Last night’s nerd prom was the political media world’s opportunity to get dressed up, force the President to make fun of himself and his opponents, appoint a comedian to zing even more politicians and watch Rick Santorum ask Lindsay Lohan to pose for a photo. In other words, it’s revenge for the rest of the year. This year, President Barack Obama took the White House Correspondents’ Dinner to poke fun at his Republican opponent, Mitt Romney. Example: “We both have degrees from Harvard. I have one, he has two. What a snob.”
Obama started things off by spoofing his hot mic moment by saying offstage, “I have the nuclear codes. What am doing telling knock-knock jokes to Kim Kardashian?” before wondering why she was famous. And Obama referenced Romney numerous times, at one point noting they were gathered inthe Hilton’s ballroom or “what Mitt Romney would call a little fixer-upper.” Also; “I have not seen The Hunger Games; not enough class warfare for me.”
The president also mentioned one of his Republican critics, former VP candidate Sarah Palin, noting that she guest hosted the Today Show and asking, “What’s the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull?” Well, according to Obama, “A pit bull is delicious.” And there’s a terrific fake Romney PAC ad, blasting Obama’s dog-eating past.
Kimmel did alright—Stephen Colbert’s now-legendary 2006 stint is still safe as the greatest WHCD performance—and the crowd liked his Secret Service jabs (he pointed to bodacious Modern Family star Sofia Vergara, “This is what women look like in Colombia. What’s the Secret Service supposed to do?”) and his Chris Christie fat jokes (“You might be misunderstanding the New Jersey state slogan. It’s not the ‘Olive’ Garden State”).
Kimmel managed a two-in-one fat-and-gay marriage joke: “Mr. Gingrich, how can you be against gay marriage, when you yourself are the child of a gay marriage: the Michelin Man and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man?” Plus, people liked it when he said that under everyone’s chairs was a copy of Keith Olbermann’s resume (Olbermann reacted to that joke exactly as you’d imagine).
