Simon Cowell recently let the beans spill during a routine radio interview: the minds behind American Idol hope to receive a visit from President Barack Obama in the near future.

“We’re trying,” Cowell admitted that the show would like to book an appearance from the Head Honcho himself. The acerbic judge also noticed that Obama mentioned his name during the much talked-about appearance on The Tonight Show. Cowell related the moment, saying that Barack Obama “was on the Tonight Show, talking about how everyone in Washington is a critic.” Indeed, it was one of the funnier moments of the interview. “And then he said: ‘unfortunately, they’re all like Simon Cowell.’ I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or not.”

I’m not, either, but there’s no question about whether or not Simon Cowell wants to compliment the country’s Commander-in-Chief. The famously hard-to-please judge thinks Obama is “a really cool guy.”

Cool enough to appear on reality TV? We’ll have to wait and see.

(You can find all the American Idol 8 posts here.)