Pearls of wit from President Barack Obama

Barack Obama competed with television comedians to entertain an audience of celebrities and journalists at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

He dished out a serving of cutting dry memorable wit that will be parsed for implications, months later. Here is a sampling of some of his witful evocations:

On Love and Birth Certificates:

“Few things in life are harder to find and more important to keep than love…Well, love and a birth certificate. I happen to know that my approval ratings are still very high in the country of my birth.”

On Mr. McCain:

Mr Obama noted that Mr McCain, now up for re-election as a Republican senator from Arizona, recently had said he had never identified himself as a maverick.

“And we all know what happens in Arizona when you don’t have ID,” the president said. “Adios Amigos.”

On Jay Leno:

The president then took aim at Jay Leno, the comedian, saying the talk-show host was “the only person whose ratings fell more than mine.”

On Sarah Palin:

Although his poll numbers are down, Obama said, he hears he’s popular on Twitter and Facebook…. “Or as Sarah Palin calls it, the socialized media,” he added.

On Goldman Sachs:

Mr Obama said all of his jokes … were “brought to you by” Goldman Sachs, the investment bank charged two weeks ago with fraud by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Don’t worry, he told the nearly 3,000 people in attendance. “They make money whether you laugh or not.”