Obama turns 2016 hopefuls into comic fodder for media dinner

A presidential election just getting into gear provided U.S. President Barack Obama plenty of new material to work with on the night he describes as Washington celebrating itself.

"It's amazing how time flies," Obama told those attending the annual dinner of the White House Correspondents' Association on Saturday night. "Soon, the first presidential contest will take place, and I for one cannot wait to see who the Koch brothers pick. It's exciting."

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Obama added: "Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, Scott Walker ... who will finally get that red rose?"

On the Democratic side, Obama observed that Hillary Rodham Clinton kicked things off by going unrecognized to Chipotle. Meanwhile, he said, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley went completely unrecognized at an O'Malley campaign event.

Taking a playful poke at himself and at Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is considering a bid, Obama said: "Apparently, some folks want to see a pot-smoking socialist in the White House. We could get a third Obama term after all."

The dinner also gave the president an opportunity to rib some of his loudest critics.

"Just this week Michele Bachmann actually predicted that I would bring about the biblical end of days. Now, that's a legacy," he said. "That's big. I mean, Lincoln, Washington, they didn't do that."

A shelf life to 'being black-ish'

The correspondents' dinner brings in some big names from Hollywood. Some of the cast members from the TV series "Black-ish" attended, and Obama said he had to give ABC fair warning about the show. "Being black-ish only makes you popular for so long," he said. "Trust me, there's a shelf life to that thing."

Of course, he had to give a shout-out to his health care law.

"Today, thanks to Obamacare, you no longer have to worry about losing your insurance, if you lose your job," he said. "You're welcome, Senate Democrats."

The featured entertainer of the night, Cecily Strong from Saturday Night Live, got some big laughs with some tough subjects. For example, she observed that the Secret Service is the one law enforcement agency that could get in trouble if a black man gets shot.

A dig at police tactics

"Your hair is so white now," she told the president, "it can talk back to police."

And she had the journalists repeat after her and solemnly swear they will not talk about Hillary Rodham Clinton's appearance "because that is not journalism."

Few of the politicians who may want to succeed Obama showed up for the dinner. But one maybe-politician who braved the evening was Donald Trump, who again has been teasing Republicans about running for national office while hinting that he himself may join them.

Trump made a return showing Saturday, despite taking a beating at the 2011 dinner something Obama made sure to note.

"And Donald Trump is here," the president said before pausing to add, "still."

Most of the prospective and declared Republican candidates stayed away. Many chose to meet potential supporters and donors at conservative gatherings in Las Vegas and Des Moines, Iowa.

The dinner helps fund scholarships and awards that recognize journalists.