May 10, 2009

"Most of you covered me; all of you voted for me. Apologies to the Fox table."

At the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, Obama tells jokes. Obama's jokes — unlike Bush's — have semicolons in them. He's so smart!

The featured comedian was Wanda Sykes, who talked about the President's nipples:
"It's funny to me that [photographers] have never caught you smoking," Sykes told the president, "but they always catch you with your shirt off. I know you're into this transparency thing, but I don't need to see your nipples."

73 comments:

rhhardin said...

There were no self-deprecatory broken kneecap jokes about the senior secured creditors of Chrysler.

Wince said...

Another god-king self-reference:

"My next 100 days will be so successful, I will complete them in 72 days. And on the 73rd day, I will rest."

Peter V. Bella said...

More blah blah blah from the history making legacy. Now if he could only accomplish something.

MadisonMan said...

People on the left didn't like Bush's jokes either.

I like the tag Obamedy.

Ron said...

Let's see her do those jokes if Palin gets elected...

Bissage said...

Phew!

Good thing I had the presence of mind to look up Wanda Sykes before I made fun of her name . . . she’s BLACK!!!

Fen said...

I'm hearing our media watchdogs all fainted again. Except for Chrissy - he's still orgasmic over the shivers going up his leg.

Palladian said...

Did she speak truth to power like that hero Stephen Colbert did to the Bushitler?

It seems some people are very selective about when they want power to hear the truth.

rhhardin said...

Dennis Miller wasn't available so the entertainment committee went with Wanda Sykes.

Jon said...

Overall I give Obama's performance a B-. He was amusing, but nowhere near as funny as McCain was at that dinner last fall (and I loathe McCain). He could have used a lot more self-deprecation.

I give him some points for the "funny because it's true" joke about how all the journos voted for him. I'd have given him more points if he'd gone further with that, maybe followed up with some comment about about how he was "enchanted" to be there.

I turned Sykes off after about 20 seconds.

KCFleming said...

"...all of you voted for me."

The press, bought and paid for.

How is this any different than a state-run media?

I saw The Soloist last night. A pretty good film. The background of this true story involves a write for the LA Times. It details the shedding of readers and jobs, not discussing why.

In no small part, their role as propagandists for the Democratic party has doomed them to irrelevance. As it stands, the only TV news not owned by Obama is a populist Hee Haw station.

Goddamn the legacy press to hell.

Ernesto Ariel Suárez said...

Pogo said...

"...all of you voted for me."

The press, bought and paid for.

How is this any different than a state-run media?

[...]
9:31 AM
.

Good question. I am sure our dear Beth can tell us what the difference is.

I'm Full of Soup said...

My local news station reported last night's sindig did not include any dessert. The money they would have spent on dessert instead was donated to Obama's 2012campaign fund.

[I made that last part up]. Heh.

Jeff with one 'f' said...

"It's funny to me that [photographers] have never caught you smoking,"

Yeah, right- just like the press had no idea that JFK was womanizing while in office... or that FDR used a wheelchair.

I'm Full of Soup said...

"Sindig" was not a play on words meant to criticize wasteful activities by our president during a time of war and a recesession and a national malaise and a Yankees losing streak. Heh.

somefeller said...

"How is this any different than a state-run media?"

"Good question. I am sure our dear Beth can tell us what the difference is."

If you can't tell the difference between people who freely vote in favor of a candidate versus employees of a state-run industry, you are the person with a problem. I know it's hard to be on the losing side of an election, particularly when the defeat is so overwhelming, but try not to let the tears ruin your aim.

Like MadisonMan said, people on the left didn't like Bush's jokes either. And the jokes at these sorts of events are usually that funny. (DC is a town where Mark Russell was a successful comedian!) Plus ça change...

Bissage said...

Apologies to the Fox table.

That’s nothing more than a petty taunt (ball-busting, really) that should be beneath the dignity of the President of the United States.

A true story comes to mind. My girlfriend’s father hated my guts because I wasn’t a Jew. Still, at her (and her sister’s) insistence, I was invited to the family Sedar. There were five other guests but I was the only non-Jew out of 10 people.

After the ceremony, we were all still seated at the table and her father tells us a Jesus joke. Then he says to me (loud so everyone can hear), “I apologize for causing you offense.”

He said it real sarcastic-like.

Well, he was a fucking jitt stain and he obviously meant to single me out for embarrassment. He was a big-shot that evening and he wanted to make sure that everyone knew I wasn’t one of them and that I ought to be disfavored for it.

Anyway, the story has a happy ending, sort of. After he did that, there was an awkward silence, except for my girlfriend’s sister who went, “Daaaaaaaaaaaaaad!”

So it went quiet again and I said, “There’s no need to apologize, Mr. Kessel, I’m not a Christian.”

That got a bigger laugh than his joke, so I guess I won that round, for what it’s worth, anyway. So far as I’m concerned, nobody ever really wins when shit like that happens.

kentuckyliz said...

The press response to that comment was even more telling. Not only did they laugh--they cheered and applauded in a loud and sustained way.

Which explains why newspapers are dying and viewership of the cable news networks are declining.

Journalism turned into advocacy a year or two ago (at least).

Journalism is dead.

O'Bama was pretty funny about his own ego--announcing the construction of the First Hundred Days Presidential Library (first in a series). LOL

Richard Lawrence Cohen said...

So now you like semicolons?

Beth said...

The press voted for Obama (except for the ones that didn't) and we're now in tyranny. I heard the same thing during Clinton's terms and yet, here we are, still freely exercising our right to vote.

I am glad there's Fox, and the WSJ, and the NY Post, and whoever else doesn't lean liberal. I'm also glad there's Kaus and Hitchens and a bunch of other online writers who both keep an eye on the mainstream media and do their own work as well. I'm glad for the breadth of blogs that keep mining this territory - in NOLA we're witnessing our mainstream press finally following stories first broached by local bloggers a year ago about corruption in the Nagin administration. The local press were largely cheerleaders for Nagin in his first term, and it took awhile to get them to look at his emails, his schedule and the no-bid contracts being issued by the city before and after the storm.

Perhaps I'm naive, but I still have a lot of faith in America and the First Amendment, and market forces as well.

I'm Full of Soup said...

"The local press were largely cheerleaders for Nagin in his first term"

Based on that performance standard, the MSM will end its idolatry of Obama around 2013?

Buford Gooch said...

There seem to be two Bissages. There's "the wonderful Bissage", and I agree that he is wonderful, and there's the Bissage who shows up from time to time (like today) who seems pissy and nasty.

Methadras said...

I think at this point Lord Humongous would not only be a better president, but tell better jokes.

Fen said...

That’s nothing more than a petty taunt (ball-busting, really) that should be beneath the dignity of the President of the United States..

And it falls a bit short when you recall that Obama was to chickshit to debate on FOX.

Must have been over that right wing fascit Mora Liason of NPR.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Oh..puleeze. How hard is it to read jokes off of a teleprompter that were written by somebody else.

Does anyone seriously think that Obama sat down and wrote his own material? The guy is just a walking talking puppet for either his "handlers", speech writers and now his not so good comedy team.

Bob said...

I watched a few minutes of the dinner and Obama came across as smug and condescending. It was painful to watch. A marked contrast from his performance last year when McCain and Obama came across as genuinely funny.

Ann Althouse said...

Richard Lawrence Cohen said... "So now you like semicolons?"

DId I criticize your semicolons in the bygone days?

Actually, my comment here is just spoofing the press.

Fen said...

/edit, should be

And it falls a bit short when you recall that Obama was to chickenshit to debate on FOX

Jeremy said...

Peter - "More blah blah blah from the history making legacy. Now if he could only accomplish something."

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

Obama was very funny and Sykes was hilarious.

Conservatives just don't have a sense of humor.

But they sure know how to whine and bitch.

Get used to it...Obama's going to be around for eight years.

Jeremy said...

kentuckyliz said..."Journalism is dead."

Maybe if you knew how to read you'd see things differently.

But you always have Rush, Sean, Bill Savage and Coulter to rely on for the "real" journalism...right?

Jeremy said...

Pogo said..."The press, bought and paid for. How is this any different than a state-run media?"

It was a JOKE...moron.

Even YOU can't be that dense.

*Never mind...I forgot...you are that dense.

Duh.

Jeremy said...

Dust Bunny Queen - "Oh..puleeze. How hard is it to read jokes off of a teleprompter that were written by somebody else."

YEAH!!!

Why can't the President take the time write and memorize his own jokes?

What's this country coming to?

*Oh course we could go back to little Georgie...who couldn't even read what was written for him.

Peter V. Bella said...

Sorry to disappoint your lying hypocritical ass Jeremy, but I am not crying over the election. I also do not get all cought up in personality cults like you libturds do. It is unseemly and immature; sort of like raging hormeone teenage girls at some concert.

Obama is nothing but a figurehead. He is doing what he is told. The power, the real president, is Nancy Pelosi. SHe is the threat and danger to our liberty. Obama is just an empty suit and puppet in search of a legacy; kind of like Charlie McCarthy.


BTW, Charlie McCarthy got great ratings everytime he was on TV.

Peter V. Bella said...

Sykes was only there to show that the dying media is oh so diversified. What better than a Black Female Homosexual.

Fen said...

Oh course we could go back to little Georgie...who couldn't even read what was written for him..

But Obama has done just the same on multiple occasions. Your media just keeps it from you.

Jeremy said...

Peter V. Bella said..."Sorry to disappoint your lying hypocritical ass Jeremy, but I am not crying over the election."

You've been whining and bitching every minute of every day since Obama won.

You're just a big crybaby who can't accept the fact that the Republicans are in free fall.

Tell me who the leader of the party is.

Rush...Newt...Cheney...Palin...??

Who??

Jeremy said...

Fen said..."But Obama has done just the same on multiple occasions. Your media just keeps it from you."

Yeah, Obama really has a tough time communicating his message.

Probably why he didn't win the election...or carries such a low approval rating...oh, wait...

Bissage said...

Buford Gooch, thank you for your 11:53 comment. In response, I have been commenting here at Althouse for what seems like many years and I have always done my level best to make my comments in good faith and to keep them . . . umm . . . shall we say . . . idiosyncratic.

I would like for you to enjoy, or at least to appreciate, the full spectrum of where I am coming from, although I know that is asking maybe too much.

Anyway, I really don’t know how, or why, I came to be called “Wonderful Bissage.” (Maybe it has something to do with both Althouse and yours truly starting out in the arts but finishing up in the law.) This said, all I know is that it is very flattering. I try to live up to the apparent honor and I try to earn it every time I hit the “Publish Your Comment” button. Sometimes, regrettably, I fail.

Just as regrettably, I never really know when I am succeeding or when I am failing – which is why I again extend my heartfelt gratitude to you for your criticism. Without comments like yours, I am flailing in the dark, here.

In closing, I would just like to say “My Hovercraft is Full of Eels” and “Good Night and May God Bless” and “Thank You All for Your Individual Perceptions.”

Ha!

Jeremy said...

Bissage said..."Apologies to the Fox table. That’s nothing more than a petty taunt (ball-busting, really) that should be beneath the dignity of the President of the United States."

Not familiar with these affairs?

The whole point of the evening is for everybody, especially the President, to "roast" or as you put it provide "petty taunts" in everybody's direction.

It's worked for years and years...in BOTH directions.

Pastafarian said...

Jeremy said: "Sykes was hilarious."

Like when she said that she hoped Rush Limbaugh's kidneys would fail. That's some funny stuff right there. ROFL. Oops, I just shit my pants, I laughed so hard.

If you think that's funny, Jeremy, I recall a few baby-in-a-blender jokes from 5th grade that will have you in stitches.

At a normal correspondents' dinner, the featured comedian's primary target will be the sitting President, not his opponents. But those days are gone, aren't they?

Fen said...

Fen said..."But Obama has done just the same on multiple occasions. Your media just keeps it from you."

JeremyTroll: Yeah, Obama really has a tough time communicating his message blah blah blahThe point, cretin, was that Obama has made the same types of mumble stumbles Bush has. Try not to dodge into a brick wall next time.

Jeremy said...

Pastafarian said..."Like when she said that she hoped Rush Limbaugh's kidneys would fail."

Exactly.

But Sykes is a comic...and comics rely on such controversy.

But if you're interested in really disgusting statements, why not explain your hero saying anybody doing illegal drugs should be sent up the river...until he got his fat ass caught doing just that.

Rush is a slimebag and why the Republicans think this asshole is good for the party tells you how inept the leadership is.

Oh, wait...RUSH is the leader.

You people are FUCKED.

Jeremy said...

Fen, for someone as thoroughly unread and stupid, to try to compare Obama's communicating skills to George W. Bush...based on Obama periodically making a speaking mistake (and keep in mind he's given more press conferences in 100 days than Bush in the last three years of his administration)...illustrates just how delusional you are...and why the Republicans are eating shit.

Then again, YOU still think there are WMD.

Duh.

Jeremy said...

Notice how whenever I ask who the leader of the party is...everybody disappears?

I have.

Peter V. Bella said...

Jeremy Shat...
"...based on Obama
periodically making a speaking mistake...
"

Hmm, everytime he opens his mouth, the same words come out- er, ah, uh, eh, heh, em...

The leader of the Republican party is Michael Steele and you know it you lying ass hypocritical buffoon. You libturds just want the right to place your face on the party; of course only the glue sniffers and haters are falling for it.

jeff said...

Could be that they disappear because you're a douchebag. Isn't there a pedophile somewhere you should be defending?

Jeremy said...

Peter V. Bella said..."The leader of the Republican party is Michael Steele..."

No, Michael Steele is Chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Did you also consider:

1. Jim Gilmore
2. Marc Racicot
3. Ed Gillespie
4. Ken Mehlman

The "leaders" of the party?

Do you even know who they are?

I doubt it.

Jeremy said...

jeff said..."Could be that they disappear because you're a douchebag."

No, and you know it, too.

Using such an argument merely illustrates exactly what I said:

You have NO defense, and so you resort to childish statements like this: "oh, you're a bad person...that's why we didn't respond."

You don't respond because you don't have a response that makes any sense.

And you throw chickenshit in there too.

Peter V. Bella said...

Chickenshit Jeremy pissed...
"You have NO defense, and so you resort to childish statements like this: "oh, you're a bad person...that's why we didn't respond."Um, people who live in California glass houses should not throw stones. You resort to childish statements everytime and call people Un-American, un-patriotic, despicible, and disgusting. Now, you blather because people treat you the wqay you treat others.

I love your clap dripping hypocrisy.

BTW, did you, as Titus says, go jerky jerky while watching your Messiah?

former law student said...

How hard is it to read jokes off of a teleprompter that were written by somebody else.

Does anyone seriously think that Obama sat down and wrote his own material?

"That Bob Hope, what an asshole."

kentuckyliz said...

Oh Jeremy, grow up. I can read and I don't read/listen/follow any of those people you mention. I'm a registered Democrat and expect the press to do more due diligence and less advocacy. There's confusion between journalism and advocacy/PR. The press has forgotten who they are.

BTW I thought O'Bama was pretty funny. Especially in the beginning with both Teleprompters up and he welcomed everyone and read out loud, "Pause for audience laughter." Poking fun at himself. Then the teleprompters went down and he used paper at the podium. That was a good one, I thought. I wonder if he's aware of the TOTUS jokes and personae out there.

Jeremy said...

Blogger kentuckyliz said..."I can read and I don't read/listen/follow any of those people you mention. I'm a registered Democrat and expect the press to do more due diligence and less advocacy."

You're not a Democrat.

Blaming the "media" or the "MSM" is the oldest Republican defense in the books.

The press does a very good job, but when you say "press" are you including Fox News?

Rush, Sean, O'Reilly, Malkin...??

This was a roast of the press and others...not some kind of journalistic study group.

Get real.

Jeremy said...

Peter - I see the booze is kicking in.

Could your translate your latest insanity?

Jeremy said...

How does the majority here explain the fact that you represent about 35% of the American people?

Have any of you ever taken a math course?

Do you understand percentages and what they represent?

You just keep repeating the same worn out right wing arguments that were shown to be wrong, irrelevant and just plain stupid via the last election.

Did any of you idiots even vote?

The never ending mantra that "Obama is bad" only registers with people who are out of touch with reality.

You know, like the Ann Althouse "pack."

Jeremy said...

Petey...Before you pass out:

Have you found out who these people are yet?


1. Jim Gilmore
2. Marc Racicot
3. Ed Gillespie
4. Ken Mehlman

Jeremy said...

RNC chair Michael Steele responded to President Obama's ribbing of him at the White House Correspondents Dinner.

Asked by PoliticsDaily how he felt about Obama's jokes - "Michael Steele is in the house tonight -- or, as he would say, 'In the heezey,'" Steele laughed and said:

"It was good love between two brothers... I was surprised, but I appreciate the president giving me a shout out. I've given him a few over the years, so he just returned the favor."

He added that he was flattered by the attention from the president, tossing in a warning:

"It was nice to get the ribbing. Look, anytime you're called out by the President of the United States is pretty cool, right?" Steele said. "Look,

Jeremy said...

Buck, buck, buck, buck, buck, buck, Buck, buck, buck, buck, buck, buck,
Buck, buck, buck, buck, buck, buck,
Buck, buck, buck, buck, buck, buck,
Buck, buck, buck, buck, buck, buck,
Buck, buck, buck, buck, buck, buck,
Buck, buck, buck, buck, buck, buck,

Unknown said...

The fact that the WH gave the honor of hosting this event to the black (and just as unfunny) equivalent of Roseanne Barr is perfectly fitting for this administration. C'mon - this is the same group who had no clue about hosting the head of state of a principal ally, hits the 'overcharge' button with the Russians, nominates tax cheats to head the Treasury and scares NYC shitless with an Air Force One flyby. That's hilarious stuff.

The 1.8 trillion deficit - not so much.

Jeremy said...

James said..."The fact that the WH gave the honor of hosting this event to the black (and just as unfunny) equivalent of Roseanne Barr is perfectly fitting for this administration."

Right.

Why have someone who's highly regarded in the comdic industry, stars on a hit TV comedy, sells out comedy concerts...appear as your star comic.

These Democrats just don't understand.

Is there ANYTHING you wingnuts don't bitch and whine about?

Jeremy said...

James- AP News

Jul 29, 2008 05:34 EDT

"The government's budget deficit will surge past a half-trillion dollars next year, according to gloomy new estimates, a record flood of red ink that promises to force the winner of the presidential race to dramatically alter his economic agenda.

The deficit will hit $482 billion in the 2009 budget year that will be inherited by Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain, the White House estimated Monday. That figure is sure to rise after adding the tens of billions of dollars in additional Iraq war funding it doesn't include, and the total could be higher yet if the economy fails to recover as the administration predicts.

The result: the biggest deficit ever in terms of dollars."

Unknown said...

Yes, we all remember the big time hit 'Wanda at Large' - all 14 episodes.
And she SUCKED on Inside the NFL.

On another note, you have been posting shrill and asinine comments since 5:45 this afternoon.

How about you go get a life?
I'm sure you've got Olbermann Tivo'd.
Or go back to your World of Warcraft game.

Dork.

Jeremy said...

Jeremy said... 6:15 PM

Tell me who the leader of the party is.


And the answer is:

Huh?

Unknown said...

http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=46902

Jeremy said...

James - I repeat: Sykes was hilarious and does star on a TV comedy show.

You're just sucking up to your fellow wingnuts.

I'm used to listening to this right wing drivel.

Who's the leader of your party?

Jeremy said...

James - Your use Larry Johnson to shore up your argument?

Larry Johnson: A registered Republican who supported President Bush in 2000, Johnson became a strong critic of the Bush administration in May 2003 for its conduct of the war in Iraq and, a few months later, for its role in the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame.

In 2008, Johnson emerged as a staunch supporter of Hillary Clinton and a strong critic of Barack Obama.

Also: Frontline asked:

[Is it] ... fair to say what you're saying is that the president of the United States, his national security advisor, his deputy national security advisor for counter-terrorism, are basically blowing smoke [about the danger posed by bin Laden] and his followers]?

Johnson responded:

They're grossly exaggerating the problem.

Unknown said...

I'm not a registered Republican.
And Althouse commenters are no longer feeding the trolls.
You can move on now.

Jeremy said...

No...body...knows...

...who the leader of the Republican Party is.

Funny.

Celia Hayes said...

Leader... Republican Party?
Don't know about them, but I do know about the Tea Partiers. There IS no leader. We are all Spartacus...

Unknown said...

Wow, Jeremy what a powerful and impossible argument to deal with. Your intellect is too much to deal with. Clearly because no one can name who holds a ficitious post of "leader of the party" (after you rejected the chairman of the party as an option for some reason only clear inside the fog you're looking through) that means the Republican party is doomed for all eternity.

So tell me, who was the "leader" of the Democrats in 2005... or... 2006... or 2007 ? I'm sure there was 100% consensus right? Was it Al Franken? I know he never had but a tiny fraction of Rush's audience, but that's about the best the left has ever managed to dredge up for radio right?

Jeremy said...

Celia Hayes said..."Leader... Republican Party? Don't know about them, but I do know about the Tea Partiers. There IS no leader. We are all Spartacus..."

Who's tea bag were you holding in your mouth?

Blogger syates21 said..."Wow, Jeremy what a powerful and impossible argument to deal with."

Okay...so who is the leader of the Republican Party?

Jeremy said...

Celia - So you're another of the lunatic fringe who considers Obama a communist crowd?

Duh.

hdhouse said...

geeeze...betten Peter, Jeremy and Fen....The Three Stooges (without the wit) redux.

hdhouse said...

by the way...how would anyone see the Faux table...it is soooo transparent....