Once a year, the media takes a chill pill and lets the president blow off some steam at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, where political correctness goes to die.
Since 1924, the dinner has been the venue for a short stand-up routine by the president in which he satirizes controversial issues, his rivals and even himself, without having to face any tragic repercussions. Barack Obama had some witty one-liners at the dinner last Saturday, and some other jokes that didn’t fare so well. Here’s a look at Obama’s top five jokes, and a few others worth mentioning, with some context in case you missed the punch line.
5. “I’ve cut the tension by bringing a new friend to the White House. He’s warm, he’s cuddly, loyal, enthusiastic. You just have to keep him on a tight leash. Every once in a while he goes charging off in the wrong direction and gets himself into trouble. But enough about Joe Biden.”
If you didn’t get the memo, Joe Biden’s selection as vice president was as calculated a political move as any. He was selected to outweigh doubts regarding Obama’s youth and inexperience, but choosing Biden for the number two spot brought some long-term consequences. He has a big mouth. When it comes to political correctness, Biden seems to think every day is the Correspondents’ dinner. As seen on many occasions, the V.P. has found himself apologizing for gaffe after gaffe (most recently about swine flu precautions), so it’s pretty reasonable that he was the butt of this joke.
4. “Now Sasha and Malia aren’t here tonight because they’re grounded. You can’t just take Air Force One on a joy ride to Manhattan.”
New York City got a scare reminiscent of 9/11 last week when the president’s plane was flown very low above Manhattan for a photo-op in front of the Statue of Liberty. It resulted in a furious Obama, a distraught Mayor Bloomberg and a now jobless Louis Caldera, the official in the White House Military Office who approved the flight. Of course, the first daughters had nothing to do with it, but the thought of them being responsible for freaking out the largest city in America is pretty funny.
3. “[David Axelrod] said to me the same thing that partners all across America are saying to one another right now: Let’s go to Iowa and make it official.”
It’s official: In April, Iowa joined the group of states that allow same-sex marriage. The joke was in reference to David Axelrod, who was a chief strategist in Obama’s presidential campaign, and one of the key factors that led to Obama’s win of the Iowa caucus in 2008. Axelrod is currently a senior adviser to the president, but the two have had a close relationship since Obama’s original senate campaign in 2004.
2. “Michael Steele is in the house tonight. Or, as he would say, ‘in the heezy.’ What’s up? Michael, for the last time, the Republican Party does not qualify for a bailout. Rush Limbaugh does not count as a troubled asset, I’m sorry.”
The GOP finally realized that the entire country views them as the party of old white men, so they recently rolled out a plan to establish a new image. Michael Steele, GOP Chairman, is instrumental in the new program, which plans to rejuvenate the party with a younger, cooler look. This Obama joke was mocking Steele for thinking he was, indeed, all up in the heezy. Also, Rush Limbaugh has been seen by many as the de facto leader of the Republican Party for his aggressive stances, if not for his demagoguery and volume. Aside from Limbaugh’s desire to see Obama fail, he’s been seen as a major source of internal conflict within the GOP.
1. “I do have to say, though, that Mother’s Day is a tough holiday for Rahm Emanuel because he’s not used to saying the word ‘day’ after ‘mother.’”
You’d better hope he doesn’t kiss his mother with that mouth. Rahm Emanuel is notorious for his dirty language. Unfortunately, there’s very little video or audio proof because he has been careful to keep it from the public, but this Northwestern graduate’s language is infamous in Washington. Even Nancy Pelosi called it to attention when she said the stimulus package could be paid for from the money in Emanuel’s swear jar.
Of course, not all the jokes hit their marks:
Boy, this one was just weird. Remember that 2008 movie (which was based on a memoir that parodied a book which was originally parodied by another book… phew), called How to Lose Friends and Alienate People? Well, Obama killed two birds with one stone by tying in Dick Cheney’s hunting disaster and his questionable stance on torture, all wrapped into a nice little movie reference that no one remembers. You could see Obama cringe the second he said it.
Summers has a controversial stance on gender equality which was discovered during his tenure as president of Harvard. In a speech in January 2005, he tried explaining why men are more prevalent in science and engineering careers than women. You can bet the media had a field day with that one. Summers’ alleged sexism cost him the position of treasury secretary in the Obama administration, according to some experts.
House Minority Leader John Boehner is known in Washington for his rather tan complexion. In fact, many have asserted that he uses artificial tanning to stay dark. Some found Obama’s poke to be off-color, while others thought of it as perfectly justified. See for yourself.
As always, the dinner was a night of laughs, but not without the very controversy that the media pledges to overlook. America saw in its president a good sense of humor — a great reminder that although our leader is balancing the greatest challenges of the world on his shoulders, he’s still a normal man, despite what others may want to believe.