Political Theatre

I tuned into the White House Correspondents Dinner Saturday night at the end of the Sox game, up for a little political theatre.

The correspondents indulged themselves complaining a bit about the dilapidated state of the White House press room, apparently built over an old pool. They won't get much sympathy from the rest of us, after all, they are in the White House. It was a bit tedious to watch, but they did thank the president for authorizing its remodel this summer.

The incoming president of the group is Steve Scully of C-Span. He rolled tape of past presidents making a few quips and it was very well-done, ending with the best--President Reagan. If it's not rerunning on TV, you can probably catch it here, if you're a political junkie like me.

When it was his turn, President Bush tried his best, with self-deprecating humor, the best kind, expressing his relief that he had survived the White House shakeup. His comic double got in a few jabs at the press.

I was looking forward to seeing Stephen Colbert's entertainment, but I guess he took himself too seriously. It was really a tense, unsmiling performance--very one-sided anti-Bush and not good-natured at all. Story here. Not funny either. There wasn't even much nervous laughter, and toward the end there was a kind of shocked silence.

And if the president wasn't amused it was because Colbert wasn't amusing.

And maybe the White House correspondents were a bit shamed and embarrassed---because Colbert's performance reminded them of their own---in the briefing room.