Obama full of jabs at reporters' annual dinner

WASHINGTON - President Obama joked about celebrating the "10-day anniversary of my first 100 days in office" at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner on Saturday."In the next 100 days, I will be so successful, I will be able to do them in 72," joked the president. "I will learn to go off the prompter, Joe Biden will learn to stay on the prompter."Obama called his first 100 days a "whirlwind of activity. We enacted a major economic recovery package, we passed a budget, we forged a new path in Iraq. And no president in history has ever named three commerce secretaries this quickly."The annual event, which draws a mix of journalists, celebrities and political figures, took over the Washington Hilton, where just months earlier Obama and wife Michelle danced to At Last at the Youth Inaugual Ball."Now that I'm here, I think I'm going to try something different," Obama said. "Tonight I want to speak from the heart," he said, as a teleprompter conspicuously rose to surround him. It wasn't the first time at the event for Jon Bon Jovi, who attended during the Clinton administration. "I think that the president gets to let his hair down for the night," said the rocker, who also performed at Obama's inauguration. "In a weird way, he worked for two and a half years getting elected, getting the transition team, getting change into effect...now, for one night only, let him make fun, be made fun of," said Bon Jovi.That job went to the Wanda Sykes, the evening's entertainment, who made certain the president took some ribbing."It's hard to poke fun at the president. He's so likeable," said Sykes. "Even the media...It's funny to me, they've never caught you smokin' but they somehow always catch you with your shirt off."Sykes hailed the president's efforts to maintain a normal routine. He's "taking the first lady out on dates...I wouldn't be surprised if I walked by the White House and saw you mowing the lawn," she cracked during her roughly 10-minute comedy routine. The commedienne, who drew a standing ovation from the crowd, didn't pull any punches: "The first black president. That's unless you screw up. Then it's going to be 'What's up with the half-white guy?'""I thought that when you got into office you would put a swift end to your pickup basketball games. I mean, the first black president playing basketball. That's one step forward, two steps back!"Even the former president wasn't spared. "President Bush, man, he knows how to leave town. We haven't heard anything from him! He left like that houseguest who breaks something in your house and gets out of there before you find out."For members of the media, the dinner offers a chance to mix and mingle with Hollywood elite. "It's like D.C. prom, for adults," said Elizabeth Banks. But the actress, who recently wrote a column for The Huffington Post, isn't calling herself a reporter anytime soon. "I'm a blogger really, that's all. I'm probably the problem, I'm one of the reasons traditional news media is going to die. It's all going to be my fault."Ashton Kutcher and wife Demi Moore attended as guests of CNN, who Kutcher beat last month in a race to have one million Twitter followers. Was he Twittering the event? "There's no Wi-Fi in here," said a disappointed-looking Kutcher from inside the ballroom. It was a family affair for Kyra Sedgwick, who came with husband Kevin Bacon and daughter Sosie. "It's kind of a mob scene but I'm really enjoying my table. Unfortunately my husband is at the People magazine table but not unfortunately because he says he gets the award for the strangest name table: Ludacris, Sting, (Jon) Hamm and Bacon," said Sedgwick. "But I have a nice table. I'm enjoying talking to everybody. I'm thrilled to be here. It's a lot of fun."For James Franco, who hasn't been to "D.C. for years," a pre-dinner cocktail party provided him with an opportunity to meet the President and a chance to pick up a few pointers. "I guess he's supposed to give the commencement speech at Notre Dame and there's been some protests, and I'm supposed to give the commencement speech at UCLA, my alma mater. There's been some protests from my former fellow students, so he gave me some advice about the speech." As for the presidential tips, Franco isn't sharing. "I'm saving it for my speech!""The craziness is positive," said Tyra Banks amidst the throngs of people. Banks spoke highly of the first lady: "She's my new role model." After the dinner ended, the partying continued. Christian Slater, Eva Longoria Parker, Owen Wilson, Matthew Settle, Forest Whitaker and Ludacris stopped by the Capitol File after party at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Bloomberg and Vanity Fair, who typically hold seperate fetes, combined forces this year and held a reception at the home of French Ambassador Pierre Vimont. The smaller, intimate affair drew A-listers including Bon Jovi, Kate Walsh, Jason Wu, Amy Poehler, Hamm and Rashida Jones.