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President
Barack
Obama,
right,
kisses
first
lady
Michelle
Obama,
left,
after he
spoke at
the
annual
White
House
Correspondents'
Association
dinner
at the
Washington
Hilton
in
Washington,
Saturday,
April
30,
2016.
(Photo:
Susan
Walsh,
AP) |
|
Obama
out:
President
closes
out his
run as
comedian-in-chief
By
DOUGLASS
K.
DANIEL
Associated
Press
WASHINGTON
-
President
Barack
Obama
performed
his
brand of
sharp-tongued
comedy
at the
White
House
Correspondents'
Dinner
for the
last
time -
wrapping
up with
"Obama
out" and
dropping
the mic
while
the
crowd
cheered.
Obama's
performance
Saturday
night
proved
he
hasn't
lost a
step.
"If this
material
works
well,
I'm
going to
use it
at
Goldman
Sachs
next
year,"
Obama
quipped.
"Earn me
some
serious
Tubmans."
Obama
drew
plenty
of
laughs
with his
barbed
remarks
to a
ballroom
filled
with
journalists,
politicians,
and
movie
and
television
stars.
It was
his
eighth
appearance
at the
event
and his
last as
president
and he
kidded
about
the
pains of
being a
lame
duck.
"Last
week
Prince
George
showed
up to
our
meeting
in his
bathrobe,"
Obama
cracked.
"That
was a
slap in
the
face."
The
president
waxed
nostalgic
at
times.
"Eight
years
ago I
said it
was time
to
change
the tone
of our
politics.
In
hindsight,
I
clearly
should
have
been
more
specific."
And he
acknowledged
that the
years
had
taken
their
toll.
"I'm
gray,
grizzled
...
counting
down the
days to
my death
panel."
On the
other
hand, he
pointed
out that
his
approval
ratings
are up.
"The
last
time I
was this
high,"
he said,
"I was
trying
to
decide
on my
major."
When he
said he
couldn't
explain
the rise
in his
popularity,
two
photographs
of
scowling
presidential
candidates
appeared
on
ballroom
screens:
Donald
Trump
and Ted
Cruz.
Obama
took a
few more
swipes
at the
presidential
race,
noting
that
"next
year at
this
time
someone
else
will be
standing
here in
this
very
spot,
and it's
anyone's
guess
who she
will
be."
After
calling
presidential
candidate
Bernie
Sanders
the
bright
new face
of the
Democratic
Party,
Obama
contrasted
the
slogan
"Feel
the
Bern"
with one
he said
was
rival
Hillary
Clinton's:
"Trudge
Up the
Hill."
Republicans
took
most of
Obama's
humorous
broadsides.
"Guests
were
asked to
check
whether
they
wanted
steak or
fish,"
he told
the
diners,
"and
instead
a whole
bunch of
you
wrote in
Paul
Ryan."
Obama
said of
the
billionaire
businessman
and real
estate
mogul
leading
the GOP
race:
"He has
spent
years
meeting
with
leaders
from
around
the
world -
Miss
Sweden,
Miss
Argentina,
Miss
Azerbaijan."
He
added:
"And
there's
one area
where
Donald's
experience
could be
invaluable,
and
that's
closing
Guantanamo
-
because
Trump
knows a
thing or
two
about
running
waterfront
properties
into the
ground."
Turning
serious,
the
president
thanked
the
White
House
press
corps
and
praised
a free
press.
Obama
took a
few
hits,
too.
Preceding
his
remarks
was a
tongue-in-cheek
video
tribute
to his
seven-plus
years in
office
that
contained
highlights
of his
verbal
gaffes -
his
reference
to "57
states"
and
misspelling
'rspect"
among
them -
as well
as
light-hearted
moments.
Comedian
Larry
Wilmore,
the
evening's
professional
entertainment,
began by
saying,
"It's
not easy
to
follow
the
president."
Then he
proved
his
point,
offering
a series
of jokes
about
the
president,
different
media
organizations
and
various
presidential
candidates
that
often
were
racially
tinged
and drew
a
mixture
of
laughter
and
groans.
"Welcome
to Negro
night,"
Wilmore
said,
and
added
that Fox
News had
reported
that
"two
thugs"
disrupted
an
elegant
dinner,
also
mixing
in
critiques
of CNN's
viewership
and
MSNBC's
firing
of black
anchors.
Wilmore
said the
president
is
showing
signs
that his
time in
office
has been
hard on
him.
"You
came in
here
looking
like
Denzel,
now
you're
going
out
looking
like
Grady
from
'Sanford
and
Son.'"
As usual
the
Washington
Hilton
ballroom
was a
celebrity-spotters
dream.
Democratic
presidential
candidate
Bernie
Sanders
joined
Vice
President
Joe
Biden,
Secretary
of State
John
Kerry
and
other
government
officials
taking a
seat.
Also on
hand
were
Republican
Party
Chairman
Reince
Priebus,
former
House
Speaker
Newt
Gingrich
and
former
New York
Mayor
Michael
Bloomberg.
Trump, a
regular
in
recent
years,
was
absent
this
time,
but a
son and
daughter-in-law,
Donald
Jr. and
Vanessa
Trump,
were
spotted
on the
red
carpet.
Among
the film
and
television
performers
at the
event
were
Oscar
winners
Helen
Mirren
and
Jared
Leto,
"Breaking
Bad"
actor
Bryan
Cranston,
"Independence
Day"
stars
Will
Smith
and Jeff
Goldblum,
actress
Rachel
McAdams,
and
"Night
Manager"
miniseries
star Tom
Hiddleston.
Proceeds
from the
dinner
go
toward
journalism
scholarships
and
reporting
awards.
This
year's
winners:
- Carol
Lee of
the Wall
Street
Journal,
winner
of the
Aldo
Beckman
Memorial
Award
for
excellence
in White
House
coverage.
- Matt
Viser of
the
Boston
Globe,
winner
of the
Merriman
Smith
Award
for
outstanding
White
House
coverage
under
deadline
pressure.
- Norah
O'Donnell
of CBS
News,
winner
of the
Merriman
Smith
Award
for
broadcast
journalism.
-
Terrence
McCoy of
The
Washington
Post and
Neela
Banerjee,
John
Cushman
Jr.,
David
Hasemyer
and Lisa
Song of
InsideClimate,
winners
of the
Edgar A.
Poe
award,
which
recognizes
excellence
in
coverage
of
events
or
investigative
topics
of
regional
or
national
interest.
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