WASHINGTON IS OFTEN a frivolous town, a fact demonstrated once again by the ritual of self-mockery performed by President Bush and the media pandemonium over the presence of ghoulish rock star Ozzy Osbourne in the nation’s capital. The occasion was the annual White House Correspondents’ dinner last Saturday, a once staid event that’s now become caught up in Washington’s–or at least the press corps’s–raging infatuation with Hollywood celebrities.
Journalists pride themselves on being coolly unimpressed with political leaders, an attitude captured by the old adage of reporters that the only way to look at politicians is down. But when a movie star or music celebrity comes near, their knees buckle. And when a president steps forward with an elaborate presentation in which he makes fun of himself and his administration, the Washington press corps responds approvingly.
For decades, presidents weren’t expected to do this. They’d speak at the dinner, telling a few jokes and ending with a high-toned affirmation of the First Amendment and an insincere expression of admiration for the press. That was followed by entertainment that had nothing to do with politics or Washington. Barbra Streisand sang one year before she was well known. And once the entertainment consisted of a mummer band from Philadelphia that marched through the mammoth hotel ballroom where the Correspondents’ dinner is held.
But now the entertainment is usually overshadowed by the president. A few digs at the media are allowed, but mostly the president is supposed to zing himself–and do so in what amounts to a production number. President Clinton excelled at this. Several years ago, for example, he presented a series of taped skits from the White House. Naturally they were self-deprecating. Clinton also was a great joke-teller, almost as good as President Reagan.
President Bush has appeared twice at the dinner, both times with a slide show. This year’s had slides of Bush in funny poses and with odd expressions on his face. Bush’s jokes were mildly funny, particularly when he took note of Osbourne in the audience. This prompted Osbourne to stand, and the crowd cheered the president’s moment of hipness. Earlier, according to the Washington Post, Osbourne had approached Bush at the dais and urged him to grow his hair like Osbourne’s scraggly waist length coif. Bush thought a moment and said, “Second term, Ozzy.”
Though there’s nothing wrong with a little humor at the president’s expense, what’s now expected of a president goes beyond that. He’s required to abase himself before the press as part of a highly produced entertainment routine. Is this really what we want presidents to spend their time on? Of course, if a president balked and decided to return to the old days of a couple of jokes and a few pieties, he’d be pilloried by the press for weeks. And if he skipped the dinner altogether, as President Carter once did, he’d be excoriated for months as a ne’er-do-well.
Nowadays ogling Hollywood stars trumps any serious matters that might intrude at the dinner. If you hadn’t heard of the terrorist attacks on September 11, you’d barely have gotten wind of them from the speakers last Saturday. Anyway, attention to September 11 would have been a dissonant note, given all the ooing over entertainment industry celebrities. Just for the record, they included: Raquel Welch, Harrison Ford, Glenn Close, Sally Field, Christie Brinkley, Ozzy, and Sharon Osbourne (Mrs. Ozzy).
Why do stars travel from Hollywood to attend the dinner? I think it’s for the same reason journalists invite them: It’s for validation they’re important. There’s a type of journalist in Washington who loves to attend dinners with cabinet members, senators and House members, and other Washington bigwigs. It validates the journalist as significant figure in Washington, too. And by hobnobbing with Hollywood stars, if only for one night a year, reporters and columnists and TV commentators prove they are celebrities in their own right.
Who better to mix and mingle with than Ozzy Osbourne, whose MTV show about his family life is currently the hottest thing on television. He was invited by Greta van Susteren of Fox News Channel, who didn’t need any validation because she’s already a star (cover of People magazine). But for nearly everyone else in the Washington media, huddling with Ozzy and having a picture taken was proof they matter professionally.
There’s nothing evil about the love affair with Hollywood celebrities. But it shows how frivolous Washington can be. And it permits the rest of America to regard a town that takes itself so seriously without much seriousness at all.
Fred Barnes is executive editor of The Weekly Standard.
