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The White House Correspondents' Dinner: A Musical Tribute

Ahead of this year's White House Correspondents' Dinner, Newsy looks back at some of the more memorable moments from previous dinners.

The White House Correspondents' Dinner: A Musical Tribute
Getty Images / Jonathan Ernst
By Elizabeth Hagedorn
SMS
April 24, 2015

"I'm not to do jokes about any aspect of the president's personal life except his eating habits," Al Franken said in 1996.

"Everything you ate this evening was personally shot by Wayne LaPierre," Conan O'Brien said in 2013. 

"Nine o'clock. Mr. Excitement here is sound asleep, and I'm watching 'Desperate Housewives,'" first lady Laura Bush said in 2005.

"OK, now this one's almost insulting. I must remain fully clothed," Al Franken said in 1996. 

"They somehow always catch you with your shirt off. I know you're into this transparency thing, but I don't need to see your nipples," Wanda Sykes said in 2009.

"I'm so desperate for attention, I almost considered holding a news conference," President Ronald Reagan said in 1988. 

"I always look forward to these dinners. … It's just a bunch of media types, Hollywood liberals. Democrats like Joe Biden. How come I can't have dinner with the 36 percent of the people who like me?" President George W. Bush said in 2006. 

"In just eight years, I've given you enough material for 20 years," President Bill Clinton said in 2000.

"It doesn't matter if you're black like President Obama. Or white like President Obama. Or red like President Obama's agenda. Or orange like Speaker Boehner," Jimmy Kimmel said in 2012.   

"Seriously, Mr. President, your hair is so white, it could be a member of your cabinet," O'Brien said in 2013. 

"George W. Bush is leaving in eight months. The vice president is already moving out of his residence. It takes longer than you think to pack up an entire dungeon," Craig Ferguson said in 2008.  

"Four years ago, I was locked in a brutal primary battle with Hillary Clinton. Four years later, she won't stop drunk texting me from Cartagena," President Obama said in 2012. 

"Hey, you know what would be a good thing to get to? The end," Jon Stewart said in 1997.

"Oh, what the hell, let's move on to something else," President Ronald Reagan said in 1988.  

This video includes footage from C-SPAN and The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library and an image from Robert Bejil / CC BY 2.0.