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Once the pleasantries and light banter were finished, Jon Stewart was equally game, pressing the embattled president on a number of tough issues.

"I'm not sure what you want out of a health care bill," suggested Stewart, who criticized the legislation for being timid.

Obama appeared ready for the slam and disagreed strongly that his reform was a failure because they didn't win every battle.

"We didn't get 100 percent of what we wanted--we only get 90 percent of what we wanted, so let's focus on the 10 percent we didn't get," he said.

The common refrain the president kept returning to was that his administration's perceived lack of progress is the result of dire economic conditions rather than ineffectual policies.

Both host and guest were using the high profile appearance to advance individual motives.  Stewart is in Washington, D.C. for a series of shows leading up to his anticipated political-comedy event, "Rally to Restore Sanity" on Saturday. Obama is using every outlet possible to push for Democrats nationwide to vote in an upcoming midterm election that could alter the course of his presidency.

With polls showing the nation in an anti-incumbent mood, Democrats are poised to lose control of at least the House, and perhaps the Senate too. The country's weak economic recovery has been the chief concern of voters throughout the election, and Obama has had to constantly defend his record on the topic.

Although the "Daily Show" doesn't officially espouse a political view, they've made a name for themselves for mocking President George W. Bush and conservative strongholds like Fox News. However, during Obama's presidency Stewart has shown himself willing to criticize the Democratic leader.

Stewart also pushed Obama on the gap between his idealism during the campaign and the cynical timbre in Washington throughout his presidency.

"When we promised change you can believe it, we didn't say 'change in 18 months,'" Obama countered.

Despite a few moments of disagreement, Stewart was wiling to allow the President to read through his talking points which he had perfected throughout the day. Earlier, Obama had appeared on a number of radio interviews, including one with Rev. Al Sharpton.

The Daily Show's upcoming rally did get a mention at the end of the program when Obama joked that it should have come two years earlier. The president made no mention of being there, which fits in with the event's supposedly apolitical status.

However, a subtle advertisement for the rally may have come through the general tone of the interview. Stewart has been selling the event as a level-headed response to the virulent political discourse of recent months. Given the polite though involved interaction these two had Wednesday, for one evening, both of them can claim they practiced what they preached.