Party of the Damned

"Neither the press nor the president had a rebuttal to Colbert, then or now, so he was simply not invited back and officially forgotten. Ever since, the dinner had been a far less newsworthy affair. As is tradition, the president stood to do a short stand up act, which included the retelling of an old joke about Vice President Dick Cheney watching Bush through a peephole in the Oval Office door while masturbating. Such is the state of Washington humor.

"'This is a good chance to put aside our differences for a few hours,' Bush said at another point. Then he drew from his podium a conductor's baton and turned his back to the audience of reporters and their guests. The curtains parted, revealing the U.S. Marine Band, which Bush then pretended to conduct in a recitation of 'Stars and Stripes Forever.' Though unstated, the joke was apparently that we in the press corps had been given a brief respite from following [the] rise and fall of the White House conductor's baton. For tonight, at least, Bush would manipulate another institution instead."

William Triplett writes for Variety: "D.C.'s media prom night, more commonly known as the White House Correspondents Dinner, was the usual preening lovefest between power and celebrity. Yes, journalism awards were handed out -- the original purpose of the dinner -- but while that was happening, the din of partygoers asking one another about sightings of the famous as well as other, more pressing matters ('Hey, remember me?') all but drowned out the announcements.

"President Bush, in his last appearance as prom king, offered up funny snippets of video from his previous appearances as he set a mildly wistful and occasionally self-mocking tone. Even the entertainment provided by Craig Ferguson of CBS' 'The Late Late Show,' while sometimes edgy, was more or less in line with the largely self-celebrating spirit of the evening."

Christine Simmons writes for the Associated Press: "President Bush poked fun at his potential successors Saturday night, expressing surprise that none of them were in the audience at the White House Correspondents' Association annual dinner.

"'Senator McCain's not here,' Bush said of GOP nominee-in-waiting John McCain. 'He probably wanted to distance himself from me a little bit. You know, he's not alone. Jenna's moving out too.'

"Bush then referred to scandals that have dogged the campaigns of the two remaining Democratic candidates, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, in explaining their absence: 'Hillary Clinton couldn't get in because of sniper fire and Senator Obama's at church.'

"During the ongoing campaign, Clinton mistakenly claimed to have landed under sniper fire in Bosnia as first lady. Obama's longtime Chicago pastor has been criticized for his negative comments about America."

Celeste Katz writes in the New York Daily News: "Former Bay Watch babe Pamela Anderson and a woman who swallowed a live scorpion were the stars of an after-party that followed Saturday's annual White House Correspondents Dinner.

Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts write in The Washington Post: "Digital camera in hand, a slightly drunk guest at the Bloomberg party teetered by us early Sunday and stopped short. 'I'm taking a picture of Pamela Anderson,' she announced to her date.

"'Get the boobs,' he said.

"Which, when it comes down to it, is what the after-parties -- and Saturday's White House Correspondents' Association dinner itself -- have come to: A-, B- and C-listers brandishing their talents, figuratively and literally, at Washington's press prom."