By Gerald F. Seib
The Republican presidential campaign and the foibles of both parties in Congress provided fodder for the jokes at Saturday night's Gridiron Dinner in Washington.
The Gridiron, a club of journalists in the nation's capital, hosts the annual dinner at which skits poke fun of both parties, and prominent politicians join in the roasting of one another.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry spoke for the Republicans and gave a well-received speech in which he panned his own unsuccessful presidential campaign. He noted that he was once, briefly, the front-runner for the Republican nomination: "It was the three most exhilarating hours of my life."
But, he noted, he stumbled soon enough. "Here's the hardest part for me," he said. "Weakest Republican field in history and they kicked my butt." He suggested part of his problem may have been that he has a college degree in animal husbandry. "Animal husbandry," he deadpanned. "That sounds like what Rick Santorum thinks gay marriage leads to."
Mr. Perry also got a jab in at GOP front-runner Mitt Romney and his wealth, saying that standing next to him on debate stages "I kept waiting for him to say, 'Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?'"
Democratic National Chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz spoke for the Democrats and also took a jab at Mr. Romney and his reputation for shifting positions. "It looks like Mitt Romney finally has this thing wrapped up," she said. "And you know what you call a Republican primary where Mitt stands alone? A two man race."
But she also ribbed fellow Democrats in Congress, noting that part of her daily routine is to "wake up the children. And by children I mean Steve Israel and Chuck Schumer," the former a New York House member and the latter a New York senator. Both are known as among the more excitable partisans in Congress.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta closed out the evening, speaking for the absent President Barack Obama, who is on an official trip to South Korea. The former Republican noted: "Much like Mitt Romney I used to be a moderate Republican. You can find them in the Smithsonian."
He also noted that his military commanders recently lost a drone aircraft when they lost the radio signal to control it. "I have not directed that we switch all drones from AT&T to Verizon," he declared.
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
0 意見:
Post a Comment