10 funniest White House Correspondents' Dinner moments

Comedian Cecily Strong is scheduled to host the 2015 White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night.

The annual celebration, which was launched to recognize the best in presidential reporting, has grown into a multiday event of hobnobbing between press and politicians.

Many in the blogosphere and beyond are weary of the coziness over cocktails, while others simply like the jokes.

The best self-deprecating humor of politicians and barbed one-liners of comedians will still be circulating next week — long after the hangovers have passed.

Strong, a cast member of “Saturday Night Live,” will be the fourth woman to host “Nerd Prom.”

“Her political humor is sly and edgy, and it comes with a Chicago accent,” White House Correspondents’ Association president Christi Parsons said in a release. “Cecily grew up in suburban Oak Park, Ill., and got her start in Chicago’s comedy scene with stints at iO and Second City.”

As the evening’s ringleader, Strong will follow in the footsteps of Wanda Sykes, Stephen Colbert and Conan O’Brien — all of whom landed on Yahoo News’ “10 Funniest White House Correspondents’ Dinner Moments.”

In 2009, Sykes joked that Vice President Joe Biden would share everything he knows if he ever fell into the hands of terrorists.

“God forbid if it’s ever a hostile situation. We’re done. Oh, they won’t even have to torture him. All they have to do is go, ‘How’s it going, Joe?’” she said.

In 2006, then-President George W. Bush was not too impressed by Colbert’s riffs on their apparent similarities.

“We both get it. Guys like us, we’re not some brainiacs on the nerd patrol. We’re not members of the factinista. We go straight from the gut. Right, sir?” Colbert said.

Some past targets, such as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, will not be in attendance. Many Republican presidential hopefuls are staying away from the big event, focusing on primary voters rather than the powerful.

Strong is perhaps best known for her SNL character “The Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation With at a Party.”

Her father, Bill Strong, was the Associated Press bureau chief in the Illinois Statehouse, so she has a bit of firsthand knowledge if she wants to turn her zings against the journalists in the room.

In an interview with Capitol File, Strong said the prospect of hosting the event can be too intimidating for many comedians.

“A lot of people say no [to hosting the dinner] because it’s notoriously a very tough room,” she told the D.C. magazine. “I was encouraged by a lot of people to say no. Comedian people. They’re like, ‘It’s the worst room, you even have to go after the funniest president.’ I’m just looking to break even.”



(Cover tile photo: J. Scott Applewhite/AP)