Obama’s absence felt at Gridiron dinner

President
Obama’s absence didn’t mar the Gridiron dinner Saturday night at the
Renaissance Hotel in downtown Washington, but it did put a damper on it.

“He’s with his family; how can anyone complain when someone chooses to
spend time with their family?” said Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to
Obama, who wore a long, flowing navy gown.

{mosads}Before dinner she mingled in the hotel lobby with White House Social Secretary
Desiree Rodgers, who stood out in a bright multicolored dress.

“It’s family first,” said Rodgers, remarking on her boss’s absence.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs was quick with a response about his boss’s
no-show. “Vice President Biden, as is his constitutional duty, performed
admirably,” said Gibbs. “No jokes about bowling.”

Obama caused a stir and had to apologize after comparing his bowling to the Special Olympics during Thursday’s appearance on “The Tonight Show.”

Throughout the dinner’s courses were satirical skits and song. There were jokes
about Biden’s hair; there were songs from a faux Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin.

Gibbs said the evening was wonderful. “All the speakers were funny and we made
it out of here before 7 a.m.,” he remarked at approximately 12:30 a.m. after
the dinner let out at around midnight. 

But some expressed disappointment that Obama did not attend.

“It’s sad,” said presidential historian Stephen Hess, who said he saw
Obama at a 2004 Gridiron dinner and remembered him working the room better than
former President Bill Clinton.

The dinner was rife with silver-haired men, such as the
Washington Post’s David Broder and the younger Tom Brokaw of NBC.

Former White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Obama’s absence was noteworthy.
“For some people it might seem silly, but Washington is a town of
traditions,” Perino said. “It seemed like a deflating moment. If you
can do Jay Leno but not this one, I’m sure people were disappointed.”

But Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) quickly came to the president’s defense, saying,
“the president decided to spend time with his family; who’s going to
question that?”

But he couldn’t hide his enthusiasm for Biden’s keynote speech, calling it his
“coming-out party.”

The senator remarked, “I think he’s a debutante. With his sense of humor I
have no worries.”

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) walked in alongside Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.)
and his wife, Debbie. Collins wore a Michelle Obama-esque sleeveless white gown.
“I think people respect that he wants to be with his children,” she
said. “I’m sure people are disappointed, but they understand.”

Midway through the dinner, White House Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton and
Erik Smith, who was the creative director for the Presidential Inaugural
Committee, took a break and retreated to the hotel bar. Burton said there was
no scotch downstairs at the dinner. He ordered a Crown Royal on the rocks;
Smith opted for a Tanqueray and tonic.

The Obama economic team appeared to be all over the map in their reactions to
the dinner. Most of them hurried out of the dinner early, but Larry Summers,
Obama’s chief economic adviser, couldn’t seem to escape and was in deep
discussion with various guests include NBC’s Washington Bureau Chief Mark
Whitaker.

“It was terrific!” said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner with a smile.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, however, seemed nonplussed by it, saying
stoically, “Same as usual.”

Peter Orszag, director of the Office of Budget and Management, seemed more
enthused by the dinner. “Absolutely,” he said, when asked if he’d enjoyed
himself at the dinner.

But who is funnier, Obama or Biden?

“I’m not getting into that,” Orszag said, laughing.

Summers was jovial in his assessment of the dinner. “Good food, good dinner and
it stimulated the economy,” he said.

The guest list read like a who’s who of Washington and beyond, including White
House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who walked through the  hotel lobby
while receiving cheers and clapping from the crowd that comprised mostly
tourists staying at the hotel.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver, were the picture-perfect
couple — the governor in white tie and Maria in a long, strapless fuchsia gown.
“Maria! Maria!” he called after her at the night’s end when she walked toward a
different hotel exit. She soon joined him and together the couple
bid their goodbyes to the crowd.

Many attendees remarked on what a great hit Schwarzenegger’s speech was. At
the onset, the actor-governor joked, “I’d like to thank the Academy…” — at which point he threw
his faux speech on a table and began with another.

Other guests included former White House spokesman Mike McCurry, Democratic
consultant Joe Trippi, former Capitol Hill flack and Mitt Romney presidential
campaign spokesman Kevin Madden, former ABC newsman Sam Donaldson, Newsweek’s
Eleanor Clift, Charlie Cook of The Cook Report, Tammy Haddad, CBS’s Bob
Schieffer, Democratic strategist Tad Devine, British Ambassador Nigel
Sheinwald, Bloomberg’s Al Hunt and wife Judy Woodruff of PBS, former Federal
Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and wife Andrea Mitchell from MSNBC, Fox News’s
Chris Wallace, PBS’s Jim Lehrer, and ABC’s Charlie Gibson and Jake Tapper.

The congressional lineup included Reps. Jon Lewis (D-Ga.), Ed Markey
(D-Mass.), Russ Carnahan (D-Mo.) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).

As the flow of guests rolled up the escalator from the dinner well at about
midnight and beyond, many attempted to stifle yawns as they made their way out
of the hotel.

“Too long as usual,” said Brokaw.

VIDEO: Sam Donaldson and his wife at the dinner, Andrea Mitchell and Alan Greenspan, Debbie Dingell (wife of Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich.), Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.)