Posted on 05/02/2005 6:00:13 AM PDT by fight_truth_decay
Who knew? First lady Laura Bush took over the podium from her husband at Saturday night's annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner and knocked 'em dead, keeping Washington's most powerful politicos in stitches as she worked the ballroom like a seasoned stand-up comic.
CUT
Although Washington's movers and shakers laughed at Mrs. Bush's performance, some in the press woke up with a Sunday morning hangover and began to criticize her monologue as immodest at best and downright bawdy at worst.
"Laura Bush cracks risque jokes at the White House Correspondents' dinner," sniffed Agence France-Presse. CNN reporter Elaine Quijano, who attended the dinner, also apparently had her sensibilities scarred by some of the first lady's quips.
"In some respects, I think for some folks it was a little shocking because she kind of crossed the line a little bit in some people's minds," she said.
"It was very risque," the Nation's David Korn said yesterday on Fox News. "I was wondering what the social conservatives and James Dobson had to say about all these jokes that were laced with sexual innuendo. Not a very family-values-type speech. I'm not sure I want to explain a lot of those jokes to my 4-year-old."
Eyebrows were raised by the first lady's bit about the president's ranching skills, which Mrs. Bush said her husband lacked because the elite schools he attended, Andover and Yale, "don't have a real strong ranching program."
She then added: "He's learned a lot about ranching since that first year when he tried to milk the horse. What's worse, it was a male horse."
The crowd howled. The joke, a female Associated Press reporter said, "had women giggling in the bathroom."
(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...
Why would a 4 year old be listening to the WH Correspondent's dinner?
I am very much pro-life, but I can't agree with you. I think that this president has lobbied for the ban on partial-birth abortion and banned further public funds for human embryionic stem cell research are huge emphases that have made a big difference on the public debate. There is only so much a president can do. I think that the tone of the debate is significantly different than when Clinton was in office. If you watch opinion polls on abortion, people are beginning to not favor it as much. A significant part of the reason is because of the tone coming from the WH. As conservatives, we do believe that the states ought to be making these decisions. I think that this president has been marvelous on this issue (less so on the Terri Schavo issue), but he did reiterate his commitment to a culture of life and he deserves credit for that.
I bet Barbara was amused by that. She's very outspoken herself and doesn't mince words.
I guess that liberals aren't the only ones who take themselves too seriously.
I have always liked Mrs. Bush, but she has slipped considerably in my opinion of her.
Harummph!!!!
People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
Exactly.
They are using the old double standards technique for 2 purposes - divide and conquer and proving their stereotype of conservative cristians as uptight moralistic prudes - and they are doing a good job.
No. I'm responding in kind to your comments regarding the First Lady. A gentleman back in the day would take you out to the woodshed for insulting a lady by calling her a whore. As I am a female, and my husband is a male who would be offended by your insults, I intimated that he would be the one to take the offending party out to the woodshed if he were available. Defending a lady is something that is not done as often today as it "should" be done.
btw, I haven't a clue who you are or where you live. I don't think you have anything to worry about.
Oh I agree, it's stuff I've heard before, but not from a first lady. Honestly, the Chippendale thing was cute. Milking a male horse was over the top. Desperate Housewive, likewise was cute too.
I guess one of the things that would trouble me about Desperate Housewives is that while conservatives point out the trash coming from Hollywood, a fair number, including the possibility of the first family watches such tripe. A surprisingly large nunber of watchers of such shows are the same folks who speak of our values spriraling down the toilet.
I'm not a prude and I can be as raunchy as the next guy. But I have cleaned up my act in the past several years. I guess my main problem is we denounce so much of this, but then turn around and defend it because it was "our" first lady who told the joke. Again, had this been one of the three above, it would have been fodder for how corrupt the morals are of the democratic party.
Why on God's green earth would he have to explain "those" jokes to his four year old? Was his kid up at 9:30 at night, watching Laura and Cedric on C-SPAN?
Maybe Laura Bush is not old-fashioned or prudish. However, "outing" her as such is not a coincidence, but represents a signal to the self-styled centrists that the White House does not hold fixed, rigid views on issues like stem cell research, Constitutional amendments prohibiting homosexual marriage, and so forth.
I'm sure the outcome isn't for invitro.
You're right. Some of that is occurring too! But I know I've been personally attacked as this thread has gone on. Not by you, though. There are both curses and blessings to such public forums.
Who says you have to explain these jokes to your four year old anyway? He is too little first of all to understand...secondly, do you explain everything to your four year old? He is a CHILD. You are the ADULT. Children don't need to know every single thing. Adults have adult things and children have children things. Would you have explained things to him about clintin and monica if he was at the table and that information was on TV? I wouldn't have. What does that mean anyway explaining a joke that was told by someone else on TV to your four year old. Good Lord.
You're not only an idiot, but a puss as well.
If you're married, I pity the woman.
Exactly. These people have no sense that there are some things, even if they are NOT risque, that children don't need to see!
Great to see the liberal caricature of the hyper-uptight religous right personified in this thread. Wow. If this is the worst thing to ever happen, I'd be pretty darn happy.
Laura Bush said nothing that none of us hasn't heard before, had it been Billary no one would think twice about it, because it's Laura and her last name is Bush every jackass in town is offended....good grief, give her a break, the Bush's take a lot on the chin and never respond to it, Laura has more class than many first ladies in the past, leave her be!
He discusses politics with his four year old???? What happened to Sesame Street?
No it's about one stupid guy unintentionally having his way with the livestock.
No sexual element whatsoever.
The activity the joke describes is self-explanatory.
That is pretty basic confusion about the meaning of words.
The joke is pretty explicit.
If the joke had been about a guy who tried to shave the horse's mane for wool, it would have been considered a lame joke because it was not off-color.
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