Obama the joker at press dinner
Source: AFP |
April 29, 2013, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
US President Barack Obama poked fun at himself, his political opponents, the news media and even his wife's hairstyle late Saturday at the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner.
The dinner, where around 3,000 guests dine in a massive hotel ballroom, is greeted with near hysteria in Washington, normally a strait-laced town where celebrity is calculated in degrees of political power rather than box office pulling power.
In recent years, the dinner has been transformed from a chance for journalists and their bosses to meet with government officials into a full-bore celebrity party, with A-listers imported from Hollywood - a "nerd prom" as some call it.
"These days I look in the mirror and have to admit, I'm not the strapping young Muslim Socialist that I used to be," Obama said in one of his choice jokes, mocking that belief among a radical conservative fringe of Americans.
He showed a montage of pictures showing him in a haircut with bangs like his wife Michelle wore on inauguration day.
Targets of Obama's humor included billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who spent US$100 million backing Mitt Romney and other Republican candidates in the 2012 race; conservative radio provocateur Rush Limbaugh; the three major cable news networks; and several conservative Republican politicos.
The humor was mostly made up of inside jokes for news junkies, though the president ended with a clip in which Hollywood director Steven Spielberg mentioned a new movie - "Obama," starring Daniel Day-Lewis. Obama then appeared acting as if he were Day-Lewis preparing for the role.
The night's featured comedian was Conan O'Brien, who mocked US politicians and the media but also had choice words for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
"In the past we've had really scary enemies like Saddam Hussein and Hitler," said O'Brien. "Now our nemesis is a pouty teenage boy who dresses like Rosie O'Donnell at the Emmys."
Kim "doesn't understand that we aren't afraid of him. What that guy doesn't get is that we already have an unstable peninsula that will ultimately bring down America. It's called Florida," referring to the electoral woes from the US state.
The dinner, where around 3,000 guests dine in a massive hotel ballroom, is greeted with near hysteria in Washington, normally a strait-laced town where celebrity is calculated in degrees of political power rather than box office pulling power.
In recent years, the dinner has been transformed from a chance for journalists and their bosses to meet with government officials into a full-bore celebrity party, with A-listers imported from Hollywood - a "nerd prom" as some call it.
"These days I look in the mirror and have to admit, I'm not the strapping young Muslim Socialist that I used to be," Obama said in one of his choice jokes, mocking that belief among a radical conservative fringe of Americans.
He showed a montage of pictures showing him in a haircut with bangs like his wife Michelle wore on inauguration day.
Targets of Obama's humor included billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who spent US$100 million backing Mitt Romney and other Republican candidates in the 2012 race; conservative radio provocateur Rush Limbaugh; the three major cable news networks; and several conservative Republican politicos.
The humor was mostly made up of inside jokes for news junkies, though the president ended with a clip in which Hollywood director Steven Spielberg mentioned a new movie - "Obama," starring Daniel Day-Lewis. Obama then appeared acting as if he were Day-Lewis preparing for the role.
The night's featured comedian was Conan O'Brien, who mocked US politicians and the media but also had choice words for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
"In the past we've had really scary enemies like Saddam Hussein and Hitler," said O'Brien. "Now our nemesis is a pouty teenage boy who dresses like Rosie O'Donnell at the Emmys."
Kim "doesn't understand that we aren't afraid of him. What that guy doesn't get is that we already have an unstable peninsula that will ultimately bring down America. It's called Florida," referring to the electoral woes from the US state.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
