“Obama Out”: The President’s comedy routine at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner

May 1, 2016 • 12:00 pm

Here are the 32 minutes of President Obama’s last appearance at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, in which the press annually and traditionally trades ripostes with the press. I have to say that it’s pretty damn funny, what with the Hillary-bashing references to Goldman Sachs and “CPT“, as well as to next “first lady”, his aging, Donald Trump, and so on. And the final with his hamhanded attempts to use Snapchat, the weeping John Bohener, Joe Biden, the visit to the driver’s license bureau, is fricking hilarious. He ends on a serious note and a paean to the press.

Obama’s speech was preceded by an 8-minute humorous video prepared by the press, which you can see here.

Say what you will about Obama—and I have a lot of good things to say about him—nobody can deny he has a sense of humor, something that Republicans seem to lack. Can you imagine any other President, for instance, Yes, I know he didn’t write it all, or perhaps none of it, but his delivery is impeccable.

I’ll miss him, and whoever replaces him won’t have his panache.

22 thoughts on ““Obama Out”: The President’s comedy routine at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner

  1. I thought it was one of his weaker WHCD. The 2011 was much better – particularly since the mission to kill Osama bin Laden was underway.

  2. Thanks for this! I was planning on looking it up. I love these things – especially Obama’s. Remember the one where Donald was going on about BHO’s birth certificate and Obama showed his “birth video” from The Lion King!!?? I will really really miss this Prez. So much intelligence, dignity, and wit!

    1. “I will really really miss this Prez. So much intelligence, dignity, and wit!”

      You speak for me, too!

      I stumbled onto this airing live last night; CSpan, no commercials, only the lightest bit of narration. It was a riot.

      1. On a somber note–so often when I see him hitting the ball out of the park like this, I think how sad it is that his mother didn’t live to witness any of it.

  3. I saw just watched that! (But missed the press leite. so thanks!)

    In my opinion Obama was funnier than the ending Wilmore, but that may be because Wilmore had so many US cultural references.

  4. I will miss him, too. He has done a remarkable job in the face of withering criticism, racism, and obstructionism. My hope is that Hillary Clinton will be elected and will continue to support most of the initiatives that Obama has begun.

  5. It was good to see this. I recorded it from CNN and got forty minutes of red carpet interviews (of people I mostly didn’t know) and people commenting on that.

    Frequently on CNN, what is displayed in the on-screen guide in NZ bears absolutely no resemblance to what is actually being broadcast, especially if it’s a one-off event. They also pound us with constant, repetitive self-promotion during the ad breaks. If they advertise something you actually want to watch you can rarely, if ever, find it in the on-screen guide.

    Fox, otoh, is always accurate in the on-screen guide, has interesting short replays in the ad breaks, and even has presenters doing thank you messages to the other countries that take their news channel. They make you feel valued as viewers. They’re also much better at encouraging interaction with the audience, making you feel like they care.

  6. I’ll miss him, and whoever replaces him won’t have his panache.

    With any luck, he’ll wind up on SCOTUS and we’ll have more such appearances.

Leave a Reply to George Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *