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VIEWPOINT
100 YEARS OF
COVERING THE WHITE HOUSE A longtime senior White House correspondent reflects on the White House Correspondents Association’s storied history. B Y C O N N I E L AW N
T WHITE HOUSE CORRE SPONDENTS, 1924. DIGITIZED GLASS NEGATIVE , LIBRARY O F CO N GR E S S , P R I NTS AN D P H OTO GRAP H S D I VI S I O N , WAS H I N GTO N , D.C .
he White House Correspondents Association began as a small group of white male reporters on February 25, 1914. They banded together to set standards, gain access to the president, better serve the reading public and deal with numerous issues. The president at the time was Woodrow Wilson; the association has dealt with 17 presidents since then. Some were open and friendly; others nasty and cold. They have tried to use the press to their advantage, just as the press tried to use them.
I cannot begin to cover all the jokes and speeches delivered over the years, but I can offer my own reflections. The presidents’ presentations are always the best — far better than the professional comedians. The ones I remember most were delivered by George W. Bush. One year he had an imitator on the podium with him. Another time Laura Bush delivered the speech and talked about the way her husband likes to go to sleep by 9 p.m. Another vignette featured a White House hunt for weapons of mass destruction. Bill Clinton was always funny, even in difficult times. He made a film showing himself riding a bike and fighting with a soda machine in his last irrelevant months in the White House. In the mock video, Helen Thomas is seen as the
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only one in the press room, scolding Clinton. “Are you still here?!” she demands. Sometimes there were periods of intense crises. The Nixon White House was unraveling during Watergate, and many somber conversations were taking place in the hospitality suites. The aides were ordered back to the White House after the dinner, but some told me they would not go. I developed my own valued “deep throat” sources that night. There was also the time a very drunk officer in a hospitality suite cursed the president about the Kuwait invasion when American troops went in after the Iraqis. He accused the president of ending the war too quickly after 100 hours. We were about to go into Iraq and the Republican Guard would have surrendered in Beirut, but this move stopped them, according to the officer. If he was correct, how different history could have been. I have many memories of the guests I invited over the years. Some were important officials who came in from New Zealand, Australia, Israel and Canada. One of my favorite memories involved Don McKinnon, the strapping deputy prime minister of New Zealand. The U.S. and New Zealand were on the outs at the time over nuclear policy., but I brought several U.S. officials to our table to meet him, including the secretary. of defense. From another table, controversial former Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry
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was watching. He invited himself over, sat down and was determined to stay. Barry had recently been set up and busted for cocaine possession. To get rid of him, one person opened a pack of sugar and spread it in a line on the table! We all convulsed in laughter, and the mortified mayor slunk away. The dinners have become more “glamorous” over the years, with a collection of actors and major personalities. There are fewer diplomats and politicians, but it is hard to have in-depth conversations over the crowds and noise, so it really does not matter.The association also installs a new president and gives out scholarships. The parties begin early in the week, go on before and after the dinner, and can end with wonderful brunches at some of the best locations in Washington. It is more than a “Nerd Prom”; it is a happening. There are many other major events in the nation’s capital, but this is the best. I am honored to have been a part of it all these years. Happy birthday White House Correspondents, here’s to another terrific 100 years! Connie Lawn has been covering the White House and the world since 1968 for Audio Video News, an outlet she founded, broadcast worldwide. Her first job was with WAVA, the first all-news radio station founded by Art Arundel.Connie’s adventures can be found in her book,“You Wake Me Each Morning, 2010 Edition.”
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