of trickled down to Main Street, to people wanting to get loans — I mean, it all went out there months and months ago. Where is it?” Leno asked.

Obama still filled with hope

Obama explained that many banks held on to their bailout money so they could maintain their capital ratios. He referred to the bailout program as “a diagnostic” that would help the government figure out which banks are ready to start lending again and which ones need more assistance.

He said he has confidence that the banking system will be fixed, along with education, health care and energy.

Shout-out to hybrid cars

On the subject of energy, the president talked about the hybrid plug-in car he had seen that day. He described it as “spectacular.” He says there is the potential and the technology out there to make cars that get 150 miles to the gallon.

Bringing it home

Obama pointed out that much of the technology that has the potential to make a big difference in energy consumption is developed in other countries. The batteries that allow cars to get 150 mpg are built in Japan. Wind power technology is mostly being developed in Europe.

“We need to bring that here, and that’s part of what my budget and part of what our Recovery Act is all about,” Obama said.

Obama also visited Leno during his campaign.

Last night on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” Barack Obama became the first sitting president to make an appearance on a TV talk show. Obama sat down for an interview with Leno, and the two discussed, among other things, the AIG bonuses and the new bill to tax those bonuses at 90 percent.

Obama speaks on lack of oversight

After some initial small talk, Leno quickly turned the subject to the outrage surrounding AIG bonuses, which were handed out after the government gave the company billions in cash advances. Obama explained a bit about the history of the company and blamed the inherent lack of accountability in the system for causing AIG’s downfall.

“The problem is not just what’s happened over the last six months. The problem is what was happening for years, where people were able to take huge, excessive risks with other people’s money, putting the entire financial system at risk –- and there were no checks, there were no balances, there was nobody overseeing the process,” Obama said.

Leno worried about tax bill

Obama and Leno talked about HR 1586, which is currently being revamped in the Senate. The bill would tax any bonuses handed out at bailed out companies at 90 percent. Leno said he was worried that Congress had the power to decide to tax certain groups of people, seemingly on a whim. Obama assured him that the bill is an attempt to correct the AIG situation, not to set a precedent.

Obama on taxes

Obama said he wants overall tax policy to show slow and steady progress. He emphasized that taxes should be used to pay for health care and education for everyone.

He says he’d like a system “where you and I who are doing pretty well pay a little bit more to pay for health care, to pay for energy, to make sure that kids can go to college who aren’t as fortunate as our — as my kids might be.”