President Obama, Joel McHale Roast HealthCare.gov, Chris Christie's Presidential Bid: WCHA Dinner Helped Raise Scholarship & Award Funds for Aspiring Journalists
Politicians rarely get the chance to speak comfortably. They're always tiptoeing around words, careful to make sure nothing they say will lead to their eventual political demise. That's what's so great about the annual White House Correspondent's Dinner -- all of these uptight politicians get a chance to let their guard down and make fun of themselves for a change.
President Obama did just that when he took the podium and addressed a room full of politicians, actors, musicians and athletes. A popular topic of the night: the botched launch of Obamacare.
"Of course, we rolled out HealthCare.gov. That could have gone better," said Obama, as reported by CNN. "In 2008, my slogan was, 'Yes, we can.' In 2013, my slogan was control-alt-delete."
Featured comedian Joel Mchale, host of E! network's "The Soup," also had his fun with the president.
"The launch of HealthCare.gov was a disaster. It was so bad," McHale said, while looking at Obama. "I don't even have an analogy because the website is now the thing people use to describe other bad things. They say things like, 'I shouldn't have eaten that sushi because I was up all night HealthCare.gov-ing.'"
Mchale also threw some jabs at the Republican party, in particular New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
"All right, look, I know it's been a long night, but I promise that tonight will be both amusing and over quickly, just like Chris Christie' s presidential bid," he joked. "I got a lot of these tonight, so buckle up, Gov. Christie. Excuse me, extender buckle up."
The President also had plenty of fun coming at the right wing, making fun of Fox News, the Koch brothers, Eric Cantor and John Boehner. He also got to a chance to point out the absurdity of the Republican opposition to Obamacare.
"How well does Obamacare have to work before you don't want to repeal it? What if everybody's cholesterol drops to 120? What if your yearly checkup came with tickets to a Clippers game? Not the old, Donald Sterling Clippers -- the new Oprah Clippers. Would that be good enough? What if they gave Mitch McConnell a pulse? What is it going to take?"
Although the night was full of laughs, it was all for a good cause. According to the White House Correspondent's Association, the event raised funds for "scholarships for aspiring journalists and awards recognizing excellence in the (journalism) profession."
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