Jimmy Kimmel Goes After Everyone At Correspondents' Dinner
Tonight was the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner. It's usually attended by the President, who gives brief remarks, and a famous comedian provides entertainment. Sometimes this goes over better than others. In 2006, the entertainment -- Stephen Colbert -- was so hostile that many George W. Bush aides walked out. Various liberal groups loved it, of course.
So Jimmy Kimmel, host of Jimmy Kimmel Live, had the honors tonight and he was absolutely ruthless. Against everyone. But because it was the first time I'd ever seen anyone go after Democrats, I'm still somewhat in shock. I followed the jokes on Twitter as opposed to watching him deliver them, but he was brutal. Here's how Mediaite wrote it up:
Kimmel thanked the President for his appearance tonight, saying “salaam.”
“Mr. President, I know you won’t be able to laugh at any of my jokes about the Secret Service so cover your ears if that’s physically possible,” said Kimmel. “If this had happened on President [Bill] Clinton’s watch, you can damn well bet those Secret Service agents would have been disciplined with a very serious high five.”
Kimmel joked about the General Services Administration’s scandal, the President’s ability to compromise with the Republican party by conceding to their demands and White House advisor Peter Orszag.
Kimmel also joked about the journey the country has taken with Obama from 2008 to today and how so much has changed. “Mr. President, remember when the country rallied around you in hopes of a better tomorrow,” asked Kimmel. “That was hilarious.”
“There’s a term for President Obama. Probably not two,” said Kimmel. “Even some of your fellow Democrats think you’re a pushover Mr. President. They would like to see you stick to your guns. And if you don’t have any guns, they would like to see you ask [Attorney General] Eric Holder to get some for you. Jake Tapper wrote that.”
“They say diplomacy is a matter of carrots and sticks,” Kimmel said. “And since Mrs. Obama got to the White House, so is dinner.” Kimmel went on a tear about the President’s weight loss and how that reflects on the state of the nation. Targeting Michelle Obama, Kimmel said, “look, it’s [New Jersey Gov.] Chris Christie. Get him!”
Kimmel took aim at the Occupy Wall Street movement as well, saying “it took moths of hacky sack and patchouli oil but, finally, Wall Street isn’t greedy anymore.”
Kimmel mocked the recent scandal surrounding Hilary Rosen’s comments about Ann Romney, and White House Press Secretary Jay Carney’s response that he knew “three” Hilary Rosens. “Three Hilarys,” said Kimmel. “That sounds like Bill Clinton’s worst nightmare.”
He went after Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, the Republican Party in general and Allan West. This is all to be expected of a typical comedian. But it was the other people he went after that I found most interesting:
Democrats, too, were the target of Kimmel’s jokes. “[Rep.] Nancy Pelosi believes in lipstick like she believes in government,” said Kimmel. “Too much is never enough.” He said that Jake Tapper wrote that joke as well.
Kimmel took aim at Keith Olbermann, too, saying “the thing about Keith is he is so likeable.” Kimmel continued, “Al Gore launched Current TV in 2005 and it took off like a North Korean rocket.”
And yes, within moments, Keith Olbermann sent out an angry tweet complaining. (And you should have seen how angry the liberals I follow on Twitter were -- they are simply unaccustomed to being ripped on like this in a high-profile manner.)
On a silly night where D.C. journalists embarrass themselves with their odd invitations to Hollywood celebrities, I'm a bit impressed. It takes precisely no courage to go after Rush Limbaugh. You might recall that a previous host at this event literally wished him dead. But it does take some courage to go after Obama, his failed administration, the scandals that the rest of the media are pretending don't exist, and the Democratic Party in general.
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Sep '10
Re: Jimmy Kimmel Goes After Everyone At Correspondents' Dinner
If I were Jimmy Kimmel, I'd be worried about an extensive IRS audit of all of his activities going back to his date of birth and possibly earlier.
Dec '10
Re: Jimmy Kimmel Goes After Everyone At Correspondents' Dinner
Mollie,
I have never been a fan of Jimmy Kimmel.
I am now.
Regards,
Jim
Edited on April 29, 2012 at 5:33amApr '12
Re: Jimmy Kimmel Goes After Everyone At Correspondents' Dinner
Remarkable. This may be a reflection of how truly unpopular Obama has become. I was optimistic about November, but not THIS optimisitc.
Pseudodionysius is right, Kimmel is going to pay for this, unless the likes of Breitbart + Rush have changed the media climate far more than anticipated; he certainly won't be invited back to any parties held by the brown noses at the WHCD.
Edited on April 29, 2012 at 5:39amFeb '12
Re: Jimmy Kimmel Goes After Everyone At Correspondents' Dinner
Did you see Parker's editorial in the WaPo? "Preezy come, Preezy go". She asks whether we still want the cool guy or the grown up. Could it be the media sees Obama is tanking and they are jumping ship?
Sep '10
Re: Jimmy Kimmel Goes After Everyone At Correspondents' Dinner
November is looking like an iceberg and Obama the Titanic.
May '10
Re: Jimmy Kimmel Goes After Everyone At Correspondents' Dinner
Is this the same Jimmy Kimmel who just yesterday said, “It’s hard to make fun of Obama in general because he’s a cool character."
Slobbering.
Jun '10
Re: Jimmy Kimmel Goes After Everyone At Correspondents' Dinner
Good for Jimmy Kimmel. He's genuinely funny.
EJHill: I think it's what the politicos call "lowering expectations." Since so many comedians have made similar remarks for so long ... he might have been just playing to type. I certainly could be reading too much into it, but Kimmel's a pretty smart guy.
Nov '11
Re: Jimmy Kimmel Goes After Everyone At Correspondents' Dinner
A Fast and Furious joke? I never thought I'd see the day. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about that. I guess Jimmy must've spent a little bit too much time around Ben Stein's Money.
Thumbs up for "fairness" on the comedy front.
Jun '10
Re: Jimmy Kimmel Goes After Everyone At Correspondents' Dinner
Kimmel can get away with some harder shots because he has no skin in the Washington game. What can they do to him?
And, watching the C-SPAN red carpet and "mingle" coverage, I just kept thinking these people aren't greeting close friends here. They're just maintaining their social connections. I didn't see a lot of joy. They're the ones who have to watch what they say. I'd be surprised if half of the news people there would even go if they didn't feel like they had to show up. I guess, going proves that you CAN get invited, if you want to be invited. Kimmel was funny, but he wasn't so funny that you had to be there to drink it all in.
Re: Jimmy Kimmel Goes After Everyone At Correspondents' Dinner
The after parties can be fun and I think it's a nice dinner and all that. But my husband and I were talking about it and there is something really weird about the way the media outlets invite celebrities. Why are they doing that? What do they hope to accomplish? What message do they think they're conveying? I'm pretty sure it's not the one they're actually conveying ...
Oct '10
Re: Jimmy Kimmel Goes After Everyone At Correspondents' Dinner
How would Obama fare in the traditional Friars or Dean Martin Roasts ?
Apr '12
Re: Jimmy Kimmel Goes After Everyone At Correspondents' Dinner
It really is not that hard to make fun of Obama
Feb '11
Re: Jimmy Kimmel Goes After Everyone At Correspondents' Dinner
Not as funny as it could have been, but possibly a warm-up.
My personal favorite is when Kimmel turned to Jay Carney and called him a liar to his face.
"I bet you 10 thousand dollars you don't know three Hilary Rosens, but i'm not running for president"
May '11
Re: Jimmy Kimmel Goes After Everyone At Correspondents' Dinner
I find the entire event to be unseemly.
Ostensible public servants yucking it up with the privileged and powerful, or vapid celebrities.
State dinners are the same way. Always the rich and famous that get invites.
If I were POTUS, I would not attend the WHCD, and I would invite Americans of real achievement to state dinners and the like.
Apr '11
Re: Jimmy Kimmel Goes After Everyone At Correspondents' Dinner
Kimmel is such a lovable ball of snard that he can get away with it stylistically, though the reported jabs are much harder edged than his usual monologue (I scan the e-mail summary).
But courage, schmourage. . . not! If he really wanted to open a can of self-censorship and risk putting his career beyond the pale, he could have cracked wise about all the things we don't know about Barack Hussein Obama, starting with his birth certificate and this picture.
"Remember the movie and TV show, The Paper Chase, about Harvard Law School? Barack Obama not only chased down and picked up every scrap of paper with his name on it at Harvard, he did it for his whole life. . . .
"I don't blame Obama for the fraud. I blame the Republicans for depriving us of the show:
"When the Republicans are all like 'You're not a natural-born citizen cause your father was a Kenyan polygamist.', Obama just replies 'No, he was a pedophile Communist pornographer, but he was an American pedophile Communist pornographer."
What a missed opportunity!
Edited on April 29, 2012 at 7:20amMay '10
Re: Jimmy Kimmel Goes After Everyone At Correspondents' Dinner
That was mildly funny. I didn't think it was that good.
Apr '12
Re: Jimmy Kimmel Goes After Everyone At Correspondents' Dinner
Stuffy and uncomfortable.
Mar '11
Re: Jimmy Kimmel Goes After Everyone At Correspondents' Dinner
This made me think of the 2006 fiasco with Colbert. Bush should have gotten up and walked out. "But they'll call him names!", you say. They did that anyway. I don't think sitting there and just taking that kind of stuff makes you a better man.
Re: Jimmy Kimmel Goes After Everyone At Correspondents' Dinner
I went to a few of these events when I was a journo in DC. You have no idea how much self-satisfaction saturates these soirees. How the nerdoisie auto-fellates themselves when physical proximity to the certified Objects of Cool reaffirms their sense of status.
It's a way of making the Outer Party feel like they're privy to the vocabulary of the Inner Party. For one shining moment, you're sitting at the circular table with a half-full glass of warm wine, poking at your dessert, laughing along with everyone else, and thinking: I've made it. I get the references. I'm in.
Aug '10
Re: Jimmy Kimmel Goes After Everyone At Correspondents' Dinner
I happened to be flipping through the channels and saw it being rebroadcast so I watched it. Kimmel's performance seemed sub-par to me. Any swipes at the Democrats and the President were pretty mild in comparison to what seemed like much more personal jabs at Republicans. Obviously, that's to be expected.
I just didn't find myself laughing, even at jokes that may have been meant for conservatives to laugh at. There were a couple good lines, but not much else for me. Though, I did like his closer about getting to high-five the President when a teacher told him he wouldn't amount to anything.