Reuters 05/10/2009 6:27 PM WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama served as comedian in chief on Saturday night, predicting that his second 100 days
in office will be so successful that he will wrap them up in record time. “I must confess I really did not want to be here tonight,” Obama told guests at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner — an annual black-tie gathering of journalists, politicians and Hollywood celebrities. “But I knew I had to come. That’s one more problem that I inherited from George W. Bush.” Alluding to his reputation for staying cool and on message, Obama ticked off a series of goals he hoped to achieve. In the next 100 days, he said, he would learn to go off the teleprompter and Vice President Joe Biden, famous for verbal gaffes, “will learn to stay on the prompter.” Obama said he also expected to house-train his new, seven-month-old Portuguese water dog, Bo.
“The last thing Tim Geithner needs is someone else treating him like a fire hydrant,” he said, referring to his treasury secretary. Geithner was forced to pay $34,000 in unpaid back taxes before being confirmed to his job and he has been criticized for his handling of the financial crisis.