Presidential Funnies

By Mariam Digges

Reuters
Reuters
President Barack Obama’s 2013 White House Correspondent’s Dinner speech had the room in stitches, with tongue-in-cheek quips and one hilarious photo.

It’s becoming more and more common for government leaders to hire comedic writers to inject humour into their speeches. Which was clearly the case at Obama’s White House Correspondent’s dinner over the weekend.

From joking that he’s not the “strapping young Muslim Socialist I used to be” to asking Michael Douglas for advice on how to be a president (Douglas of course, famously played one in 1995’s The American President), Obama was on fire during the evening, which was co-hosted by Conan O’Brien.

And the President didn’t limit his jokes to only light and trivial subject matter; he also made reference to the media’s coverage of the recent Boston Marathon bombings – in particular, taking a swing at CNN.

“I know CNN has taken some knocks lately but the fact is, I admire their commitment to covering all sides of the story, just in case one of them happens to be accurate,” Obama joked.

But the quip that’s getting the most coverage is a photo that the President pulled out of he and the First Lady, Michelle. Obama claimed to take a cue from his wife’s bag of “tricks” to get a “burst of new energy” in his second term. So, he got bangs.

For those in the audience who were confused at this point, the White House projected a couple of photos of the president sporting said hairdo on a screen behind him.

“I recognise that this job can take a toll on you. I understand that second term you need a burst of new energy and try some new things,” Obama says. “My team and I talked about it and we’re willing to try anything, so we borrowed one of Michelle’s tricks.”

We love the fact that the White House art department clearly spent some time on this gag. And we love the fact that Barack is standing by his woman, once more.

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