Obama tries comedy at media dinner gala

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama said he's bringing a new attitude to the final quarter of his presidency.

"After the midterm elections, my advisers asked me, 'Mr. President, do you have a bucket list?'" he told those attending the annual dinner of the White House Correspondents' Association. "And I said, well, I have something that rhymes with bucket list.

"Take executive action on immigration? Bucket! New climate regulations? Bucket!"

The correspondents' association dinner is the night the president does stand-up comedy -- and provides tongue-in-cheek payback for those already on the job as well as political opponents. A few of the presidential zingers tossed out Saturday night:

• "Just this week Michele Bachmann actually predicted that I would bring about the biblical end of days. Now, that's a legacy."

• "I have one friend ... just a few weeks ago she was making millions of dollars a year, and she's now living out of a van in Iowa." That was a crack about Hillary Rodham Clinton, who campaigned in Iowa in a van nicknamed Scooby.

• Noting that Saturday Night Live cast member Cecily Strong impersonates CNN anchor Brooke Baldwin, Obama said that's surprising. "Usually the only people impersonating journalists on CNN are journalists on CNN."

• On the TV series Black-ish, Obama said he had to give ABC fair warning. "Being black-ish only makes you popular for so long. Trust me, there's a shelf life to that thing."

The dinner has become a celebrity magnet, this year drawing some big names from television, sports and movies. It has grown to become one of Washington's biggest events since its smaller origins in 1914 when journalists gathered to push for greater access to the president.

Celebrity guests included actors from popular political dramas, including Kerry Washington and Darby Stanchfield from ABC's Scandal.

Strong was the featured performer. She poked fun at many media organizations in the room, but when it came to NBC's Brian Williams, she stopped short and said she had "nothing -- because I work for NBC."

When he took the stage, Obama joked it was the night when "Washington celebrates itself. Somebody's got to do it."

The dinner helps fund scholarships and awards that recognize journalists. This year's award winners include:

• Josh Lederman of The Associated Press and Jim Avila of ABC News, the Merriman Smith Award for presidential coverage under deadline pressure.

mPeter Baker of The New York Times, the Aldo Beckman Award for repeated excellence in White House coverage.

• Carol A. Leonnig of The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal team of Gary Fields, John R. Emshwiller, Rob Barry and Coulter Jones, the Edgar A. Poe Award recognizing coverage of news of national or regional significance.

Information for this article was contributed by Brett Zongker and Lauri Neff of The Associated Press.

A Section on 04/26/2015

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