President Barack Obama showed a national late-night audience that the incendiary topics of politics and race can be defused with good humor and a little common sense during an appearance on 'Late Night With David Letterman.'

It's no surprise that America's first black president has to deal with the issue of race during his presidency, but the unrelenting and historic economic woes Obama faced upon taking office pushed issues of race to the back burner.

That was until Obama spoke out about the confrontation between Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates and a Cambridge police officer, a situation that burst into a racially charged imbroglio this summer.

The issue of race reared its head again when Republican Congressman Joe Wilson yelled out "you lie!" during Obama's joint address to Congress weeks ago.

Former President Jimmy Carter confirmed what many in black America were feeling when he said the unseemly outburst was rooted in a racist and discriminatory bend on the part of Wilson.

This race issue provided the backdrop for Obama's appearance on the Letterman show on Monday night. The late-night joke master wasted little time getting Obama's take on how race has impacted the early days of his presidency.

With his trademark cool, Obama drew laughs and cheers from the audience saying, "I was really black before the election." He then went on to play down the issue by pointing out that all presidents have had unsavory comments made about them by political opponents and that he won't be the last.

Obama is smart enough to know that even if racism is at the heart of Wilson's outburst, getting on national television and whining about it will do him no good. During his appearance, he demonstrated the common sense, comfort in his own skin and humor that propelled him to the presidency.