Washington – President Bush, deferring to the tragedy at Virginia Tech, passed up any attempt to be funny at the House Correspondents’ Association dinner Saturday, leaving those efforts to impersonator Rich Little.
Returning to the podium at the annual dinner after 23 years, Little made good on his promise to be gentle. Little’s material was safe if occasionally a little raunchy.
He dusted off his impersonations of six presidents, from Nixon to the current occupant of the White House, and avoided any reference to current political issues.
After one joke bombed, he said, “And you thought (Stephen) Colbert was bad.” Best known for his impersonations of Richard Nixon and Johnny Carson, Rich was the featured act for the glitzy dinner with Bush, Cabinet secretaries, foreign dignitaries, Hollywood celebrities and members of the press.
Unlike previous comedians at the dinner, he had no competition from Bush, who at times has shown a deft comedic touch himself in his annual monologue.
Bush said it was important for people in Washington “to learn to laugh” and that the ability for a nation to poke fun at its leaders is good for democracy.
“I was looking forward to doing a little poking myself but in light of this tragedy at Virginia Tech I decided not to be funny,” he said.
Little made fun of Bush’s occasional difficulties with language – imitating Bush talking about this “warathon thing against all extreministic fractions.”
