# The Ball Suckers Ball



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

*Obama the star at reporters' annual dinner*

 









 
Sun May 10, 12:21 AM ET

President Barack Obama reacts with laughter to comic actess Wanda Sykes who entertained the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner at the Hilton Hotel in Washington, Saturday, May 9, 2009. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

By CHRISTINE SIMMONS, Associated Press Writer Christine Simmons, Associated Press Writer - 1 hr 48 mins ago
WASHINGTON - It was the hottest ticket in town, a black-tie dinner gathering of Washington's political and media elite but Dick Cheney couldn't make it.
The former vice president was busy, President Barack Obama joked, working on his memoir "tentatively titled, How to Shoot Friends and Interrogate People."
As the star attraction of Saturday night's star-studded annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner, Obama enjoyed poking fun at his critics and the Republican Party. But his own administration, in power for just over 100 days, was also a target of the president's playful digs and one-liners.
"I believe my next hundred days will be so successful that I will be able to complete them in 72 days," he said to a roar of laughter. "And on my 73rd day, I will rest."
His chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, Obama observed, always has a hard time on Mother's Day.
"He's not used to saying the word 'day' after 'mother,'" Obama said.
The chairman of Republican National Committee, Michael Steele, was "in the house tonight," Obama noted. "Or as he would say, 'In the heezy.'"
"Michael for the last time, the Republican Party does not qualify for a bailout," Obama told Steele. "Rush Limbaugh does not count as a troubled asset, I'm sorry."
Obama made light of his frequent use of a teleprompter and poked fun at Vice President Joe Biden's habit of speaking off the cuff. And about the Democratic Party, Obama said his administration has helped in "bringing in fresh, young faces - like Arlen Specter." The 79-year-old Pennsylvania senator, a former Republican, switched parties last month.
Obama noted that he and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had once been political rivals. "These days," he assured the gathering at the Washington Hilton ballroom, "we could not be closer."
"In fact the second she got back from Mexico, she pulled me into a hug and said I should go down there myself."
Near the end of his talk, Obama turned serious and spoke of the financially struggling media industry, praising journalists for holding government officials accountable. "A government without newspapers, a government without a tough and vibrant media of all sorts is not an option for the United States of America," he said.
The president was the night's big draw, but not the only comedian.
Comic actress Wanda Sykes, the dinner's entertainer, teased Obama for giving the Queen of England an iPhone during a recent visit. And she mocked first lady Michelle Obama for patting the queen on the back "like she just slid into home plate - way to go, queen!"
Along with the reporters, the $200-per-ticket dinner attracted plenty of VIPs from outside the Beltway.
Among those attending were Eva Longoria Parker, Ashton Kutcher, Christian Slater, Natalie Portman, Sting, Mariska Hargitay, Steven Spielberg and Jon Bon Jovi. Also there was Richard Phillips, who was held hostage by Somali pirates after his cargo ship was attacked.
Proceeds from the gala, including donations from several major media organizations, totaled $98,000 and go toward feeding the hungry and funding journalism scholarships.

___ 
On the Net:

White House Correspondents' Association: http://www.whca.net 
Video of the dinner: http://www.cspan.org/

Obama the star at reporters' annual dinner - Yahoo! News


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## trueblue (Jan 21, 2008)

I can only cringe when I think of what this clown is going to be like after 3 years in office................


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## LGriffin (Apr 2, 2009)

Yikes, from the title I though they were talking about tea bagging, and as I read on, it appears I was correct.


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## Kilvinsky (Jan 15, 2007)

Bush made jokes about Democrats, but not as many and not as pointed. HE had class. This douc...'scuse me, slug has none.

If anyone here saw the SNL opening skit from last night, it's a freakin' riot. BIG shot at the Dems and how they like to be overly nice to EVERYBODY. The Banks, after being given that stress test were given a written test. 100 questions that at first were given 1 point each so the scores would be 1-100.

But they didn't want to stigmatize the banks that did poorly so they made it Pass/Fail. That too didn't seem fair so it became Pass/Pass*. Lastly it became, just to be fair, Pass/Pass.

you get the idea, but it was brilliantly executed and very funny. This is where the humor should stay, not with the president. Then again, he IS a clown!


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## jettsixx (Dec 10, 2005)




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## Guest (May 10, 2009)

The funniest comic they could get was Wanda Sykes? Jesus... come on people. There are 1000 comics out there that have better material than her. Ooops... I forgot. They aren't black and liberal. She is the equivalent of Bush having Jeff Foxworthy come in. Have some fucking class.


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## KozmoKramer (Apr 25, 2004)

Just in case I was hallucinating, at 25:26 did he, the President of the United States really say "wus sup John" ?????


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## OfficerObie59 (Sep 14, 2007)

Kilvinsky said:


> Bush made jokes about Democrats, but not as many and not as pointed. HE had class. This douc...'scuse me, slug has none.
> 
> If anyone here saw the SNL opening skit from last night, it's a freakin' riot. BIG shot at the Dems and how they like to be overly nice to EVERYBODY. The Banks, after being given that stress test were given a written test. 100 questions that at first were given 1 point each so the scores would be 1-100.
> 
> ...


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## Goose (Dec 1, 2004)

kwflatbed said:


> Obama noted that he and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had once been political rivals. "These days," he assured the gathering at the Washington Hilton ballroom, "we could not be closer."
> *"In fact the second she got back from Mexico, she pulled me into a hug and said I should go down there myself."*


I don't know about you guys, but I'm sure as hell not going down on Hillary.

...........

...or to Mexico, either.


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## HistoryHound (Aug 30, 2008)

I thought the joke about the failed photo op with the backup for Air Force One flying over Manhattan (17:10) was in poor taste. Maybe it's just me but I don't think the president should find anything about that amusing. What's funny about something that was extremely distressing to a lot of New Yorkers (many of whom are US citizens)? What's funny about wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars for a picture that anyone with Photo Shop could have done? I just don't get the "joke". Apparently I don't have a sense of humor (at least thats what I expect my liberal co-workers to tell me, right after they tell me that it was really Bush's fault).


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## Goose (Dec 1, 2004)

I didn't bother watching it...but indeed the whole photo op was screwed up. The worst part is that there was no need to do it over NYC or any particular location as the pictures they took are classified anyway. Meaning, they could have Photoshopped it or taken it over the Atlantic and it wouldn't have mattered.


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