McClatchy: Choice of headliner raises questions about White House press corps

[babylonsister]

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/nation/17110161.htm

Choice of headliner raises questions about White House press corps
By William Douglas
McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON - Talk about taking the edge off of edgy.

Impressionist Rich Little hasn't been hot since Nehru Jackets and go-go boots were hip. But the mild-mannered 68-year-old nightclub performer will be the headline act at Saturday's White House Correspondents Association dinner - and the salve for the dagger-sharp tongue of Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert, who at last year's dinner satirically slashed President Bush and the Washington press corps beyond recognition.

The selection of Little after Colbert's pointed monologue has produced tons of jokes (What? Nipsey Russell wasn't available?) and amplified screams from the blogosphere that Little's invitation proves how soft the White House press corps is on Bush.

"Hmmm, let's see: Stephen Colbert - Rich Little," said Robert Thompson, a professor of television and popular culture at Syracuse University. "Let's pull it back a little - back to the 1960s."

The idea behind hiring Little - best known for his impressions of Richard Nixon, Clint Eastwood and other old-school personalities - was to have a nice dinner where Bush could get "singed but not burned" by the evening's entertainment, according to Steve Scully, president of the White House Correspondents Association.

"You can't invite a guest of honor to come and be a political pinata," said Scully, a political editor at C-SPAN. "There's a very fine line we don't want to cross out of respect for the institution of the presidency."

more...

[Dr.Phool]

1. Hail to the Pinata-in Chief!

Little should stand there for 20 minutes doing an Alberto Gonzales impersonation.

"I don't recall"
"I don't recall"
"I don't recall".............

[gratuitous]

2. They're so, so, so respectful, aren't they?

I mean, the White House press corps is so respectful anymore that when the mouthpiece du jour isn't lying in their faces, calling them terrorists, or questioning their patriotism, they're scripting press conferences and letting in gay male prostitutes to pose as legitimate journalists.

I'm so old, I can remember a time when the White House beat was a plum assignment, a step on the way to the upper echelons of journalism. Now it's a dumping ground for hacks and sycophants, and the most successful are the most obsequeous. But you all be sure to laugh when MC Rove comes out and raps about what a bunch of dummies you are, or when Dubya does his hilarious "lookin' fer the WMDs" behind the Oval Office drapes. There's an administration that just screams for your respect.

[Gabi Hayes]

3. ''Some people'' thought Colbert

crossed that line, though no one from the White House complained.

WHO? WHAT people? repukes? media whores who were unmasked as the craven stenographers they are?

WHO

how sick of that "some people" BS are you?

NAME NAMES. tell us who SOME of the SOME PEOPLE are, you ass!

name ONE of the SOME PEOPLE

just one

then, your insipid comment, designed to denigrate Colbert, might at least give some idea of where your own prejudice lies

SOME PEOPLE might think you're one of the cretins who were offended by the truthiness spread at last year's event.

christ

[blm]

5. You MUST see the TPM video of Kerry meeting Colbert backstage - Kerry told him he

enjoyed watching the 'squirming' of the press corps.

Good stuff. Josh Marshall did a great job. I think it's in the video forum -- Part2.

[Gabi Hayes]

6. thanks! never heard about that one

did you see Sean Penn vs. Colbert last night?

I missed it....taping tonight

[blm]

10. Penn and Colbert was GREAT.

.

[C_U_L8R]

4. whatta bunch of wimpy suck-ups

i am totally unimpressed with these so-called journalists...
not only are they complete flaks for a corrupt administration
they also prove to have the worst possible judgement picking comedians this year.
Rich Little is not funny. Rich Little was never funny.
Rich Little has one impression, Richard Nixon.
That's it.
Ha frickin Ha

[watrwefitinfor]

8. Actually, he did a fair to middlin' George Wallace. n/t

[iamjoy]

7. Didn't They Already Have It

What was the shindig with the Improv group, and Karl Rove trying to rap? Wasn't that the Press Correspondants Dinner?

[babylonsister]

11. No, that was yet another fete they treat themselves to, but I can't

remember what the occasion was.

[spanone]

9. I had a Nehru Jacket!

[blm]

12. Can I have it? ;)))

.