with senior contributor Brendan Kownacki
“We’re on [CPT] which stands for jokes that white people should not make – that’s a tip for you. Anyway, here we are, my eighth and final appearance at this unique event, and I am excited. If this material works well, I’m gonna use it at Goldman Sachs next year,” President Obama remarked at The White House Correspondents’ Dinner at the Washington Hilton to a packed house.
“The Beast”
“My brilliant and beautiful wife Michelle is here tonight. She is so happy to be here. It’s called practice. It’s like learning to do three minute planks, she makes it look easy now, but next year this time, someone else will be standing here in this very spot. It’s anyone’s guess who she will be, but… Eight years ago I said it was time to change the tone of our politics. In hindsight, I clearly should have been more specific. Eight years ago I was a young man, full of idealism and vigor. Look at me now! I’m grey, grizzled, just counting down the days til my death panel. Hilary once questioned whether I’d be ready for a 3 am phone call. Now I’m awake anyway, ’cause I gotta go to the bathroom! I’m up! In fact, somebody recently said to me, ‘Mr. President, you are so yesterday. Justin Trudeau has completely replaced you. He’s so handsome, he’s so charming. He’s the future!’ And I said, ‘Justin, just give it a rest!’ I resent that. Meanwhile, Michelle has not aged a bit. The only way you can date her in photos is by looking at me. Take a look. Here we are in 2008–” The speech was preceded by pre-dinner receptions.
Rep. Joaquin Castro and Daniela Lopez Osorio at The Washington Post pre-party
The 90 minutes before the dinner might be the most jam packed, power hungry moment of the whole weekend. In the cavernous ballroom of dinner itself, geography limits who you get take selfies with and network with and whose elbows with which you get to metaphorically rub, but the pre-dinner receptions are small and intimate gatherings, side-by-side that attendees surf through on their way to the main event and you’re liable to see anyone. Is that Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Jared Leto at the Bloomberg reception? Of course it is. Is that Bill Nye the Science Guy and Victoria Secret model Adriana Lima? You bet. Cabinet secretaries and media moguls, actors and directors, DJs and models, maybe even a presidential contender past, present or future.
Yahoo and ABC News Cocktail Reception for an evening of cocktails, mingling and black-tie selfies before the roasting.
As for comedian Larry Wilmore….stayed tuned for The Morning After.
