Stripes and Stars: At the White House Correspondents' Dinner, the Soldiers Outrank the Celebs

Washington Post ^ | 04/27/03 | Jennifer Frey

[Pokey78]

Bo Derek and her date -- John Corbett, of "Northern Exposure" and "Sex and the City" fame -- had gotten up from their table at last night's White House correspondents dinner at the Hilton Washington when they set eyes on one suddenly popular young man in a crowd studded with movie stars, comedians and political leaders (and even television's "Bachelorette," Trista Rehn).

The young man in question was Lance Vandaniker. He's 23 years old, hails from Sevierville, Tenn., and he'd never been in a room filled with famous people before. He also happened to have his left arm encased in a complicated splintlike contraption. Three weeks ago, he was shot in Iraq while serving with the 101st Airborne.

And so Derek cooed over his injury and Vandaniker told Corbett he recognized him from television, and other strangers kept coming over, pausing to say "God bless you," or "Thank you for your service" to the young man from Tennessee.

It was a different kind of night at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner, where the president, the media establishment and an ever-growing population of celebrity guests were gathered. There were, of course, the usual jam-packed pre-dinner parties: stars from "Law & Order: SVU" in one room; stars from "The West Wing" in another; Secretary of State Colin Powell, U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix and Henry Kissinger all shaking guests' hands and sipping drinks in yet another packed meeting room one floor below. And the annual post-party hosted by Bloomberg News had another impressive lineup of famous faces to pack the Russian Federation trade ministry across the street.

[RaceBannon]

it's about time.

[The Other Harry]

I just keep thinking how nice it is to once again have a president who has some dignity.

[CedarDave]

And the main protest that took place outside the hotel as guests arrived was about . . . tax cuts. Dressed in tuxedos to represent millionaires, a group from the Fair Taxes for All Coalition protested Bush's tax cut proposals for, they complained, benefiting the rich at the expense of the poor.

I see the Compost ignored the Free Republic Freep that also took place outside the hotel.

[Congressman Billybob]

I notice in the Washington Post article that they pump the anti-tax demonstration outside the hall, but they didn't find time to mention the first award of the Garofalo Awards by the D.C. Chapter of Free Republic. Must have been an oversight or an accident. Couldn't have been deliberate to miss reporting on that, now could it?

Also, the Post is very careful not to print the last words of Bloom, with which President Bush ended his remarks. Can't sully the pages of the Post by printing the word "Jesus."

Congressman Billybob

Latest column, now up on UPI and FR, "All-American Arrogance"

Latest book(let), "to Restore Trust in America."

Post Script: My latest article, not column, for UPI is now up on FR. The title is, "Basics for the New Iraqi Constitution."

[ladyinred]

Oh of course they ignored the freepers. Notice how they had to say the protestors were dressed as millionaires! As if the Congressmen and women who are democrats are dirt poor homeless folks! Are these people stupid or what?

[HHFi]

Since the poor don't pay taxes, I'm trying to figure out how a tax cut for the rich comes at the expense of the poor. Please 'splain this to me, o great and wise Washington Post.

[big time major leaguer]

I just keep thinking how nice it is to once again have a president who has some dignity.

Amen to that. The last one filled us with shame, this one fills us with pride. I hope that campaign commercials next year remind us just how far GWB has brought us in that regard.

[kristinn]

A letter to the editor of The Post has been sent. There's as much a chance of it getting published as me winning the lottery, but you never know.

[kristinn]

It looks like the reporter rewrote the press release by Fair Taxes For All and inserted it in the story. She weasled by calling it the "main" protest. Typical liberal bias.

[CedarDave]

I guess they figure they can ignore us unless we publish "full text" articles.

</dripping sarcasm>

[CedarDave]

I caught their use of that weasel word, also.

[kristinn]

The only time The Post mentioned us in five years of doing this protest was the first when they called us "militant anti-war feminists" because we were demonstrating against the bombing of Yugoslavia by Nato and warning guests to watch out for a reputed rapist and sexual predator at the dinner: President Clinton.

[Angelwood]

We were the larger group and had planned this protest since the permit application faxed in last February. But, the millionaires were certainly the better dressed protesters.

If you noticed on my after-action report thread, the Fair Taxes for All Coalition had a number of groups (skewed to the left) in the list of affiliated members. One of these is People for the American Way which is run by Ralph Neas and is front and center in lobbying for the obstruction of President Bush's judicial nominees.

Kristinn wrote a great letter to the editor at the Washington Post - fingers crossed (but don't hold your breath) that they actually print it.

[cubreporter]

How come so many celebrities attend this Correspondents dinner? Why not some normal ordinary run of the mill people too?

[cubreporter]

How come so many celebrities attend this Correspondents dinner? Why not some normal ordinary run of the mill people too? I'm glad to know however, that the military was well represented.

[anymouse]

Glad that soldier (ComPost wouldn't even note his rank) Vandaniker stole the gliteratti's thunder. A shrewd move by the White House to invite a wounded serviceman to shame these media whores into acknowledging who really deserves the credit for securing the freedoms that they take for granted.

Too bad that the let that scum Hans Blix tarnish the evening though. The bum shouldn't even be allowed in the country, let alone in polite company.

Whether or not the ComPost acknowleges the DC FReepers' precence is rather academic, as every other media representative there knows that the ever watchful eye of FR is upon them everywhere and will not be intimidated to overlook their abuse of the public trust.

[Ichneumon]

Stripes and Stars: At the White House Correspondents' Dinner, the Soldiers Outrank the Celebs

I forget who the author was, but a few weeks ago there was an editorial (also posted on FreeRepublic) which opined that one of the reasons that the Hollywood airheads are getting so bent out of shape about the war and all the post-9/11 patriotism is that for a change, the cops, firemen, and soldiers are bigger celebrities than the actors and singers -- and the performers can't *stand* it.

Not only are they knocked to second place status, and not only does it take the limelight off of them, but it also shows them to be the mere dancing monkeys that they are, compared to people who are doing something of *real* importance and heroism.

[Chirodoc]

Gosh those important people must be having a rough time. I feel their pain.

[Scothia]

One of my favorite parts of the article came at the end:

"They're all Purple-Hearted, and they're just so sweet," said Jenna Elfman, who starred in TV's "Dharma & Greg."

Perched on a seat next to Army Staff Sgt. Tarik Jackson (shot in the arm, hip and thigh and using a cane), she clearly had become a fan. "A lot of ex-Marines and other people were coming by," said Elfman, who shared a table hosted by Greta van Susteren with the three soldiers.

"It was," Elfman said, "a total honor to sit with them."

Gosh, I loved reading that.