President Barack Obama makes fun of himself and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner
President Barack Obama poked fun at himself and what he called a hard year but aimed his most caustic humour at Washington gridlock on Saturday when the political and media elites gathered at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner.
More than 2,000 guests packed the ballroom of the Washington Hilton, where the capital's political and media worlds collide every year in lubricated goodwill punctuated by a long dash of glamour on loan from Hollywood. The association marked its 100th year this year.
The president highlighted some of the low points of his administration's last year, dwelling on the disastrous rollout of the website for his landmark health insurance reform legislation.
"We rolled out healthcare.gov -- that could've gone better, in 2008 my slogan was, 'Yes we can.' In 2013, it was control-alt-delete," Mr Obama joked.
Later he turned on conservative opponents, teasing them for praising Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"You would think they'd appreciate a more assertive approach considering that the new conservative darling is not other than Vladimir Putin, last year Pat Buchanan said Putin's headed straight for the Nobel Peace Prize, he said this and I know it sounds crazy but to be fair they give those to just about anybody these days."
Congressmen and cabinet members rubbed elbows with Hollywood celebrities including Lupita Nyong'o, the Oscar-winning actress in 12 Years a Slave, along with its director, Steve McQueen.
Gravity director Alfonso Cuaron was a guest, as was actress Diane Lane. Television stars included Olivia Munn of HBO's The Newsroom, and Juliana Margulies of CBS' The Good Wife.
Source: APTN and Reuters
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