White House Correspondents Dinner: Hobnobbing With the Stars

Dear friends of "FOX & Friends,"

Hope you had a wonderful weekend. Personally, I'm shot. We loaded up the station wagon and drove down I-95 to Washington, D.C., for the annual White House Correspondents Dinner. It's the one chance each year for some of the nation's most powerful journalists to get dressed up, liquored up and suck it up and pretend they like each other.

I spoke with the biggest (non-public servant) star of the night, George Clooney, who was gracious and charming and stood for a picture with every person who asked. From his comments, I could tell he watches "FOX & Friends," and for that I'm appreciative.

"I could never do a morning show," he told me, just before he asked what time I had to get up in the a.m. When I told him "3:27," he shot me one of those looks that I've seen him do in his movies: An authentic George Clooney face, but this one wasn't costing me $9.50 — it was FREE and LIVE! We chatted for another 90 seconds and then he said, "Lets talk later."

It's two days later — I'm still waiting.

That was not the case at Greta Van Susteren's table, where she was hosting Lawrence Fishburne. If you look in the photo gallery of my shots from that night, you'll notice that the photograph of me and two of the stars of my favorite show, "24" — Xander Berkeley, who played George Mason, and Sarah Clarke, who was Nina Myers — was actually taken by Mr. Fishburne! I wanted to say, "Thanks Larry," but of course that would have been wrong, and no doubt Greta would have given me a wedgie... again.

Other pictures in the gallery include: George Clooney; California Congresswoman Jane Harmon; supermodel Kim Alexis, General Ray Ordierno with Bret Baier and Jamie Colby; "FOX & Friends' executive producer David Clark with Molly Henneberg and Jamie Colby; Bill Hemmer and my wife Kathy Doocy; FNC legal analyst Peter Johnson Jr. and family, and Greta with her husband, John Coale.

The highlight of the evening was the "Dueling Dubyas." Just before President Bush was to start his address (which over the past few years has grown funnier and kookier — last year Laura Bush stopped her husband after a few lines and then did five minutes of killer comedy), I noticed that stagehands were installing an additional identical presidential podium. And then out came TWO George W. Bushes! I'm sure you saw some of the clips on FNC. Of course the second president was actually an impersonator by the name of Steve Bridges, who nailed the commander in chief's mannerisms and vocal patterns. The script the real president read was direct and occasionally amusing, but the phony Bush let it rip and said the things you'd imagine the president was actually thinking.

"I'm absolutely delighted to be here, as is (my wife) Laura," Bush deadpanned.

"She's hot," Bridges added to the howls of hundreds of journalists, Washington and Hollywood A-listers.

I have been to this event many times over the past 20 years, and it was without a doubt, the best performance EVER by a real president.

Sadly for Stephen Colbert, of the Comedy Central show "The Colbert Report," he'd been hired by the Correspondents Association to provide an amusing 15 minutes after the president's comedy routine. In the past the comic entertainers would take shots at both the president and the correspondents — instead this year it was one unflattering jab at the president followed by another. I was a few rows back, so I got a good look at Mr. Bush who was grinning a bit at the start, but when he realized he was nothing but a punching bag, he stopped smiling. Personally, I thought Mr. Colbert had gone over the line of what is appropriate when a sitting president is sitting four feet away. But keep in mind, I'm not an entertainment reviewer, I'm just a guy who put on a tuxedo and went to a dinner with his wife. That's all.

Now all I have to look forward to is the phone to ring, "Steve, it's George Clooney...."

Have a great week!
Steve Doocy

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