host: last call for our guest ken walsh comes from guy in california. aller: >> caller: good morning, mr. walsh. i want to know how you face a crossover between entertainment and the culture the presidency damages are triply ices the officer met the first letter president should take to minimize the damage. >> host: what do you think first of all before we get an answer. >> caller: i think you two been speaking before the super bowl can bring a lot of attention for the presidency but i think internationally it can make a scene sort of trivial and it might not be the best way for a president to approach public relations i want to know what you think over all. >> guest: president obama's testing the boundaries that this question. he enjoys being part of popular culture. he enjoys popular culture itself. he's very interested in movies and music and television and so on and books in his own role in this. you see that in many ways. he's testing the boundaries of how far a president can go. as is michelle, the first lady. presenting an oscar from washington du

. >> host: we have been talking with ken walsh senior white house correspondent for u.s. news & world report of "c >> transfer takes a look at 17 international universe is faced by presidents going back to your return and assesses how they were handled. mr. bohn served as the white house situation room under president reagan. non-mac -- [inaudible conversations] can and not welcomed here mark with the mark with malcolm acted in school policy government and international affairs hearing that george which i had the pleasure to read in draft form and we talked about it at length. it is an excellent work. i am thrilled that he is here to make a presentation based on the research he has built-in his experiences as well in the situation room in the white house. i am first going to introduce my colleague, bob tubman direct or at the center for politics and foreign relation and he is going to make the formal introduction for speaker. >> i will show you the book. at the end of each crisis or a decision-making problem in the white house firm truman threw a bomb he does an assessmen

joining me from the big dance in washington is ken walsh.e correspondent for "u.s. news & world report" but the author of "celebrity in chief," a history of the presidents and the culture of stardom. thank you sir, you look dapper in your tuxedo. everyone is glammed up. this is your 29th white house correspondents correspondents' dinner. is this indeed the nerd prom? trnchts >> reporter: it's actual little become a celebration of celebrity now. i started going to this dinner in the mid-'80s errand ran the dinner one year when i was president of the white house correspondents' association. boy, has it changed since then it's really become a spectacle in some ways but an example of our celebrity driven culture and president obama is the perfect sample example of how presidents can intersect with this. he understands popular culture, he participates in it and we'll see him participate in this top of the line dinner font celebrating celebrity. >> what do you expect will be the focus of the president's jokes tonight? what or who will take it the