Obama has a dig at Putin, news channels
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US President Barack Obama joked about Russian President Vladimir Putin and issues closer to home as he headlined the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday. The annual tradition has the president mocking others and himself as celebrities mingle with journalists and politicians.
Obama made fun of conservative television hosts’ talk about Putin’s bare chest.
“Last year Pat Buchanan (conservative politician and columnist) said Putin is headed straight for the Nobel Peace Prize, he said this, now I know it sounds crazy but to be fair they give those to just about anybody these day.
“So it could happen. But it’s not just Pat, Rudy Giuliani (former New York mayor) said Putin is what you call a leader, Mike Huckabee (Republican politician) and Sean Hannity (television host and conservative political commentator) keep talking about his bare chest, which is kind of weird.
“Look it up. They talk about it a lot.”
Obama mocked MSNBC’s low viewership, then took a jab at Fox News. “Let’s face it, Fox, you’ll miss me when I’m gone. It’ll be harder to convince the American people that Hillary was born in Kenya,” he said.
Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton is widely seen as the frontrunner in the 2016 presidential race.
Obama also turned the humor on himself and his difficult 2013, including the deeply troubled rollout of the website for his health care overhaul.
“In 2008, my slogan was ‘Yes We Can.’ In 2013, my slogan was Control+Alt+Delete,” the president joked in reference to the technical problems on HealthCare.gov, the website created for his signature health care overhaul.
“On the plus side,” he said, “they did turn the launch of HealthCare.gov into one of the year’s biggest movies.” A poster of the Disney movie “Frozen” then flashed on the screen.
Obama said that he was happy to be at the dinner, but was “a little jet lagged” after returning from his trip to Malaysia. “The lengths we have to travel to get CNN coverage,” he quipped.
The reference was to CNN’s blanket coverage of the missing Malaysia Airlines airplane that for a time pushed all other news off their airwaves.
First Lady Michelle Obama accompanied him to the black tie event, and Joel McHale, star of the NBC series “Community,” was the dinner’s featured entertainer.
Obama also took a swipe at Republicans for blocking his bid to raise the minimum wage. “If you want to get paid for not working you should run for Congress just like everyone else,” he said.
Celebrities attending included Sofia Vergara and the stars of Washington-centric shows like “Veep” and “Scandal.” “Gravity” director Alfonso Cuaron was a guest, as was actress Diane Lane. Television stars included Olivia Munn of HBO’s “The Newsroom,” and Juliana Margulies of CBS’ “The Good Wife.”
The correspondent’s association, which represents the White House press corps, is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Several journalists were awarded prizes for their coverage of the presidency and national issues.
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