Radio and Television Correspondents' Association Dinner

The clubby Rove moment from last night will be this years Colbert firestorm. I'm shocked it hasn't hit here yet. Wait for it...

Are you guys off the front page of Time online because of Ana's dustup with Rick. An extra click might not seem like a lot, but good grief.

Great post Ana.

That Rove stuff is painful on so many levels.

The Rove thing was almost of the same quality as Martin Bormann's performance of the Horst Wessel Song at the 1943 Munich Beerhall Putsch Reunion.

I think they put out an EP of that. Don't see anything at YouTube though.

Rove's quite good at his day job! I guarantee that this will bump anything off the front page. Lets make that a halfhearted guarantee.

Rove's quite good at his day job! I guarantee that this will bump anything off the front page. Lets make that a halfhearted guarantee.

"Rove's quite good at his day job!"

If you use a very *special* definition of "good," Mr. WWF pundit.

The buzz this morning is the chain of emails from the Justice Department to Jay Z regarding sacking Neef Buck from Young Gunz to make way for a new MC. Totally related to performance issues though.

The funniest thing about Rove is that his hair is the same color of his skin tone. How does he do that?

Our independent media in action. Ugh.

I wonder if the people who attend these things--either politicians or journalists--actually enjoy them.

If they do, there's something deeply wrong with them.

Everyone looks painfully self-conscious. I'm embarrassed for them, for myself, and for all members of the human race.

Since you brought it up, indirectly:

Who at TIME magazine was at that infamous White House Correspondents dinner in 2004? I'm wondering if, say, Joke Line, Jay Carney, Rick Stengel, or Karen Tumulty laughed and laughed and laughed at President Bush's WMD "jokes." I seem to recall general laughter from the crowd at the dinner, then when a mini-firestorm developed in the wake of such utter tastelessness, the pundits fell all over themselves trying to explain how they weren't really laughing, or they were in the bathroom, or something.

Anyway, I'm just wondering who exactly at TIME was at that dinner, and what they did when Bush delivered his "jokes." Curiosity, I guess.

I agree that Bush's "Who moved my WMD?" skit was deplorable, but as I recall, the High Broderist Sabbath Gasbags thought it was simply a corking good time, and that our Princeling displayed a marvelously down-to-earth ability to laugh at himself.
I'd love to see some contemporary evidence that any Russerts, Stengels, O'Donnells or Matthews called that chuckling over the bodies of soldiers and Iraqi "collateral damage" for what it was.

"Who moved my WMD?" went over really well during the last USO tour.

My guess is that after you sign the 'loyalty oath' to attend the Bush Bashes with loaded guns all around you, you 'laugh' at the fat frat boy jokes.

How about the 'cattle call' to the meeting with Decider this AM? That was a happy, jovial group. Do they prefer Cheney in the Cloak Room to a command appearance at the WH?

Somehow those GOPers reminded my of Verne Larry's

"Hey, Mr. Custer, don't make me go
I had a dream last night about the comin' fight
Somebody yelled 'attack'
And there I stood with an arrow in my back"

So, who did Rick Stengel sit next to?

Remember the press reaction to Stephen Colbert last year? The press went out of their way to paint Colbert as "not funny", which coincidently, was exactly what the administration thought, and pretty much the opposite of what most of the public believed.

Hey, that's kind of like today, with people like Rick Stengel agreeing with the administration and the President that the purge is bad for democrats while most of the public wants congressional oversight.

So, hey, why did we invade Iraq anyway? Has the press ever figured that out?

Is that David Gregory looking so awkward up there dancing?

Ana, no one understands the importance of free booze more than me, but isn't our press supposed to have an adversarial relationship with government. This chumminess has to be somewhat responsible for the lack of proper oversight into the poor governance and over politicization of the White House. I can’t imagine Edward R. Murrow, Walter Conkrite, or Eric Sevarind dancing up on stage with, at best, an amoral political operative no matter the quality of the Vodka.

OMG!! Did Washington bureau spring for wrist corsages this year?

I want a full list of how non-celebritied-up the CNN party was.

Lieberman can never be AG because he will need to access DOJ computers on the sabbath to do his job properly. Oh wait, DOJ's computer systems are an abysmal failure. Now that I think about it, he will be perfect!

Colbert? After that 04 speech, he'll sink like stone, never to be heard from again (more High Broderism at work).

Why has SWAMPLAND been removed from the FRONT PAGE? This is a blatant attempt by Rick to stifle our voices. He must be a closet operative of the RIGHT WING....if not, then speak out or let us speak. Until then down with Stengel!!

God, I hate myself for laughing at this.

Houston, Swampers are back on the front page. Right under the new Time poll story that shows either Giuliani or McCain beating the Hil with Edwards polling higher. (Ana and Karen must be out of the dunce corner, perhaps, brought back by popular demand after their trap play.) A true testimony to the Tricky-Ricky directed coverage of 'The Nation's Mayor'-'Maverick McCain' v. the shrill Hil with the pacin' and drawlin'.

Susan 12: Anyone who thought MC Rove was funnier than Colbert should be forced to watch a marathon of World According to Jim episodes (if they aren't already).

Delightful. Yuk it up. Thanks for the war.

Actually, Susan12, remember the High Priests of Broderism initially didn't mention Colbert AT ALL in their recaps of the WHCD. Only when bloggers started asking questions (since they, you know, saw the freakin' video of Colbert) did the Pundits all come forth in chorus that Colbert was "rude" and "not funny" and "a bully." Terrific.

And let's not just assume it's the pundits that have a problem. I have one other lesser-known instance (that I witnessed on TV) for commenters here to think about.

Back on the last day before the WH was closing the Press Briefing Room down for renovations, President Bush came in to schmooze a little bit with the press pool. Now, at the time, no one really knew how long the renovations were going to take, and one witty, enterprising reporter jokingly asked the President, "is there a TIMETABLE for completion of the renovations?"

At that point, the briefing room erupted in laughter. Hilarious! Timetables are sooooo funny! Let's equate the death and destruction in Iraq with renovating the Press Briefing Room! So funny! Ha ha!

So, in addition to my previous question about TIME reporters at the 2004 WHCD, does the TIME White House correspondent remember that situation? If so, did he/she laugh at that "joking" question?

When I watched it, I almost put my foot through the TV. But maybe I was just being oversensitive and lacked a sense of humor about it all. Thoughts, anyone?

Time magazine legendary stupidity :

"If the public is so fed up with the war and the White House, why are Republicans like Giuliani and McCain still beating out the likes of Hillary and Obama in a head-to-head contest?"

DID YOU WONDER WHY AMERICA PREFER THE PARTY WHO SEEK FOR VICTORY THAN THE PARTY WHO SEEK FOR DEFEAT IN THE WoT ?

Did you realize that Americans would support strikes against Iran ?

Do you realize that if Americans don't like the way the war is going, they don't like the losers who call for defeat ?

Do you realize that even with a lot scandals, the GOP lost less seats in 2006 than Clinton in 1994 ?

Do you realize that you had a chance to be credible on defense and now you will have the reputation of being

THE WHITE FLAG PARTY

No one wants to vote for a party of defeat.

No one.

MC Hawking ownz MC Rove.

Since I can't post a link...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89jt7zJzkNQ

You have been whiped out by your radical whing.

Now the only thing you gonna do is sink with it.

Well, what do you know. It auto-linkified it. Neato.

Posted by brendan
March 29, 2007
Delightful. Yuk it up. Thanks for the war.

Very perceptive
Time's lead article ponders why, despite the public's dislike for Bush, the war,etc
McCain and Guiliani hold a lead over Clinton and Obama in polling.
I wonder if Time's managing editor, Joe Klein, Chris Mathews, David Broder and a whole host of other's who strangely can muster attacks on Obama for lying about a magazine article he saw at age 9 and college parking tickets and openly demonstrate their obvious hatred of Hillary, while labelling hothead serial adulterer Guiliani "America's mayor", and McCain a "maverick" rather than a liar/flip-flopper has anything to do with the public's sentiments?
Just as Democratic candidates had to fight MSM and the GOP for the House and Senate, a larger fight looms in the Presidential election. The MSM Democratic "over-reaching" and "revenge-seekin' script has already been rolled out.

Posted by drzz
March 29, 2007
You have been whiped out by your radical whing.
Now the only thing you gonna do is sink with it.

Geeze, MaryAnn, been RipVanWinklin' since November 6?

Or just doing your darndest to get through that McGuffy's Spelling Helper? Lhooks lyke yoo nede too spent a liddel moor thyme onn thatt.

"and McCain a "maverick" rather than a liar/flip-flopper has anything to do with the public's sentiments?"

I'll be curious to see those polls after McCain's recent spasms of senility sink in.

That Rove thing was so funny, it just proves he's a good guy.

I just hope the Dems have the sense to stop investigating him now! Anyone who makes reporters laugh like that couldn't possibly be corrupt.

Am I right?

"Nothing will clear husband and I"

Husband and ME. "I" is a subject, "me" is a direct object. I would have thought a Catholic girl like you would have learned enough Latin to keep on top of such things.

Don't listen to Drzz. He hates America and is a proud Bin Laden supporter.

Oy. I finally made myself watch it.
Peter Fitzgerald.... I mean Patrick Fitzgerald

I tear the tops off small animals.

He can't even get the jokes right.

I do notice he manages to slip in that he doesn't drink. I have seen several of his apologists mention this as proof that he's a good and decent man.

How did Rich Little do? Lots of Nixon impersonations would have been appropriate.

I think what the press needs to figure out if it wants access or credibility. I doubt they can have both.

If they want access, keep going to these black tie functions and laughing with the president. Dance on stage with Karl Rove. You can then go out to lunch with senior administration officials and get them to tell (speaking anonymously of course) tell you that there are WMD's, that Abu Ghraib is just a few bad apples, the Plame was not covert, etc.

If you want credibility, stop laughing and dancing with the administration and start being critical. Ask the hard questions. Ask follow up questions. Report on facts, not what some "insider" told you over lunch.

Why should I believe that David Gregory can dance with Karl Rove yesterday and honestly report on him today? Because he's a professional? That might have cut it before the WMD mess that the press handled so poorly. Today, though, dancing on stage, socializing, drinking, and laughing with the people you are covering just doesn't cut it. The press simply hasn't been doing a good enough job.

Access or credibility - you can't have both.

For a minute there I thought there wouldn't be outrage at the clubbiness. Just a minute...

Is it justified? Can the president's top political adviser make jokes about the special prosecutor who came thisclose to indicting him and jokes about subpoenas and not have someone write about it in a serious way?

So, a question or two:

-Was the press' reputation hurt or helped by last night?
-Liberal activists thought the Colbert night showed journalists to be out of touch. Were they confirmed or refuted by last night?
-Does sharing the good natured joke with Karl after his amusing performance make it easier or harder to question his official activity?
-If overheated unthinking press critics need to lighten up and realize that one needs to laugh now and again in life, please make the case for how this improves reporting about this administration? -Have there been more scoops, more dicslosures and greater insight into how the Bush administration operates through relationships that at best only get mildly confrontational?

I'm delighted to see the mutual gonad rubbing that occurs at these yuk-up suck-ups. Good to know the media can't be co-opted.

"I do notice he manages to slip in that he doesn't drink. I have seen several of his apologists mention this as proof that he's a good and decent man."

I didn't watch the whole thing, only the clip above, and I would have sworn he was three sheets in the wind when he started jumping up and down and then back and forth. If NOT drunk, he surely seemed mighty comfortable performing before the courtiers.

***Nothing will clear husband and I from a room faster than the words "improv comedy," except maybe "free vodka across the street."***

Ana, I love improv comedy, especially if from Robin Williams/Jonathan Winters types. The group in the clip above are usually quite good, but I didn't see the tall lanky guy that usually performs with them. Was David Gregory supposedly taking his place?

Ana Marie,

Re: ....Gonzales would be out by next week and confided that he had heard the only delay was in finding someone to take the job. I suggested Joe Lieberman.

Were you joking? If Bush appointed Lieberman, the Republican Governor of Conn. would fill the Senate vacancy with, ta-da, another Republican, destroying the Democrats majority.

Time Magazine seems to really have it in for the Democrats this year. One has to wonder why, what with in the face of the Iraq war, Afganhistan slipping into chaos, Katrina, Walter Reed, and now the US Attorney's scandal Time/Warner is still toeing the line for Bush.

BTW, why does would a supposedly independent and unbiased reporter give advice to to the Bush Administration? I didn't think that offering helpful hints to whoever was in power was part of a reporter's job discription, but I'm a pretty 20th century kind of gal.

The saga of "All the President's Men" is seeming more like a dream, than something that actually happened, every day.

You suggested Lieberman? Oh, wouldn't that be lovely, replacing a Bush suck-up who lacks any qualifications to be AG with the "Democrat" who infamously sucked his face.

"...Joking about the Administration's proven (as with Libby) or suspected criminal behavior is highly inappropriate, especially since the media's job is to investigate that behavior.

You don't kid around with people you're supposing to be probing for felonies and malfeasance. You especially don't kid around about the potential felonies themselves - certainly not on the very day that new emails and other information about them is becoming available for your review. Maybe that's one reason why these routines were so horribly unfunny.

In comedy, timing is everything." -- http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/6425

Ana, I'm thoroughly enjoying your posts here and your friendly tone, so this is not a criticism of you personally, but...

I am literally sickened by the sight of our national press cavorting with administration officials this way-- any administration's officials. It's simply wrong and truly exemplifies what's wrong with the top ranks of journalists these days (and maybe since the beginning of time, just less publicly so).

Nice call leaving before the Rove act. Does the name Tom Stuckey ring a bell? amazing what passes for reporting in d.c. these days.