US President George W Bush showed his humorous side at this year’s White House Correspondents Association dinner on Saturday, entertaining an eclectic audience of invited guests including Harrison Ford, Raquel Welch and Black Sabbath front man Ozzy Osbourne.
The fun-filled gala dinner – where the president treats guests to a comic presentation – featured a slide show, entitled “Inside The Real West Wing”, seasoned with Bush’s one-liners. After one picture, featuring First Lady Laura Bush with her hand squarely on the president’s face, he joked: “Laura helps me in a million ways. Here, she’s helping me pronounce Azerbaijani.”
It seems no topic was out of bounds, including the fact that Vice President Dick Cheney now works from a secret location due to September 11 security concerns. Narrating a photo that showed his dog Barney scampering out from behind a White House desk, Bush deadpanned: “You can tell Barney is in some trouble here – This is the day he chewed up the list of undisclosed locations and we couldn’t find Dick.”
Rocker-turned-TV-star Ozzy was an attention grabber among the tuxedo-clad guests, sporting a Goth-inspired outfit with violet shades on his first visit to the White House.
“The thing about Ozzy is, he’s made a lot of big hit recordings,” the president told the nearly 3,000-strong crowd. “Party With The Animals, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Facing Hell, Black Skies and Bloodbath In Paradise – Ozzy, mom loves your stuff.” The always unpredictable rock star nearly stole the show by standing up on a chair and waving to the cheering crowd after the President pointed him out.
Other famous faces at the bash included Fatal Attraction’s Glenn Close, The Sopranos star Lorraine Bracco, actress Sally Field and model Christy Brinkley.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
