President Barack Obama brought his comedic “A” game to a star-studded crowd of politicians and celebrities Saturday night at the White House Correspondents Association dinner, that annual gathering of Washington and Hollywood insiders that allows the commander-in-chief to show off his comedic timing—and the joke-writing skills of he and his aides.
Obama didn’t let any of the Washington (or Hollywood) players off the hook, directing barbs at a long list of characters that included Mitt Romney, the U.S. Congress, Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Joe Biden, the Huffington Post, Kim Kardashian, Jimmy Kimmel, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. He also didn’t hesitate to poke fun at himself.
Showing that he continues to pay close attention to black culture, Obama even made a hilarious reference to the rapper Young Jeezy. He said that for those conservatives who suspect that he will unleash a radical new agenda in his next term, “you’re absolutely right.” He then listed things that he would do differently after his re-election.
“In my first term I sang Al Green; in my second term I’m going with Young Jeezy.” He eyed his lovely wife and added: “Michelle said, ‘Yeeaaah.’” The camera showed Michelle Obama nodding her head. “I sing that to her sometimes,” the president said.
Among the best lines were these:
“My name is Barack Obama. My mother was born in Kansas, my father was born in Kenya, and I of course was born in Hawaii,” then he winked at the crowd, in an obvious reference to the birther controversy.
Alluding to the rapid aging that a president endures, Obama said, “four years from now, I will look like this,” and a picture of Morgan Freeman flashed up on the big screen. Then, as the crowd roared, he said, “That’s not even funny.”
“What’s the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull?” Obama said, using a joke popularized by Sarah Palin during the 2008 election. He answered, “A pit bull is delicious,” referring to Republican attacks on him for eating dog meat when he was a child in Indonesia, which he revealed in his memoir. “A little soy sauce,” he added, chuckling.