The Press & The Pols: So Happy Together

No matter the party in power or the man in the oval office, no event better illustrates the cozy relationship between the press and politicians like the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner.  

At its most base, the system works like this: government officials offer access and in return for that access and close proximity the press does not criticize too much or ask too many hard questions. Nothing says democracy like a good party, so to celebrate this friendship between the fourth estate and the government, there is a big black tie dinner every year sprinkled with celebrities. 

What a difference three years makes. Remember Stephen Colbert's roast of President Bush and the media which, oddly enough, received a scant amount of media attention? The mainstream media coverage ignored Colbert's jokes and instead focused on the Bush impersonator who preceded him in the line up. Some argued that the press was uncomfortable with Colbert's performance, making fun of the President essentially to his face. But what really made the press uncomfortable were Colbert's jabs at them. 

It's definitely awkward, but worth another look:


Flash forward to last Sunday night. Wanda Sykes is the comedienne. Barack Obama is the president. She makes a (bad? even offensive?) joke about Rush Limbaugh's kidneys failing and the possibility that he was the 20th hijacker on 9/11 and the media swarms. 

Considering the criticism the media has received for its seemingly all too favorable coverage of the now president, I would have thought Wanda would have made more jokes directed their way.  But maybe she learned a lesson from her predecessor: those afflicted with Insider Syndrome prefer that you don't mention it.  If you do, they will just edit you out.