President Obama’s remarks last night at the White House Correspondences’ Association Dinner had some great lines and some solemn words for recent tragedies and the media’s handling of them.
But, aside from the Steven Spielberg production of “Obama,” and The President’s bangs, I thought some of the best lines of the night were directed at the press corp, notwithstanding the praise for The Boston Globe:
And of course, the White House press corps is here. I know CNN has taken some knocks lately, but the fact is I admire their commitment to cover all sides of a story, just in case one of them happens to be accurate[...]
The History Channel is not here. I guess they were embarrassed about the whole Obama-is-a-devil thing. (Laughter.) Of course, that never kept Fox News from showing up. (Laughter.) They actually thought the comparison was not fair — to Satan.
There are other new players in the media landscape as well, like super PACs. Did you know that Sheldon Adelson spent $100 million of his own money last year on negative ads? You’ve got to really dislike me — (laughter) — to spend that kind of money. I mean, that’s Oprah money. (Laughter.) You could buy an island and call it “Nobama” for that kind of money. (Laughter.) Sheldon would have been better off offering me $100 million to drop out of the race. (Laughter and applause.) I probably wouldn’t have taken it, but I’d have thought about it. (Laughter.) Michelle would have taken it. (Laughter.) You think I’m joking?
I know Republicans are still sorting out what happened in 2012, but one thing they all agree on is they need to do a better job reaching out to minorities. And look, call me self-centered, but I can think of one minority they could start with. (Laughter.) Hello? Think of me as a trial run, you know? (Laughter.) See how it goes. (Laughter.)
I am not giving up. In fact, I’m taking my charm offensive on the road — a Texas barbeque with Ted Cruz, a Kentucky bluegrass concert with Rand Paul, and a book-burning with Michele Bachmann. (Laughter and applause.)
Full transcript and video here:
Click here to view the embedded video.
Meanwhile, former almost Vice President of The Free World, Sarah Palin, had some classy remarks from the bunker somewhere in her mind:
