White House Correspondents Insider
Behind the scenes of one of the most powerful clubs in America.
Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and CURE Epilepsy's Susan Axelrod at the 2009 White House Correspondents' Garden Brunch
It’s been called the Nerd Prom and compared to Hollywood’s Oscar extravaganza, but the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner and the parties surrounding it have evolved into their own electrifying entity. Politico takes a behind the scenes look at where the sparks will be flying this weekend.
Jon Favreau, Graydon Carter at the 2009 Bloomberg & Vanity Fair Cocktail Reception
Photo - BILLY FARRELL/PatrickMcMullan.com
President Obama owned the room at the 2009 White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner before some 3,000 elites in the Washington Hilton Ballroom. While the President’s charisma and innate comic timing carried him through the night, he did have a little help from his scribes.
Speechwriters Jon Favreau and Jon Lovett led the charge with timely references, including a video where the President welcomes a “Pirate” to the Oval Office (a tip of the feather-topped hat to Bloomberg Media guest Richard Phillips, Captain of the Maersk ship who was captured by Somali pirates in April 2009 and valiantly rescued by US Navy SEALS).
Senior Advisor David Axelrod was one of the top presidential aides who helped come up with the visual joke.
Tom Vietor, Jeff Nussbaum, Jeff Shesol, and a few other outside joke writers helped polish the President’s speech. This year, it will also be a team effort to make sure WHCA Dinner host Jay Leno will not be the only one getting laughs.
No pirates this year, but there’s bound to be a health care joke or two tickling the crowd’s funny bone.
Politico has more on what it takes to make a president funny – on purpose.
Bookmark it now and set your calendar alert for noon ET today for the live-stream of “Top Line” on ABCNews.com. WHC Insider’s Tammy Haddad will be sitting down with ABC News’ Rick Klein to dish on all things WHCA weekend, including a preview of the annual brunch Ms. Haddad co-hosts at her home on Saturday morning.
Turns out there are actually some politicians who aren’t clamoring for one of the coveted tickets to the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner.
As Politico points out, while the dinner has always been a place to network and schmooze with media and political heavyweights, there are some lawmakers who see more value in heading home to their constituents than swapping bon mots over cocktails.