President Obama has slowed jammed the news with Jimmy Fallon, been interviewed by Leno and Letterman, and has sat down for a grilling prior to most of the Super Bowls during his term and a half. He has been very friendly with television, and especially the sports world. He has faced a new challenge that combines both.

TNT will air an interview of the President conducted by the round mound of rebound himself, Charles Barkley. It will air as part of the network's pre-game coverage to the NBA All-Star Game this Sunday at 7 p.m. ET. The interview was taped at the White House on Thursday.

Sir Charles and President Obama discussed a myriad of topics, including health care reform, the administrations' recently announced "My Brother's Keeper" initiative, and obviously basketball. In fact, Chuck got the President on record with his opinion of LeBron vs. Jordan.

“You know LeBron. I know LeBron. When you are standing next to him, and then you watch him close up, I’ve never seen somebody that size, that fast, who can jump that high, who is that strong, who has that much basketball savvy all in one package.

“So we don’t yet know where he is going to be. Now, I’m a Chicago guy and Mike will always be the guy, for me, just because that was a magical moment for the city. And he was a champion. Mike is now retired. LeBron, when you look at him, you think he might be able to play at a high level for another seven, eight, 10 years. He’s 29 years old. In terms of every aspect of the game, LeBron has a chance to be as good as anybody.” 

Did you ever think, the first time you ever saw Charles Barkley, "gee, that man is going to interview the President someday"? Well, good for Charles and good for TNT. Seriously, it can't be any worse than Bill O'Reilly's sitdown with Obama before the Super Bowl. Still, it's kind of amazing that this is happening.

About Steve Lepore

Steve Lepore is a writer for Bloguin and a correspondent for SiriusXM NHL Network Radio.