We were going to go to the Gridiron Dinner, but it was such a nice night out, we decided to give it a miss and drink on a rooftop instead. Oh, and it turns out bloggers aren't invited. But we don't feel too slighted to have missed the dinner, a glorified office Christmas party in which every year they rouse the surviving members of Carson's writing staff and put them to work retrofitting hundred-year-old punchlines with torn-from-the-headlines topical references.
Just so you're clear:
* When we say it: degrading the discourse.
* When a Senator says it: just a bit of fun!
The highlight of the evening for us was when, due to a hilarious limousine dispatching mix-up, a no-more-confused-than-usual Shane MacGowan delighted the assembled dignitaries of the Gridiron Club with a rousing rendition of "Streams of Whiskey" while Helen Thomas wound up fronting the Pogues at their sold-out 9:30 Club late show. Once the whole situation had been sorted out, Shane and Helen had a laugh and performed what some have already called the definitive version of "Fairytale of New York" to a mixed crowd of beltway journalists and aging hipsters.
Oh, and apparently Barack Obama went over pretty well:
To wrap up his generous but well-timed three hour performance, Obama said, "And most of all, I want to thank you for all the generous advance coverage you've given me in anticipation of a successful career. When I actually do something, we'll let you know. Meanwhile, I'd like to be President right now, if you don't mind."
[...]
After the dinner, Obama retired to the White House where he began to assume the role of President by making love to Laura Bush in the Oval Office while much of the staff and guests at the dinner looked on and cheered.
According to the First Lady, the Senator came on promising, but failed to really accomplish much in his first go-round.
