oklahoma ci oklahoma ci oklahoma ci oklahoma ci oklahoma ci oklahoma city bombing. but i wouldn't be surprised if he dropped the humor. >> george condon, thanks for your . . .no carrierringconnect 2400

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[inaudible] >> and the united states marine corps band. welcome to the '96 the dinner of the white house correspondents association. your queue is going to come

after dinner. your kid to sit down will come when a light -- your queue -- your cue to sit down will come in about an hour when the lights dim and a video begins to play. we will be back in about an hour. thank you. [inaudible]

>> that was ed chen of a bloomberg news. as president of the white house correspondent this year. we continue to c-span coverage of the white house correspondent's dinner. president barack obama is sitting next to ed chen as well as matt winkler of a bloomberg news. next to the mat is michelle obama, the first lady. next to her is jay leno. our own at steve escalate is also up there as a member of the white -- steve scully is up to their -- up there.

this evening, michelle obama will be presenting an journalism scholarships. there will be journalism awards. then it jay leno will entertain. according to the schedule, the president will speak, and jay leno will be the final entertainer of the evening. we will be covering this all night long. you can follow us on our website, where we are streaming it alive. you can also watch the earlier red carpet arrivals at the hilton. we will be streaming live coverage all night. we also have a twitter tag. @whcd, white house correspondents' dinner. we thought we would show you a little bit of the red carpet

arrivals. here are some of the arrivals throughout the evening. in the first group, you will see him a card-and -- kim kardashian and greta van susteren. you will also c. scott brown with his daughters. [inaudible] >> that is senator scott brown with mrs. brown and his daughters. that is the new republican senator from massachusetts.

>> senator. >> senator. >> one of the dodgers got interviewed by one of the entertainment channels. -- one of the doctors -- daughters got interviewed by one of the entertainment channels. there is adrian grenier from "entourage." coming in shortly will be helen thomas. there is ed henry, from cnn. there is helen thomas of "first newspaper."

she is 90 years old. she is nearly as old as it is a dinner. -- as of this dinner. there is craig crawford. he co-wrote a book that you can see on our website. there is rupert murdoch and mrs. murdoch. some of the guests that fox invited this evening including vanessa williams. there is a michael steele, chair

of the gop. he is a guest of -- i am not sure. i will have to look that up. that is greta and her husband. her show comes out of the same building that we are in at c- span. there is wolf blitzed and dennis quaid -- wolf blitzer and dennis quaid.

this is all from about 90 minutes, two hours ago. there is former secretary of state madeleine albright. she is a guest of nbc's. white house press secretary robert gibbs. he is an invited guest of the white house correspondents association. nobody else invite him except the association.

calvin coolidge was the first president to speak at the white house correspondents' dinner. that was in 1924. it was not until 1962, at the prodding of helen thomas, that women were allowed to attend this event. the washington hilton has the largest hotel ballroom in the city, about 3000 people can cram into there, and trust me, it is cramped. there is the white house correspondents for abc news. he got his start as the press secretary to a one-term democrat from pennsylvania. she was the one who voted for president clinton's budget and all of the republicans on the floor and waved goodbye to her. there is larry king. not sure who the woman is.

is that his wife? another dinner first timer, rachael ray, with her husband. she has that show. she cooks. and then finally, pop tart justin bieber is also there this evening.

as you heard ed chen said, it is going to be about another 50 minutes while the three dozen people eat dinner in the washington hilton ballroom. meanwhile, we want to show you another event that was held this year. this was held on april 21st. members of congress traditionally served as the comedy act for this dinner. this year, congressman mike pence of indiana and clara mccaskill of missouri or in the two members -- were the two members of the spot. here is just about 50 minutes of the dinner. [applause] >> thank you. wow. the 66th annual congressional dinner of the washington press club. i am is still reeling from nancy

pelosi rooting for mike pence. that has to be a first. boy, i hope that does not go viral. it really is great to be with you all here tonight for what our friends at goldman sachs would call a charming pieta terror. i did not write this stuff. i staff told me i was invited to be funny, and i at first said i would not do that for all of the tea parties in the china. but then i thought, hey, i am conservative, but here is not in a bad mood about it -- but i am not in a bad mood about it, so i

thought, hey, i will give it a shot. anyway, there is at least one person in the room who thinks you saw it funny. they say behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes. my wife of 25 years, a proud graduate of a butler university, karen pens is here. [applause] i am ready to go. i was ready back when we were supposed to do this in february. i am not sure what all that snow caused us to delay this dinner. you would think the city this a good at shoveling it would be able to handle that. [laughter] we did have over 16 ft. of snow. for a city known for snow jobs, that is a lot. it was hard to keep my jokes at

topical from then until now. it was not hard. everywhere i had "health-care" i inserted "supreme court." everywhere i had a "tiger woods ," i inserted rnc young eagles." everywhere i had a joke about john boehner looking at too can, but did not have to change that at all. -- too tan, i did not have to change that at all. some of you may remember that i was devoted a few years back as one of congress's biggest show horses. to be honest, i was offended.

some people said, a way to go. i said, there is only when -- only one way to refuse being called a show horse. you have to take it head on, in front of a huge audience. maybe we will get a book deal. i was thinking of calling the book "workhorse." baby not a book deal. books require a lot of work. there is a whole reading, research, writing. honestly, i might not have time to write a book. doing all of those cable interviews back-to-back can fill up your schedule. if you want to talk about show horses, tonight's em si legally

-- tonight's mc legally changed his name to "morning joe brought to you by it starbucks." now he will play this clip on the air tomorrow, because i mentioned his name. we have a lot in common. joe left congress to do a talk show. i left a talk-show to come to congress. the polls show that congress approval ratings are at an all- time low. there are the same ratings as msnbc. by the way, i have totally had my perceptions of washington and attended. i used to think this was a town

where only the sons of the famous people got jobs because of what their parents did. come on. george w. bush, mitt romney, chris dodd, they all pretended to like that joke. there is not much that can voluntarily get me to listen to joe scarborough, much less what msnbc, but you do. you deserve a lot of credit for what you do every day. is also good to be here with senator mccaskill. her political rise may be stunted by something i just discovered. let me read a bit of her biography. "she is a fourth generation missouri and, was born and

raised in lebanon and columbia." lebanon and colombia. clerics where's that both of those places are in the -- claire swears that both of those places are in the missouri, but i tell you, the brothers are going to go crazy over that. -- speaking birthers -- the birthers are going to go crazy over that. i am actually the fourth ranking republican leader in the house. there is me, eric cantor, john skinner, and rush limbaugh -- john boehner and rush limbaugh. russia called today to give me

his regards. call from his doctor's office in costa rica. now we know who listens to rush into the room. speaking of health care, you have to admit that some of the provisions in a bad bill were untenable to republican leadership. you had to know the john boehner was never going to stand for the tax on tanning beds. i get it. they passed the bill. president barack obama feels he has some momentum going. now he is trying to co op some of our initiatives. the one that surprised me was his proposal for offshore drilling. i never thought he understood the concept. not the drilling part, but for a guy who walks on water, i

thought the whole concept of offshore would be difficult to understand. i know you think republicans would be discouraged by all of this, but i am really not. i travel around the country to town hall meetings and tea parties, and i am inspired. i was here for the 9/12 rally on the national mall. i had a chance to speak there. i know that this could new york time -- i know that "the new york times" reported that there were thousands of people, and fox news reported that there were a billion. but there were hundreds of thousands of people. it reminded me of my one and only meeting in the oval office with president george w. bush.

some of you may remember that kay bailey hutchison and i introduced a bill on immigration. it was endorsed by someone who said that if you are being attacked equally on both ends of the spectrum, you might be onto something. the president invited me to the oval office. i know how these things go. i note some staffer probably pulled him aside and told him i was taking a lot of heat on this issue and needed encouragement. the reason i know that is that i walked in did the photo op. i sat on the cushy couch. he'd sat in the hard backed chair. he said, "i asked you over here because i wanted to ask you about your bill.

but i also wanted you to be encouraged." he said, "i would like you to see me as an encourage-er. i do not want you to leave here without some encourage-ment. " he used the word about five times. i finally said, "mr. president, is sitting here in the oval office with the leader of the free world, i am encouraged." we have taken it to the internet. we got a golden mao's award for our website. that is a big deal, isn't it?

you can imagine some of the early training sessions with our members. this is a keyboard. [laughter] one person and just told me he is up to 25 friends on facebook. we are also getting our group back -- our groove back by sticking with what works. we put people forward whose candidacy rights exclusively on the power of their ideas. we run the people who have persevered through difficult and challenging personal experiences. frankly, when the substance of

fails, we are going to fall back on a nominating the leaders who are downright sexy. [laughter] am i glad he is not here. you know, when we get our groove back, i know it will be good for our party. who knows what it will be meaning for me? i have been contemplating some pretty big things for myself lately, like that ability to break the 3% barrier in the next republican straw poll. it might be true what obama told me right before the republican retreat, that he had heard a rumor about me. he pulled me aside and said, "you are a great guy, but i am not sure america is ready for some unknown legislator from the

midwest, especially one with so much experience." maybe he is right. maybe i am overqualified. all kidding aside, it is a privilege to be here with you tonight at this annual dinner pyrrhic it is an honor to help -- annual dinner. it is an honor to help salute dorothy. i believe everyone in this room is in public service, and i believe that the work you do is freedom's work. about four years ago, i co- authored the federal media shield. it turned a few heads. reporters would come up to me from time to time and ask the same questions after i filed the

bill. they would say, you are pretty conservative, right? i would say, no, i am really conservative. then they would say, do you think the media is a liberal? i would say, yes, it is way out there. they would say, why are you doing this? i would say, because as a conservative who believes in limited government, i believe the only check on government in real time is a free and independent press, and i hope and pray that this congress will send to this president the free flow of information act and the president will sign it into law. [applause] so, thank you for the honor of being here tonight. i hope you thought i was funny. if you tell people i was not, i will be forced to respond with

the immortal words of my new, all-time favorite justice of the supreme court, "not true." russ is very much. god bless you. -- thank you very much. god bless you. >> mike pence. all right. make sure you tip the waiters. the 10:00 show is the same as the 8:00 show. we do run clips on my show the next day when people mention my name, if they are president of the united states. not so sure we will with you. nancy, he did pretty well,

right? he held up the house side pretty well. now we turn it to the honorable senator from twitter. have you been atwitter -- have you been twittering the event tonight? i have to warn everyone that clear mccaskill is coming with guns a blazing. please welcome to the senator from missouri, clear mccaskill. -- claire mccaskill. [applause] >> thank you very much. it is an honor to be here. it is particularly special to be

at this podium tonight that dorothy is honored. and i understand it, my job tonight is to be like the icelandic volcano. amid a lot of hot air, blow a lot of smoke, and keep everyone from leaving when they want to. although i have been giving a lot of these speeches lately, i am is still pretty much the new kid in town. what i love about the united states senate, it is the only place in america where a woman my age can go to feel like a hot young a check. -- chick. it is great to be with all of you, especially after this event was canceled because of the blizzard. what a mess. the streets were so tied up that

michael steele and the rnc paid two thousand dollars to watch. it took a while. more wine, more wine. getting to see that much snow is a once-in-a-lifetime event, like seeing haley's comment -- comet, or seeing a democrat with a 50% or higher approval rating. senator alexander, it is good to be with you. mike pence, you did a great job. but tonight is really about all of you in the audience, the many

hard-working, fair minded journalist who covered this city. it is so nice they were able to see all of you at one table. the newly minted john mccain could not be here tonight. he has been detained at the arizona border while lou dobbs checks his papers. eric cantor said he would have loved to be here, in fact he would have bennett tickled to be here -- bennett tickled to be here. -- been tickled to be here. sarah palin was here earlier but she left halfway through, before it was done. we do have two stars of television here, two of my favorite tv host. i do not care what people say, american -- affirmative action

works. look no further than joe scarborough being employed at msnbc. does our growth was a trailblazer. -- joe scarborough was a trailblazer. he was the first washed up politician and to become a tv host before it was hip. mika, look at you, sitting there in your size t twowo -- size 2 dress. i'd like to say, on behalf of all the middle aged, overweight women in america, just shut up. [laughter]

really, is to a big fan -- i am a big fan. mika grew up in washington. we are all hoping that someday joe will too. we are proud to have nancy pelosi here. as you know, she represent giorgio our money in the house of representatives -- giorgio armani and the house of representatives. yes, health care was contentious and expensive, but if it gets a rush limbaugh to move, it was worth every penny. lamar alexander recently made headlines. no, i do not think that can be

right. you may not remember this about lamar alexander, but he did get 3% in the 1996 republican primary. his flannel shirt got 4%. chris dodd was heard to be asking him, what is your secret? one of my closest friends in the senate, chuck schumer, is here tonight. he calls meet once a day to see how i am doing. he gives me flowers on my birthday, candy on valentine's day. he is the smartest senator i have ever met. i will think about voting for you for leader, but you have to stop. my husband is getting suspicious spir. despite our differences, mike pens and i have a lot in common.

we are both from the midwest. well, that is about it. that is not true. we have one thing in common. neither of us will be the 2012 gop nominee for president. [laughter] earlier this year, mike was under a lot of pressure from republican leaders to run it for an open senate seat. they told him it would be a great stepping stone. but mike has ambitions that go far beyond getting passed over for vice-president. [laughter] i am glad the washington press club is celebrating women and diversity in the newsroom tonight. although, these days we are just glad someone is in the newsroom. we have really come a long way

in the last 25 years. 25 years ago, arlen specter was a republican. joe lieberman was a democrat. david shuster actually wanted to work msnbc. 25 years ago baseball fans and this town could only dream that they would have a major league team. actually, they still dream of having a major league team. 25 years ago eliot spitzer's idea of a four sum involved golf. despite the gains we have made in the last 25 years, it is not always easy being a woman, particularly a mother, in the public eye. with since birth date is tomorrow, i will do my part and recycle a story from my gridiron routine.

i have many funny true stories about my children as i am short speaker pelosi could tell. -- short speaker policy could tell. -- sure speaker pelosi could tell. my son had to write a paper about what his mother did. i sat him down to explain what a big deal i was. i told him i was in charge of the prosecutor's office, that i had hundreds of lawyers who work for me, and that we put all of the bad guys in jail. you can probably explain how busy your mother is because she is the best prosecutor in kansas city. a couple of weeks letter i got a sealed note, from the teacher. never a good sign. the notice said, "you might want to keep this board your

scrapbook -- for your scrapbook." inside was a paper called, "what my mother does during the day." the first line said it, "my mother is the best prostitute in the kansas city." [laughter] congratulations to dorothy, and my sincere thanks to all of the wonderful journalist who are here tonight. words do matter. the truth matters. at this time in our political discourse, but the truth matters more than ever. it has been a great and fun evening, and i am really honored that you asked me to do that tonight. thank you and so much. [applause]

>> that was coverage from april 21st at the washington press club foundation dinner. we are back live at the washington hilton. there is the president, mrs. obama, jay leno all sitting up at the head table. the speaking part art scheduled to begin in about half an hour. in the meantime, we are going to do a couple of things while we wait for the speaking to begin. first of all, i will let you know what the schedule is for the evening. once the speaking begins, michelle obama will give some scholarship awards. there will be some journalism awards given by the white house correspondents association. president barack obama will speak and then it jay leno, in his fifth appearance before the white house correspondents' dinner, will also entertain, will also speak. all through the night, you can

watch our streaming coverage at a special online public that we have created an ad -- created at c-span.org. you will find live streaming coverage. you will find 90 minutes of red carpet are rivals. you will find archival video of past dinners, including last year's dinner. wanda siykes spoke there. you can find all of those at our dinner hub. you can also go to @whcb to read twitter feet.

here are some more of the red carpet arrivals at the washington hilton earlier this evening. the first person you will see coming in is marlon wayans. he is a guest of fox news. there is senator jay rockefeller and his wife. a couple more entertainers, cynthia nixon from "sex and the city." following up behind her in just a second you will see steven spielberg.

it is only the members of the white house correspondents association that are allowed to buy tickets. all of the different media groups that along to the white house correspondents association are the one who can buy tickets. then you can buy tickets -- then you can invite guests. the frenzy really started in 1987 when michael kelley invited fawn hall to sit at his table. that is what began to get friendly and why hollywood is now so active at this dinner. there is steven spielberg. michelle pfeiffer.

senator mark warner, democrat of virginia, former governor of virginia. in the past they have allowed citizens and other people, just people who want to see the red carpet coming into this hallway. now they are not allowing them in. it is only the media that is allowed in. there is terrance howard, actor. michael douglas.

alec baldwin, george stephanopoulos. he is a guest of "time," even though he works for nbc. majority leader steny hoyer is there in the background.

[unintelligible] there is joy behar of "the view ." bill mahar is with her.

it looks like the jonas brothers are there being interviewed by somebody. there is done attila -- donatella versace. she is wearing the resulting versace. there is clinton -- quinton

aaron from "the blind side." he is a guest of cnn. there is kristen davis, "sex and the city." there is mayor bloomberg. they have been going to pre- receptions, sponsored by a lot of media organizations. the bloomberg party is actually the after party to go to. now, live in the washington hilton ballroom. there is president obama. he is in between ed chen and matt winkler.

the speaking part is still going to begin in about 15 minutes or so. in the meantime, we want to show you vice-president of biden. he was the featured speaker at the radio and television correspondents association. these are the congressional radio and television correspondents. they cover congress. it is often called the jr. correspondents dinner. this is 15 minutes. [applause] >> thank you very much. thank you so much. it is an honor to be here tonight. i just got back from five days into the middle east.

i love to travel, but it is great to be back in a place where a boom in housing construction is actually a good thing. [laughter] trying to negotiate a lasting peace between the israelis and palestinians is a tough, but it was a hell of a nice break from health care. i understand as ms. cheney is in the house. i am glad your dad is doing well. i called him when he was in the hospital. she is questioning if tom brady is a real patriot. what the hell? it was worth a try. happy st. patrick's day to all of you. the truth is, i cannot believe i

am during you guys. -- i am here with you guys. i am the first irish american vice-president in the history of the united states. president barack obama is the first black american president. he is hosting the st. patrick's day dinner, and i am your review. he is with myspace, and i am with his. -- he is with my base, and i am with this. i know why he wanted to be with all the irish. he believes that st. patrick is the one responsible for driving a lobbyist at of -- driving

lobbyists out of washington. actually, he was responsible for driving stakes out of ireland. but you know the truth. there were is never any snakes in a -- there were never any snakes in ireland. he made that up. that is why he is the patron saint of fox news. [laughter] look, it is not all lost tonight. i am year with a distinguished group of irish americans, kenneth salazar, walter assurance been -- walter shorenstein, and entertainer joe wong. [laughter]

i know that you are all aware that this and dinner is viewed as a less prestigious of the two dinners. of course, you know that this dinner is just as worthwhile. you find it hard to understand why you get second billing. welcome to my world. [laughter] [applause] you know, i had a choice between speaking to this dinner or the white house correspondents' dinner. everyone was surprised i picked this dinner. but to me, this was a no- brainer. newspapers, radio and television. at least you guys still have an audience. [laughter] of, come on. that was good. that was better than that.

[applause] man, i tell you what. what a bunch of stiffs. look, for the past 35 years i have attended a lot of dinners as the united states senator. the good news to me tonight is that i do not have to catch the train home to wilmington. i now have a house in washington for the first time. i voted for public housing my whole career. i never had any idea it would be this good. now that i live in washington, i have come to realize how screwed up this city really is. if has a language of its own. for example, "deep background" means that you will be quoted in "the game change." senior white house official means rahm.

and reconciliation means war. . .

>> i think you are rough on the republicans for repeating the mantra, the healthcare bill is 222 pages long. well, put yourself in their spot. put yourself in their it's a lot to write on their hands. i don't blame them. by the way, i know this is you supposed to be humorous, as i'm trying to be, but i do have to defend our administration a little bit, especially the recovery act, which i've been put in charge of. republicans keep saying it has not created a single job. tell that to senator scott brown. [laughter and applause]

by the way, speaking of scott, it's kind of ironic. the man who posed with his pants down caught us with our pants off. why know how it works. we zeroed in now. it's often said a picture is worth 1,000 words. normally, woip -- i would rather go with the words. i sum up the journey barack and i have had since being elected, i thought the best way to do that is to share some of my photos with you and to let you know how i'm adjusting to the job. at our convention, president obama addressed a stadium of roaring supporters. let me set the record straight, he's not the only one that addressed a stadium.

[laughter] by the way, sash and malia weren't the only ones to get a dog when we moved to washington. i got one, too. you can see he's a democratic dog -- he's biting the hands that feed him. [laughter] i got to level with you. one of the first things the president did, he said, joe, we have to have some ground rules, ground rules about our relationship and how you function in your job. the president is explaining to me exactly how far down i have to bow when i enter the oval office. [laughter] it's not the only ground rule. i don't know who the hell is doing the slides. they're about two seconds ahead. but at any rate, it's a simple proposition.

people beat in the primary walk four paces behind. the other role may be the most important one -- stay on message, something i'm really good at. as you can see, 6cz&yhe takes i very seriously. another role is that i've got to pay attention in cabinet meetings, even when larry summers is there. you know how hard that is. that's why i figured out how to fake it. and it comes in handy not just in cabinet meetings. [laughter] you know, i also made one more commitment. thursdays are my day to work in the garden. [laughter] it's not all about work. i told you, the job has some perks, like when tiger woods came to see me to give me some tips. they were golf tips. [laughter]

[applause] by the way, republicans think that everything is rolling their way these days and so do some of you. they think the supreme court's decision citizens united opens a cash bonanza for them. folks, i figured out a way to make it work for us. we have the bully pulpit. product placement. product placement. let me tell you, we have this down to a science. look, i -- oh, my gosh. i had no idea how that got there. [laughter and applause] take that off, will you? [laughter] look, i didn't want to -- i

don't want to leave the stage tonight without addressing two electoral decisions that got a lot of media coverage the last several months, the massachusetts senate race and the delaware senate race. and i want to give you my response to both of them. people wonder why i've embraced scott brown so warmly, and scott's here tonight. look, i wanted to wish him well. he has a tough job filling the shoes of the sexiest man on the senate. that didn't work at all. i think it's me, not you. people speculated why bo decided not to run for the senate. why would he? he loves the life he has right now. [laughter] i got to get a new prompter up here. joe, you would be in trouble if

you had the staff i have. in closing, let me, again, say happy saint patrick's day to you all. as my grandfather would say, may those that love us, love us, and may those that don't, may god turn their ankles so we know they're coming by their limp. [laughter] and let me thank you for one more thing. [applause] for fulfilling the role of our founding fathers dreamed and hoped you would. as president jefferson said, "our liberty cannot be guarded by freedom of the press or limited without danger of losing it." i agree with him. the only media outlet has given me a fair shake is "amtrak magazine." thanks for having me. god bless you and god bless our troops. [applause]

>> that was vice president biden at the washington convention center, the radio and television correspondents association. that's the group that covers congress. we've been reading your tweets at nerdprom and whcd. we're going to watch the room a little bit and let you watch them eat. the entertainment and speaking portion and awards portion of the program will begin in 15, 20 minutes or so. in the meantime, we'll watch the room a little bit. this is the head table. this is live coverage from the washington hilton and we'll show you a little bit more and commentate a little more on the red carpet.

>> you can follow all of our coverage online at our dinner hub at cpan.org/whcd. you can also see some of the earlier red carpet arrivals. you can see past dinners we've covered. this is jay leno's fifth time speaking at this dinner. we're streaming it live all night. there is also a twitter aggregator. nerd prom is what a lot of

people are using to talk about this dinner.

>> and we're still watching the live coverage of the washington hilton white house correspondents dinner. as you can see, everybody is up and moving around. that ballroom gets very, very crowded and you are bumping into everybody there. it's got nearly 3,000 people crowded into the largest hotel ballroom in washington, one of the few places that can handle this size crowd in washington for a dinner. in maybe 10 minutes or so the speaking and entertainment portion of the dinner will begin, but we have been reading your tweets, so we know you want to see this instead of other stuff we've been showing you. if you are interested in the past dinners, i mean, this is the dinner season in washington. it begins with the radio

television correspondents association dinner, the alfalfa dinner, gridiron dinner and now the white house correspondents' dinner has become the granddaddy of all the dinners. you can only come if you are a member of the white house correspondents' association. cnn, c-span, cbs, etc., etc., all those groups are members and then you can invite guests. some of the guests, cbs has betty white, rahm emanuel and morgan freeman, kathleen sebelius. nbc, jon bon jovi, tim geithner, madeleine albright.

abc, leon panetta. cnn, ashley judd, dennis quaid. fox news, vanessa williams, marlon wayans. new yorker, david remnick at the at dinner. he's the editor, but he also wrote a book about president obama. "time" steven spielberg and michelle phieffer. "the washington times" has the owner of the redskins, dan snyder, and the redskins' new quarterback, donovan mcnabb, who is also at that dinner in 2005. in fact, if you go to politico.com, you can see a picture of then-senator obama talking with donovan mcnabb when he was in the super bowl that year with the philadelphia

eagles. that was at that dinner, the white house correspondents' dinner. and tom brady of the new england patriots was also at the dinner that year. "the washington times" also invited dennis kucinich. you may have seen news reports that "washington times" is up for sale and john solomon could be the buyer. huffington post, which has a critical column about the white house correspondents' dinner on this site and it was written by a former staffer of john edwards. but the huffington post is also there this evening. they have scarlet joehansen, bill maher, the committee that's looking into the fall, 2008, financial crisis

situation. talking points memo has former n.s.a. director brent scowcroft and glamour is there and they have jessica alba as a guest. so in just a few minutes, this is all going to begin. we'll continue to watch the room as the president, as you can see, is still seated at the head table.

>> live coverage of the white house correspondents' dinner continues. in about 6 or 7 minutes, the speaking and entertainment portion begins. we've been following your

tweets at whcd and one from nerd prom. colleen is asking, who is up first? ed chen will do the introductions. then michelle obama will present some journalism scholarships. the president speaks and then jay leno speaks after that. that's the schedule of events. there's a video that begins the whole program and we'll also watch that. earlier today, for people going to the receptions prior to the dinner, several news organizations hold receptions prior to the dinner. it's a labyrinth of halls and rooms and you go from one to the other and it's very crowded and very hot. and a lot of people attend, but there is also a red carpet welcome at the washington hilton. here's a little more from that red carpet earlier this evening. we'll watch.

i think that's lindsey vonn, the skier from the olympics. and actress jessica alba.

>> actor andrew shue arriving. >> actress scarlet johansson. this was earlier this evening. of course, chris matthews. that is his wife, cathleen matthews, for several years an

anchor in the washington area. you might have seen a glimpse of actor ewan macgregor there. there are some nbc folks. >> andrea mitchell. and now back live in the washington hilton ballroom, nearly 3,000 journalists and their red carpet-caliber guests waiting for the speaking portion of the 96th annual

white house correspondents' dinner. it wasn't until 1962 when helen thomas urged that women be allowed to attend this dinner and obviously she had been a correspondent at the time and that's when the first women were allowed to ndused to be a . if you are away from your tv and want to watch it, you can watch at c-span.org. we've created a dinner hub, that has the streaming video, live streaming video, also archival video, past dinners we've covered. 90 minutes worth of the red carpet coverage. we've shown you bits and pieces of the red carpet coverage. and it's got about 90 minutes of that as well, so you can watch that at c-span.org/whcd, standing for white house correspondents' dinner. we're also at that site aggregateing the tweets that come in for whcd and nerdprom.

we're keeping an eye on your tweets as you send them. we'll continue to watch the room. it's looking like about 3 minutes now before everything starts.

>> here in the washington hilton ballroom there are 261 tables. you can see the president talking with helen thomas and c-span's own steve scully, who

is on the board of the white house correspondents' association. helen thomas and the first lady. 261 tables of 10 full of guests. so you do the math there. and they had to turn down 56 tables worth of people, 560 other tickets were sold that they had to turn away because of size limitations.

>> okay. we got another tweet we can read on the air and this one asks what's on the menu, what's the folks have had to eat tonight. here you go. the salad was organic wheat berry turine and pea tendrils, corn, brussels sprouts, shaved

fennell, crab claws. entree, a petite filet with roasted halibut. i think maybe either -- i don't know if they got both or their choice. seasonal baby vegetables. desert, amaretto chocolate truffle green tea creme brulee and basil cheesecake. that's what they had to eat tonight. should let you know that president obama's speechwriter john favro and david axelrod credited with working on his speech. once it gets started, it should run anywhere from about an hour, that's how long it will be with ed chen doing some introductions, michelle obama

doing some journalism awards and then the president and jay leno. i think the program will last about an hour. everything that we're showing you tonight will reair after tonight, the conclusion of tonight's dinner.

>> have a couple more tweets asking who is at the head table. if you start at stage left, which is on the right-hand side of your screen, it will be the head table and these are officers of the white house correspondents' association or, obviously, invited guests. doug mills, photographer with "the new york times." you often see his photos on the front page of the new york times. and, in fact, his wife kate mills runs c-span radio. george lenner, helen thomas, steve scully, karen bohan,

robert gibbs, davis jackson, incoming chair of the white house correspondents' association. then ed chen, bloomberg news, who worked for years at the l.a. times. then the president. matt winkler. michelle obama. jay leno. ed henry. and don gania of n.p.r. that's who is at the head table.

>> couple more tweets. who chose jay leno, when and why? it is usually by the chairman of the committee, the white house correspondents' association. so ed chen, probably in consultation with the rest of the board, chose the entertainment. there is a fee for this

entertainment. so whatever jay leno's fee was, it's paid through the white house correspondents' association. about $132,000 in scholarships are being paid out by the white house correspondents' association. no tax dollars. this is money from journalistic organizations that are paid into the association. and so they can, a, have access to the white house and how much were the tickets for the dinner? i apologize. i don't have the exact figure. they're usually $150 to $200.

>> ladies and gentlemen, at this time, please take your seats. the program will begin shortly.

[applause] >> thank you. thank you. here's what we're going to do. i have about 15, 20 minutes. everybody, sit down.

please, be seated. please, be seated. good evening. please, be seated. everybody, please, have a seat. have a seat. please, everybody, have a seat. please, everybody, have a seat, except you guys. you cannot sit. >> i don't know what to do? do i wave? >> just please sit down, everyone. >> please, everybody have a seat. >> i'm so proud of you. you sit down. rest your feet.

>> please welcome the first lady of the united states of america, michelle obama, and steve scully, to present the white house correspondents' association scholarships. [applause] >> thank you. thank you and good evening. welcome. welcome, mrs. obama. we want to welcome you to the white house correspondents' dinner annual scholarship dinner. this night gets a lot of attention for a lot of reasons,

but what we're about to do is probably the most important. i had a line about the vice president, but i will not use it, mr. president. for nearly 20 years, this organization has been giving back to the journalism community as a way to really try to help those young people, the best and the brightest, in the field of journalism, helping them get that education and degree. more recently under the leadership of ed chen, anne compton and jennifer levin, as we an association, decided we needed to do a lot more. we're awarding $132,000 in scholarship money. [applause] so if you would allow me to introduce to you each of our recipients. if you could hold your applause until each group comes up, we would appreciate it. among the 10 students from the university of missouri each receiving $2,500, christopher dietrich, fort collins, colorado, where are you?

elizabeth lucas, midland park, new jersey. nick mcclellan, kettering, ohio. rose raymond of chicago. sox or cubs? jennifer rodgers of chesterfield, missouri. sinadu zadu from dubai. mark stanley, kansas city, missouri. katie steinman, springfield, missouri. haley sukami, bloomington, minnesota, and joe walsh, overland park, kansas. [applause] >> our next recipient is from columbia university and targeted to students in the middle east studying in the united states to take the best practices of american

journalism back to his home country. yohav razzam from tel aviv and recipient of a $30,000 scholarship. one of our longest partnerships has been with the university of missouri. and we fund over four years a full four-year scholarship. this year chris tordino is the recipient of a $17,000 scholarship, part of a $68,000 commitment for his four-year degree. [applause] we are, again, pleased to welcome students from howard

university here in washington, d.c., each of these students receiving $7,000 scholarship to help them in the year ahead. we welcome derrick haynes, jasmine norwood and mary gotti. [applause] >> we want to recognize graham slater of norman, oklahoma, the recipient of a $38,000 scholarship. he's a student at northwestern. he could not join us this evening and he's thrilled to accept this and so are his parents. thank you and congratulations. [applause] one of the newest scholarships

here at the white house correspondents' association is in honor of our long-time friend deborah orrin. she covered four presidents, served as bureau chief at the "new york post" and lost her battle with cancer in 2007. education was a passion of hers and northwestern university held a special place in her heart. two students are here tonight to receive a $5,000 scholarship, katelyn holtzman and christopher paisley, both from the chicago area. [applause] and so that's it. this is an evening not one for long speeches, so let me conclude by saying, thank you, on behalf of the white house correspondents' association. your presence here allows us to

do what we're doing tonight. next year, we'll reach the $500,000 mark in scholarship money. mrs. obama, thank you. >> thank you. [applause] and, mr. president, thank you for being with us tonight. we appreciate it. ed chen. >> thank you. >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome matt winkler, editor of bloomberg news, who will give out the journalism awards. [applause] >> this is the merriman-smith award and it recognizes presidential news coverage under deadline pressure with separate awards for print and broadcast journalists. ben feller of the a.p. had little advance notion of the president's trip to dover air

force base on october 28, 2009. but filed a series of middle of the night, compelling updates capped by a story whose style had echoed of edward r. murrow and in his taut, gripping writing. period put people at the scene giving them context and background. he is the recipient of the print award, the merriman-smith award. [applause]

>> jake topper's story on the details of tom daschle's tax problems and the trouble they would spell for his cabinet nomination was a lesson in getting news on a beat in which it is hard to do so. getting it out fast and accurately with background, context and using the web to augment on-air reporting. for the merriman-smith award in broadcast, jake topper's story is the winner. [applause]

>> the aldo beckman award recognizes repeated excellence in white house coverage with a single award for either print or broadcast in journalism. the award goes to mark noler of cbs. [applause] >> this award is for a body of work covering the white house for more than 15 years, keeping

tabs on every president since gerald ford. his insightful reporting on multiple platforms including radio, television, blogs and now twitter has demonstrated repeated excellence in white house coverage over a long period, one of the criteria for the award. his meticulous records keeping as an unofficial archivist of the presidency serves the public and keeps the white house accountable. [applause] he lives and breathes reporting and the republic is best served by his tireless efforts. >> thank you very much. i appreciate it. [applause] >> the edgar allen poe award

recognizes excellence in coverage of news of national or regional significance with a single award for either print or broadcast journalist. susan bohan and sandy cleaveman of the contra costa times won it for the series "shortened lives: where you live matters." these well-reported stories offer unique and valuable lessons for public health policy through extensive use of county health records. they stand conventional wisdom on its head, providing powerful evidence that variations in disease rates and life expectancies are not the results of poor people making

poor choices in diet and exercise, but it is being denied access to the resources necessary to engage in a healthy lifestyle, however great their design to do so. the edgar allen poe award. [applause] >> thank you and congratulations to all of the scholarship winners and the journalism award winners. thank you, mrs. obama, for helping out. [applause] good evening, again. thank you, all, for coming. everybody in this room is very special tonight, as far as i'm

concerned. a few quick acknowledgements. mayor bloomberg is here, thank you for your support, sir. [applause] and al hunt, thank you for your support over the years. and, matt, thank you. there are three special women in this audience whose love and support i feel every single day and i would like to just acknowledge helen ferguson of sterling, virginia, my mother-in-law, chancy chen of portland, oregon, my mother, and my wife meredith, the light of my life with whom i will be celebrating a 35th anniversary this year. thank you, all. ..

coming, peter. [applause] . and when we set out this event, i learned that this job proved to be very easy because the hilton hotel has been practicing many of these sustainable practices for many years. it was very easy to do what we wanted to do. so thank you to the washington hilton hotel.

[applause] >> and tonight, also marks the first time in the 96-year history of this association that the two presidents at this head table are guys who challenged all ways of doing things in washington and shattered some glass ceilings to get here. so thank you. [applause] and finally, i think we are on the road to making history by having the shortest dinner program ever here. [cheers and applause] >> so i would just close by thanking the other seven members of the white house correspondents association board. each one of them over the past year took on very difficult assignments always with good cheer and they all had results to show. thank you very much. it's been a privilege to serve with you all. [applause]

>> finally, this dinner would be unimaginable without the tireless efforts of a woman who spent the last year introducing me to people as her boss. i will tell you a little secret. she's the boss. and she's the brains and the bra wn behind this dinner and i have learned endless ways of saying know. please say hello to our executive director, jewel yes -- julie. [applause] >> i would ask you to pick up a wine glass and join me in a traditional toast to the president. i think it's safe to assume that

not everyone agrees that all he has done and what he tries to do but i think we can agree he and his staff are working their hearts out. and i would like to include mrs. obama in this toast because she works so hard, being our beautiful first lady. to mr. president and mrs. obama. we are honored by your presence and may you have a healthy and long life. >> here! here! >> without furthera do, i give you the 44th president of the united states, barack obama. [cheers and applause] >> thank you. thank you very much. thank you. [cheers and applause] >> thank you so much everybody.

thank you. please have a seat. thank you so much. ed and to all the other board members, to honored guests and to the lovely first lady -- [cheers and applause] >> good evening. ed's right. i work a lot. and so i wasn't sure that i should actually come tonight. biden talked me into it. [laughter] >> he leaned over and he said, mr. president -- [laughter] >> this is no ordinary dinner -- [laughter] >> this is a big [beep] meal!

[cheers and applause] [laughter] >> it's been quite a year since i've spoken here last. lots of ups, lots of downs, except for my approval ratings, which have just gone down. [laughter] >> but that's politics. it doesn't bother me. besides, i happen to know that my approval ratings are still very high in the country of my birth. [laughter] [cheers and applause] >> and then the other day, my dear friend, hillary clinton pulled me aside and gave me a pep talk and said despite the numbers, don't worry, bralk,

you're likeable enough, which made me feel better. [laughter] >> i may not have had the star power that i once had, but in my defense, neither do all of you. [laughter] >> people say to me, mr. president, you saved the banking industry and gm and chrysler. what about the news business? i have to explain, hey, i'm just the president, i'm not a miracle worker here. [laughter] >> though i'm glad that the only person whose ratings fell more than mine. great to see you, jay. [cheers and applause] >> i'm glad that i'm speaking

first, because we have all seen what happens when somebody takes the time slot after leno. [laughter] [cheers and applause] >> by the way, all of the jokes here tonight are brought to you by our friends at goldman sachs. so you don't have to worry, they make money whether you laugh or not. [laughter] >> we do have a number of notable guests in attendance here tonight. obviously, i'm most pleased that michelle accompanied me. she doesn't always go to these things.

[applause] >> and there are few things in life that are harder to find and more important to keep than love . well, love and a birth certificate. [laughter] >> the jonas brothers are here. they're out there somewhere. sasha and ma lea are huge fans, but boys, don't get any ideas. i have two words for you. predator drones. you will never see it coming. [laughter] >> you think i'm joking? [laughter] >> speaking of tween heart throbs, scott brown is here.

[laughter] >> i admire scott. a politician in washington with nothing to hide. [laughter] >> now you should be aware that scott brown is not the only one with a cellatious floating around. david axelrod was offered one. i didn't know that krispy kreme had a catalog, but it's true. [laughter] >> i saw michael steele back stage when we were taking pictures, a.k.a., notorious g.o.p. he knows what hurts today,

taxation without representing. [laughter] >> my brother. >> i did a similar routine last year but it always worked. odds are that the salahis are here. [laughter] >> there haven't been people more unwelcome at a party since charlie crist. [laughter] >> unfortunately john mccain couldn't make it. recently he claimed he never identified himself as a maverick. and we all know what happens in arizona when you don't have i.d.

adios amigos! [laughter] >> i feel for john. we were on the road together and obviously had a hard-fought battle and you learn that politics isn't easy. this year, i have experienced my share of disappointments. for example, i had my heart set on the nobel prize for psychics. but hey, you can't win them all. [laughter] >> speaking of undeserved honors, a few weeks ago, i was able to throw out the first pitch at the nationals game. and i don't know if you saw it,

but i threw it a little high and a little outside. this is how fox news covered it. "president panders to extreme left wing of batter box." . msnbc had a different take. president pitches no-hitter. [laughter] and then cnn went a different way all together. >> how can you get a volcano in iceland. when you think of volcano, you think of hawaii. you don't think of iceland. you think it's too cold to have a volcano there. >> i guess that's why they are the most trusted name in news. [laughter]

>> look, i have a reputation for giving cable a hard time, so let's pick on politico for a while. you know, people attack politico for putting a new focus on trivial issues, political fodder, gossip sheet. that's not fair. politico's been doing this for centuries now. check out the headlines. our researchers found these. japan serneders, where's the bounce? then there's this one, lincoln saves union, but can he save house majority? there is a little portion there. he has lost the southern white vote. [laughter]

>> an analysis there. and my favorite, july 3, 1776, senior whig official, talks break down, independence dead. some so this is nothing new. even though the mainstream press gives me a hard time, i hear that i'm still pretty big on twitter, facebook or as sarah palin calls it, the socialized media. [laughter] >> of course, that's not the only thing that we have been accused of socializing this year. you might have heard that we passed the health care bill. [cheers and applause]

>> and was that roger applauding out there? some republicans have suggested that the bill contains a few secret provisions. and that's ridiculous. there aren't a few secret provisions in the health care plan. there are like hundreds. [laughter] >> tonight, in the interest of transparency, i would like to share a couple. let's see. this provision is called the bay state of denial. it reads, this bill shall cover short-term memory loss relating to the passage of massachusetts' health care reform. good news. your condition is covered. this next provision is called

the jersey shore-up. it reads, the following individuals shall be excluded from the indoor tanning tax within this bill. snookie, jay wow, the situation and house minority leader john boehner. [laughter] [cheers and applause] >> this provision put a common misconception to rest. it says right here. if you do not like the ruling of your death panel, you can appeal. [laughter] >> now, look, obviously, i have learned that politics can be a tough business, but there are times that you just can't help but laugh. you know what really tickles me?

eric massa. [laughter] >> apparently massa claimed that rahm came up to him one day in the house locker room stark naked, started screaming object sen ties at him to which i say, welcome to my world. [laughter] >> i feel ya! it's a tense moment. you know, even as we enjoy each other's company tonight, we are also mindful of the incredible struggles of our fellow americans in the gulf coast, both those leading the efforts to stem this crisis and those along the coast whose livelihoods are in jeopardy as a

result of the spill. also in our thoughts and prayers are the men and women in uniform who put their lives at risk each and every day for our safety and freedom. [applause] >> in that spirit, i would also pay a tribute to the journalists who play an extraordinary role in telling their stories. earlier today, i gave the commencement address in michigan where i spoke to the graduates about what is required to keep our democracy thriving in the 21 century. and one of the points i made for all the changes and challenges facing your industry, this country absolutely needs a healthy, vibrant media. probably needs it more than ever now. today's technology has made it

possible for us to get our news and information from a growing range of sources. we can pick and choose not only our preferred type of media, but also our preferred perspective and while that exposes us to an unprecedented array of opinions and points of view, it makes it that much more important that we are operating on a common baseline of facts. it makes it that much more important that journalists out there seek only the truth. and i don't have to tell you that. some of you are seasonned veterans who have been on the political beat for decades. others here tonight began their careers as bloggers not long ago. it's fair to say that every single reporter in this room believes deeply in the enterprise of journalism. every one of you, even the most cynical among you cherishes the

free press and preservation of our system of government and our way of life. i want you to know that for all the jokes and the occasional gripes, i cherish that work as well. in fact tonight, i wanted to present all of you with a bipartisan congressional resolution that honors all those wonderful contributions that journalists have made to our country and the world, but unfortunately, i couldn't break the filibuster. thank you very much everybody. god bless you and god bless the united states of america. [applause]

>> we are going to make history tonight. it's not 11:35 p.m., but i give you a man who is good any time of the day or night. jay leno. [cheers and applause] >> thank you, ed. this is everybody comedian's dream, rich people eating. i got stuck behind the arizona congressional delegation. luckily all their pips were in order. and i have the honor of being the only person on this panel not subpoenaed by rod blagblag. that is impressive. i see the white house press corps is very excited. so this is it. enjoy it while it lasts. i'm not looking over. is he laughing? some of you noticed that the

president is turning gray, but he has had his share of stress. his mother in law moving in with him. i think that would break most men. sometimes the press can be one-sided. during the election, they would ask, is obama black enough? is obama too black. never the other way around, is john boehner orange enough? is he too orange? we never hear that. as you know, the president and first lady have a wonderful family. you remember this heart-warming photo. we all went ahh. and it reminded us of all of the similar photo taken in the previous administration, take a look. ahh! [laughter]

>> our hats off to michelle obama who made childhood obesity one of her causes. [applause] >> she has started a more intense program called leave no child with a bigger behind. and that is a wonderful thing. [laughter] >> but mrs. obama with all the good work you have been doing, it's been undermined by others in your administration. here, take a look. >> it's's easy to say to stay healthy and exercise more. our children might not live as long as their parents. what can we do to help? be the example they need. make healthy choices and help them do the same. let's raise a healthier generation of kids.

[laughter] [applause] >> and there was a big set back for nasa, president obama cutting the space program and not sending any more men to the moon. we can talk to one major achievement, we did get an astronaut on "dancing with the stars"." and that's something we can be proud of. i remember meeting president obama a number of times and critics describe the president as cold and aloof. he loves to socialize, car companies. [laughter] >> i congratulate president obama, he has done more than for the car industry except for toyota. [laughter] >> and as you may have heard, there are more problems for toyota, two of the crash test dummies refused to get in the car. so things are not looking good. but one wonderful thing about

president obama, never lost his street cred. he knows how to deal with the average guy. here he is meeting a business guy on the campaign trail. >> the president is walking in here. this is where we are about to go. the president again expecting to talk about small businesses and how he is going to hurt them in this economy. what he's going to do. [laughter] >> another piece of cake? mr. president, i have to admit, when you were elected, comedy well at the white house has dried up, so thank you for picking joe biden. joe is a great pick because nobody is more media savy. here he is with andrea mitchell. the word he is looking for is "avatar."

>> you have been a very busy man. do you ever get to the movies? >> as a matter of fact, we do. and umh, i think one of the odds-on favorite is this new program that i looked at it and wish i was seeing it in 3-d and watch this science fiction thing unfold in front of you. >> it's "avatar." as you know a lot of republicans wouldn't be here because of his dollar night at the bondage club. michael steele is here. michael, this has got to be pretty boring entertainment. couple of guys talking, come on.

that was my favorite story. republicans in a lesbian bondage club. they don't want them getting married, but they like to watch them tie the knot. i thought that was interesting. [laughter] >> republicans going to bondage club, looking at porn, i can't wait to get back to hollywood where people have values. i want to talk about white house security for a moment. it's supposed to be the most secure place in the world. here's president obama and vice president joe biden, two most powerful men in the world. watch the door behind them. how does this happen? take a look. >> good evening everybody. >> good evening. >> tonight, after nearly 100 years of talk and frustration -- >> who's that guy.

is he on the tour? did he wonder off? [laughter] >> and according to the pentagon, al qaeda is in financial ruin. you know what broke them? health insurance preliminary yummings? you know the monthly premium for a suicide bomber is? do you have any idea? if you took all the money republicans spent trying to stop health care and what democrats spent trying to get health care, we could have had it couple of years ago. supporters say that the american people will now get the same health benefits that members of congress get. and of course, that's great. how about some of the other perks? get out of jail free card. mr. president, you did a great job but you have to give a lot of credit to nancy pelosi for the way she sold it to the

american people, she went to the new media, she went to youtube. here, take a look. >> in order to have quality, affordable health care for all americans, it is essential that everyone participate when they are well and not just join in when they are sick. so it's all better quality, lower cost, more access if everyone is mandated. [laughter] [cheers and applause] >> you have to admit that president obama's mood really changed once that health care bill passed. i would see you come into the press room before the bill passed, kind of slumped over, looking depressed, didn't have the spark. here's the president the day after the health care bill was signed. take a look. >> he should step in here just a second. >> are you ready for this? ♪

♪ >> as you know, secretary of defense announced that the pentagon will ease up on don't ask, don't tell. he said they will be against the rules but not enforcing. like the ethics regulations in congress. david axelrod is here. he is one of the people most responsible getting president obama elected. and without him, john mccain would have been elected and watching "wheel of fortune." david axelrod was on my show. when i told him he was going to be on with "kick ass" he said, rahm's here? he claimed that rahm confronted him in the shower.

congress has a gym? anybody in congress look like they work out? it took barney frank 30 years to get that body? what is harry reid bench pressing now? five found? [laughter] >> the president has the most diverse staff in history. they represent every ward in chicago. and i think that is fantastic, mr. president. [laughter] >> michael douglas is here. where's michael? he won an oscar for high portrayal as a greedy wall street broker. where does hollywood come up with those crazy ideas? bill mar? he is the reason we had no opening prayer tonight. and speaking of that, you know, everybody complains about the lack of civility on both sides. you see it in sports, you see it

in politics. i think we have the answer. take a look. >> the reforms i'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally. >> you lie! >> are you tired of hearing what people say what is on their minds. they have an opinion and compelled to share it with others. those annoying comments can go away with this, duct tape. this gray sticky fabric solves it all, the american solution to everything. >> osama bin laden releasing tapes blaming the united states on global warming. even the united states blames the united states for global warming. i think he wants to quit al qaeda and join al gore. president has been promoting alternative energy. texas state university generates

electricity when you exercise and generate power by exercising. you thought americans with hiring a lot of illegal aliens before. manuel, keep peddling. president obama threw out the first pitch at the washington nationals game against the philadelphia phillies. biden got kicked out for cursing the umpire. the pitch was not a good pitch, but to be fair, you are used to softball. i'm going to get fired again. i tell you something. a lot of critics felt that president bush did a better job getting the ball over the plate. but on the other hand, president obama can talk. so i think it balances. [laughter] >> as you know, president obama

and the first lady, very much committed to education. in fact, here's their latest program. >> president obama says that a good education is everything to a child's future, but what if you have a child that can't learn or worst, won't learn. thanks to a bottled government program, you can rein trade them in. it's cash for clunkers. bring in that thing you call a son and get $4,500 for a new or select used child. that's right. up to $4,500 for that wannabe gangster or that morbid punk. so don't be stuck with that tramp you gave birth to. get a kid you you can be proud of. get clash for clunkers today.

[laughter] >> i read that book game change about the 2008 election. you know what i learned from that book. reporters hold back all the good stories from the newspapers, they can get really rich. [laughter] >> nice to see chris matthews. chris, where are you? chris has been on "the tonight show." he comes down and talks straight through for 10 minutes and then i ask him a question and then he talks another 20 minutes. let's talk about the press for a minute. i want you to watch how different networks cover the same story. remember that story about president obama, somebody had a jacket and had a big poster on time square and the president isn't supposed to be endorsing. this is how cbs covered it. >> president obama no longer has the commanding presence in a new york location. remember this huge billboard with his likeness.

it was removed. mr. obama's picture is not to be used for commercial purposes. >> now look how fox news carried the exact same story. >> timing is everything. ok. [applause] >> but to be fair, it is a two-way street ks, and i think the white house likes to play games. i'm going to show you some tape. this tape hasn't been altered in anyway. i'm going to show you some reporters outside the white house. notice how quiet it is when the msnbc reporters reporting and watch what happens with fox.

we haven't changed it in anyway. >> does make a couple of problems go away. >> secretary robert gibbs. >> emergens of this part of the party isn't a good thing. >> and john boehner said. >> past few minutes that it involved just more than congratulations. a special election. >> republicans have held it. >> sausage making you don't want to look too closely at, but -- >> you be the judge! and you mentioned the situation in the gulf of mexico. there's talk that this oil slick could be bigger than that huge disaster they had up in alaska. really? bigger than sarah palin. that is unbelievable. and wolf blitzer is here. doesn't that sound like the name of sarah palin's helicopter?

you know, the big rumor is, sarah palin may run for president in 2012 and she is a former beauty queen. if she wins, it would make history, would make the first time that a beauty queen would bring about world peace. they all talk about it. she could make it happen. you see her last month. it was beauty and the deceased. and my favorite democrat, senator john edwards, while a personal injury attorney who turned out to be a sleaze ball. i was stunned by that revelation . [laughter] >> well, now there's talk of a john edwards' sex tape. there's something that people never seen before, a lawyer screwing people. wow! how unusual is that. betty white is here. we love betty white!

hi, sweetheart. betty has a long history in this town. her first stage performance was interrupted by john wilkes booth. [laughter] >> the last time i was here was 2004 and back then, hillary clinton campaign had $20 million but now mark penn has it. little inside baseball. the rich guys get it, yeah. newsweek is reporting that hillary clinton has been talking to friends about stepping down as secretary of state, you know, i think i picked up a clue in a recent interview about what she plans to do. it's a little subtle. >> i want to ask you again, you are never going to run for president again? >> i have absolutely no interest it. i know that's hard for people to

believe. [laughter] >> governor bob mcdonald is here. i heard him say, when he heard the president was going to be here, he said what? jefferson davis is coming? [laughter] >> this is a tough room. my good friend joy beyhar from "the view" is here. i seen president obama in tough negotiations with the russians and showdown with similar jung il. and president ahmadinejad. but the only time i seen him look nervous and jerky is on "the view." look and count how many times times he fidgets. >> i'm surrounded by women. you always surprise me. you always surprise me.

>> i'm going to say, over the weekend, i reread "dreams of my father." >> let's wibed this baby up. my favorite moment was seeing all five living presidents all together in the oval office and something spontaneous happened and i thought it was fantastic, take a look. ♪ what is it good for? war yeah what is it good for absolutely nothing say it again ♪ >> this has been an honor and privilege. this is the greatest job, for the president of the united states, first lady michelle o'bauma. thank you very much. -- michelle o'baum -- obama.

[applause] >> thank you all for coming, ladies and gentlemen. please stay where you are. and my successor will escort the owe baum ast out. good night -- owe baumas dobamas out. good night everybody. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] [captioning performed by national captioning institute]

>> live picture of the ballroom of the washington hilton as we watch some of the 3,000 journalists, politicians and celebrities exit who attended the white house correspondents' dinner, remarks by president obama and "tonight show" host jay leno. we will replay the show. many of the guests making their way to after-parties. president obama scheduled on sunday to go to the gulf coast region to look at efforts

underway to combat the oil spill there. i want to remind you about our online white house correspondents' dinner hub and watch the red carpet arrivals as well as the dinner itself at any time at c-span.org/whcd. a chance for you to see tonight's dinner coming up in 15 minutes here on c-span. a bit of those red carpet arrivals from earlier.