COMMENTARY

It's an annual rite of spring.  For one night, or four if you count all the pre and post parties, the White House Correspondents Dinner brings together Washington and Hollywood A-listers and glitterati.  And every year, there's always much hand-wringing over the choice of the entertainer.  Ever since Don Imus famously told many off color and stinging jokes with President and Mrs. Clinton sitting only inches away, the dinner crowd is always a little anxious about what the entertainer will say.  What I can't figure out is why anyone's surprised/offended/puzzled when an edgy comic (and most of the really good comics are very edgy) wanders beyond the boundaries of what's accepted as tasteful.  All this now brings me to this past weekend's prom featuring comedienne Wanda Sykes.

The cable talkers and the blogosphere are buzzing with Sykes' comments about talk radio giant Rush Limbaugh.  She said Limbaugh's wish for President Obama's administration to fail was treason and wasn't any different from what Osama bin Laden had said.  She followed that by saying the President should perhaps investigate Limbaugh because he could have been the 20th 9/11 hijacker except that he was "so strung out on OxyContin he missed his flight".  She went further still, saying she wished Limbaugh's kidneys would fail and that he needed "a good waterboarding".  The President smiled as Sykes riffed on Limbaugh, but he didn't laugh heartily as some bloggers have alleged.  He wasn't alone in his discomfort.  Sykes herself at one point during the Limbaugh riff asked the crowd, "too much"?   

Arguments can be made that the Limbaugh bit was completely inappropriate, but arguments can also be made that given some of the things Limbaugh has said on his own show, Sykes wasn't anywhere close to being over the top in calling him out and taking him on.  Anyone remember Limbaugh's famous mocking of actor Michael J. Fox's struggle with Parkinson's disease?  The difference here is solely the audience listening to both entertainers.  Those inside the Washington Hilton like their comics to singe, not burn, and to not be too controversial or offensive.  Those listening to Limbaugh on the radio or watching via the internet aren't worried about anyone being offended and likely don't care if they are.  And therein lies the rub:  If Washington prom goers, and most importantly prom organizers, are so worried about the entertainer being offensive or offending the masses, they should always make a safe choice.  But, didn't they do that a few years back when they brought in Rich Little following Stephen Colbert's squirm-inducing routine?  So, they're damned if they do and damned if they don't since Little's performance was widely panned.  The bottom line is that when you play with fire (Sykes, Colbert, Imus), you'll always get a little singed.  Just know that there's no way a successful, edgy entertainer isn't going to offend someone.  Accept it, move on, and pay no attention to those using it to try to score political points.  Next year though, invite someone like Bill Cosby or Jeff Foxworthy.

While most of the chatter has focused on Sykes' comments, the dinner remark that actually bothered me came from the President.  He said, "Sasha and Malia aren't here tonight because they're grounded.  You can't just take Air Force One on a joyride to Manhattan."  That photo-op scared a lot of people in lower Manhattan, and it cost Louis Caldera his job.  Did anyone listen to the 911 calls?  There was real panic in the voices reporting a large plane flying low over the city.  Most bothersome to me is the fact a 10 year old and a seven year old who never really asked to be in the spotlight are the butt of the joke.  Harmless maybe and funny to be sure, but something about that joke just didn't sit well with me.