Is it possible to over cover the most glamorous night in Washington D.C.? If it is some cable channels did so Saturday night.
Several gave up time to keep an eye on the dinner, but none of the real news-making occurred until just before 10 p.m. when President Obama spoke and, later, Jay Leno attempted to entertain.
For his part, Obama did fairly well, taking funny shots at himself and top GOP members, as well as Politico, which he picked on for covering the most miniscule elements of D.C.
Still, such attention shows that Politico has arrived. Between that and The New York Times Magazine cover story on the Web/print outlet last week, editors must be beaming that they are making such an impact on the capital city's buzz machine.
But back to the dinner, having MSNBC cover it from 9 p.m. on, with little more than shots of people milling about and commentary from four people who were unable to get into the event seemed a waste of time. CNN joined in at 10 p.m. with little more to offer.
Fox News carried the Obama remarks and Geraldo Rivera followed with some positive words about the president's appearance.
The two cable networks, and C-SPAN, also attempted to give it more of a red carpet flavor than in the past. The number of famous names made that worthwhile. But the execution was not really there.
With that, here are my list of winners and losers of the night:
Winners:
- President Obama - While he is still learning the joke-telling skills of some of his predecessors, he got in digs against birthers, Fox News, several Republicans, and even the Jonas Brothers. He also showed self-deprecation and teased his own staff, especially David Axelrod's girth. A great shot at the press: “I may not have the star power I once had, but in my defense, neither do all of you.”
- Michelle Obama - She got as much applause as anyone and deservedly so, as she handed out scholarships and took in an overall positive response.
- C-SPAN - The only network to show the dinner for many years, they still do it better than anyone else, often by just letting the cameras roll.
- College students - More than $300,000 in scholarships were given out, a reminder what the evening is really about.
Losers:
- Jay Leno - His act was more like a Tonight Show monologue than a black-tie event. At one point, he seemed to be reading off index cards and ran through jokes almost too quickly, many that seemed old and unprepared.
- The New York Times - Once again, the Times disallowed staffers from attending the event, claiming some kind of conflict of interest concern. Truth is they missed some great schmoozing and sourcing opportunities.
- Cable Networks - The pre-dinner coverage didn't seem to live up to most Red Carpet events. They also had no one down on the entrance area to interview the incoming guests.