Sunday, April 28, 2013

WHCA DINNER: THE PROBEM ISNT THE GLITZ AND THE SWAG

In theory, the White House Correspondents' Association could have a big gala dinner with celebrity guests and insult-comedy speeches and swag bags, and it wouldn't necessarily be horrible. Nobody thinks comedians lose touch with their audiences when they celebrate and mock one another at roasts on Comedy Central or at the Friars Club. Everyone still loves Mad Men and Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad even though once a year there's an Emmy ceremony. And so on.

The problem with the dinner isn't the dinner itself, or the desire for glitz and glamour. The problem is inviting politicians. Imagine if there were a big, glamorous dinner every year for past and present Nobel Peace Prize winners, and for the individuals and organizations that might hope one day to be honored by the Nobel committee. Now imagine if the prizewinners' antagonists -- dictators, torturers, death-squad leaders -- were also invited to the dinner. That's what the WHCA is like.

When every pol is welcome to show up, the message is that none of what those SOBs are doing is beyond the pale. None of it is harmful to the nation. Nothing significant is really in the balance every day in D.C. Nothing is life-or-death.

Of course the journos are going to cozy up to some of the people they're writing about -- that's inevitable. But this dinner suggests that that's the only appropriate relationship between groups of Washingtonians who should be adversaries much of the time. This dinner suggests that they're all on the same side, all the time.

2 comments:

Victor said...

I disagree - to only to a degree.

The politicians SHOULD be invited - but only if they're going to be openly ridiculed and mocked - and know it.

I'm talking about inviting Louis Gohmert, Michele Bachmann, either of the two Senators from OK, @$$holes like that, and just going to town on ridiculing them about their sheer vicious stupidity, ignorance, and hubris.

But what they do now, is a travesty.

Jesus and Jefferson, weep.

Ten Bears said...

I believe, Steve, that what you are commenting on is known as Incestuous Behavior. Fucking your daughter, or sister. Which is OK. Say's so right there in the white dog's bible.

(Funny how that doesn't show up in the EPIC MOTION PICTURE! Got angels doing kung-fu, but no steamy hot dad on daughter sex. Having read the book six or seven times and not remembering it quite like that I went and looked and sure enough there's a whole chapter of steamy hot dad on daughter sex... not just one daughter but five of them! No angels doing kung-fu though.)

The Rude One posited the other day that the party - collectively The Republicans - is deranged. I disagree. The individuals that make up "the party" are deranged and I don't they're on drugs, Stepford Clones or there really is a jesis that makes them happy stupid happy they are a clear and present danger the my grand-children's survival.

I do agree with the tea potties, it's time to water the tree.

No fear.