1/ I attended the White House Correspondents Dinner for nearly 20 years. Attendance was expected by my bosses. This was before the big celebrity influx. But I still hated it. As soon as I could, I stopped going, even though I was still invited.
2/ In those days, the big highlight was that the president got to be funny and sarcastic. This was at a time when presidents weren’t on TV speaking - formally or informally- almost daily. So it could be fun to hear.
3/ I sometimes enjoyed the presidential talks, but can’t remember any of the comedians. And the whole thing felt creepy and phony. DC journalists and those they cover needn’t hate each other, as they often do today. But they should have an arms-length relationship.
4/ The dinner is anachronistic and should be cancelled. It only distracts from the mission of journalism and the notion that journalists are independent. All the awards in the world can’t erase that problem.
5/ One last thing: anyone who has ever watched Michelle Wolf perform should not have been surprised. She’s smart, funny, gutsy and cutting.
Addendum: if the WHCA wants to give awards to deserving journalists, it could easily do so at a modest luncheon with no formal dress, no political or government figures, no comedian. This embarrassing gala is not, and never has been, primarily about awards.
