Game for a Laugh with Barack Obama
Deaglán de Bréadún
Here’s the YouTube of President Obama’s witty speech at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner last Saturday night. For some reason it is dated March 9th, not May 9th. Some of the humour is a little too esoteric for those of us outside the Beltway but it is still worth watching.
The charm and self-assurance of the man are very striking. If only some of our own leaders could have this combination of articulacy and self-confidence. As with JFK at the start of his presidency, Obama is on a roll. But will Afghanistan bring him down, as Vietnam might have scuppered Kennedy’s reputation, had he lived?
Maybe it’s time to have an Irish version of the Correspondents’ dinner. Even his critics would agree that Brian Cowen, for example, can be quite witty and has excellent powers of mimicry.
