00:01Hey, thank you so much for being here.
00:04People in Chicago love you.
00:05Yeah, they're nice.
00:06They're nice.
00:07They're nice.
00:08They're nice people here.
00:09They are wonderful people.
00:10You've got a wonderful state here.
00:11Absolutely.
00:12First of all, I want to say,
00:14I want to say I'm a huge fan of your name.
00:17Your name, you have the best name.
00:18It is a great name.
00:19Barack Obama.
00:20When I first heard it,
00:21I thought I was sure it was Irish when I first heard it.
00:23It is, there's an apostrophe after the O.
00:26I knew that, I knew that.
00:27And Barack is actually an ancient Celtic name.
00:29Very nice.
00:30So we're ancient cousins is what you're saying.
00:32That's exactly right.
00:33You and me, we're right there.
00:34I'm taking you to Ireland someday.
00:35This is my brother here.
00:38Now, there's a lot I have to ask you.
00:39First of all, you live in Chicago.
00:41Your wife is from here.
00:42Any advice for me?
00:43I'm a guy, I don't know the area.
00:45What would you tell a guy?
00:46Well, you know, the key...
00:47Where should I go?
00:48What should I do?
00:49The key is to get into the neighborhoods.
00:50You know, Millennium Park is beautiful
00:52and Wrigley Field everybody knows about.
00:54But, you know, going out into the neighborhoods,
00:58visiting some of the local restaurants.
01:00For example, my favorite restaurant in Chicago
01:02is a place on the west side called MacArthur's.
01:04MacArthur's.
01:05Some folks know MacArthur's here.
01:06Yeah.
01:07Some of the best soul food in Chicago.
01:08Soul food?
01:09And, I mean, you'll stand out a little bit.
01:15I will not.
01:16There aren't that many six-six guys in the restaurant.
01:19It's about time they saw a giant red pompadour in there.
01:22I want my soul food.
01:24Bring it on.
01:25Now, is it true that you've gone to the same barber shop?
01:29Is it true here in Chicago for 20 years?
01:31The Hyde Park Hair Salon.
01:32Hyde Park Hair Salon.
01:33Hyde Park Hair Salon.
01:34Hyde Park?
01:35Okay.
01:36Do you tell people I'm going to the barber shop
01:38or it's time for my trip to the hair salon?
01:40No, no.
01:41It's called Hair Salon, but when you go in there,
01:44it's more shop than salon.
01:46Right.
01:47And it sounds like a nice kind of down-to-earth place.
01:48It's not too fussy.
01:49It's wonderful.
01:50You sit down.
01:51The first time I went there was with a guy named Wally.
01:54He was an old, grumpy guy.
01:56He'd say, sit down.
01:57What do you want?
01:58And I'd say, well, I'm not sure.
02:00Okay, just shut up.
02:01And he'd start cutting them.
02:03That's a great service technique.
02:05Just shut up.
02:06These guys, but now I've got a guy who's,
02:09he and I, we've been together for about 10 years.
02:12It's very brave of you to come out with this.
02:16Listen, let me, let me say the relationship
02:19between a man and his barber, that's, that is a...
02:22It's sacred.
02:23It's a real bond.
02:24It's serious business.
02:25Where do you get your hair cut, Conan?
02:26I don't, this isn't real.
02:27This is scientists work on this.
02:29This is, this is a high density polymer that NASA invented.
02:34Hair, hair is for wimps.
02:37This has robotics in it.
02:40It can do things.
02:41Oh, here we go.
02:42I'm an ass by the way.
02:48I want to talk about something.
02:50First time that you had a real intense national exposure.
02:54And the first time I think you came to a lot of people's attention.
02:562004 democratic national convention.
02:58You gave the keynote address.
03:00You blew everybody away.
03:01People are still talking about that speech.
03:04Brilliant speech.
03:06And I was thinking, do you ever use, you have such oratorical power.
03:13Have you ever, do you ever go home to your family and try and use that oratorical power?
03:18Yeah, the, I'll tell you a quick story.
03:21I, you know, we have dinner together.
03:23My wife asked my two daughters, seven and four, Malia, how was your day?
03:27She'll say, tell us about it.
03:29Four year old Sasha, how was your day?
03:31They asked my wife, how's your day?
03:33Then finally my wife says, well, let's ask daddy how his day was.
03:37And my four year old will say, boring.
03:42And my wife will say, well, that's not nice.
03:46You know, actually people come and listen to daddy speak.
03:49And the two of them fall out of their chairs.
03:51They think that's the, that is the funniest thing.
03:54The notion that somebody would be interested in what their father has to say.
03:58Yeah.
03:59Kids just don't care.
04:00Yeah.
04:01But have there ever been time to just jump up behind a podium in front of your kids,
04:03to tell them, you know, go to your room.
04:06That great, using the great Barack Obama voice.
04:09My fellow Obamas.
04:11The time has come.
04:14I'll try that out.
04:16That would work for you.
04:17Yeah.
04:18Yeah.
04:19You will clean your room in this century.
04:21Yes.
04:22Have you always been a gifted speaker?
04:24Have you always, was this something that you developed over time?
04:27No, you know, I, I have flopped so many times.
04:29I, I think it's like being a comic.
04:31You know, you get up and every, and, and, and, and, and sometimes it's working for you,
04:36but you know that time where everybody.
04:38I don't know what you're talking about.
04:39Everybody's flying and you, you, you, you start getting kind of hot flashes and,
04:45Nope.
04:46No?
04:47Yeah.
04:48Is this one of those moments?
04:49No, no, no.
04:50I know exactly what you're talking about.
04:51Anyone who's, you, and, and so how do you handle when you, because people, I think,
04:54just assume that you're, you're, you're such a gifted speaker that you've never had those
04:58moments.
04:59Describe what it's like for you when you're up there and you feel like it's not working.
05:02You're not getting them.
05:03It's not working.
05:04And, and, and the main mistake everybody makes, and I do the same thing is you just keep
05:07on talking, right?
05:08Because you think, well, eventually I'm going to come up with something that they like.
05:11And that makes it worse, right?
05:13Yeah.
05:14Because what happens is not only are you bad, but you're long winded.
05:17Right.
05:18Right.
05:19And, and so.
05:20Do you just throw out random words at a certain point?
05:22Yeah.
05:23Corn dog, onion, blueberry.
05:26Anything here, people?
05:27Yeah.
05:28Yeah.
05:29Yeah.
05:30The, but I think that's what's been happening in the White House lately.
05:32Ah.
05:33Just try, try, try, throw, throw anything against the refrigerator.
05:47See if it stinks.
05:48Yeah.
05:49Well, well, let me ask you something.
05:50I know President Bush is famous for nicknames.
05:52Has he, has he tried to give you a nickname?
05:54He tried, he loves to give everybody.
05:55You know, the, the, the thing, I, I, I can't tell whether he's trying to give me a nickname
05:59or whether he just can't pronounce my name.
06:01You know, so he, uh.
06:03It's hard.
06:06Give him the benefit of the doubt.
06:08Yeah, he, uh, sometimes he calls me Bama.
06:11Bama?
06:12Bama.
06:13Bama.
06:14Sometimes he calls me Rock.
06:15Rock.
06:16He calls, he calls you what?
06:17Rock.
06:18Rock.
06:19Rock is cool.
06:20Rock is not bad.
06:21Bama, rock.
06:22I like that.
06:23Yeah.
06:24Yeah.
06:25I'm just pitching, Bama, get Bama, get Bama, get Rock.
06:27Mr. President, are you all right?
06:28They're going to think he's having a fit or something.
06:30Uh, now I'm curious, you, you have been very successful.
06:34You've had a lot of obvious, a lot of success and a lot of adulation.
06:37You've been very successful.
06:38I think it remaining humble and having a sense of humor about yourself.
06:41Is it, is it, is that come naturally to you?
06:43Is it your, is it your, it's your wife?
06:45Yeah.
06:46It's nice when someone else does it for you.
06:47Yeah, exactly.
06:48She, uh, uh, she, she tells me about my ears.
06:51She talks about my ears a lot.
06:52That's an old standard, how big they are.
06:54Oh really?
06:55Um, yeah.
06:56That's nice.
06:57So your kids are saying boring and she's like, yeah, big ears, you know.
06:59This is, uh.
07:00This is a horrible home life you have.
07:02Yeah, it's, it's, uh, basically, you know, uh, often I, I come home feeling pretty full
07:08of myself and they knock me down pretty quick.
07:11Yeah.
07:12So.
07:13I think that's what our loved ones are for.
07:14That's, that's why we married.
07:15That's why we married.
07:16I feel good.
07:17Oh yeah?
07:18Uh.
07:19Thanks mom.
07:20Uh, now I have to ask you, uh, I wouldn't be doing my job.
07:25That's not true.
07:26I'm a comedian, not a pundit, but, uh, but I'm going to ask anyway.
07:28So many people are speculating.
07:30You hear, uh, Barack Obama is going to be a presidential candidate in 08 or he's going
07:33to be on the ticket.
07:34And I just want to say, I just want to say, if there's something you'd like to say here,
07:41there's probably never a better venue than right now.
07:44Yeah.
07:45Well.
07:46Well.
07:47Conan.
07:48This is the kind of thing you want to say just after Chewbacca has made out with George
07:52Wayne.
07:53I was thinking about you as my running mate.
07:58Oh, oh, hey.
07:59What do you think?
08:01Me and Conan.
08:02It would be the worst.
08:04It sounds good.
08:06Obama O'Brien.
08:07Obama O'Brien.
08:08Obama O'Brien sounds amazing.
08:09Yeah.
08:10Yeah.
08:11Yeah.
08:12Obama O'Brien.
08:13I never did.
08:14After you, you'd think it was funny.
08:16And then like a day later, you'd be like, this guy is an idiot.
08:19All right.
08:20Come on over.
08:21Let's talk.
08:22Uh, this was, um, it's been a thrilling week for us, but it was a real honor to have
08:29you be on our last show here in Chicago.
08:31And I know you're a busy person, but we were thrilled when you said you'd stop by.
08:34Listen, I, I, I love Conan O'Brien and most of all, I love the audience here.
08:38These, these were.
08:39The guy's a pro.
08:40Love it.
08:41Thank you so much.
08:42Sarah Barack Obama.
08:43We'll talk coming up.
08:47Bye.
08:48Bye.
08:49You
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