Obama pokes fun at critics, media at annual press dinner

By Jeff Mason

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama poked fun at the media, his critics and himself on Saturday at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner, a star-filled event where journalists and celebrities mixed with the Washington elite.

Joined at the dinner by his wife, first lady Michelle Obama, the president gently knocked Republicans for not working with him on policy priorities and made a rare reference to his race when urging the opposition party to be cooperative.

"I know Republicans are still sorting out what happened in 2012, but one thing they all agree on is they need to do a better job reaching out to minorities," Obama said.

"And look, call me self-centered, but I can think of one minority they could start with. Hello? Think of me as a trial run, you know?" he said.

Obama, a Democrat and the first black U.S. president, won re-election in November with overwhelming support from minority voters including blacks and Hispanics.

He took a swipe at people who have doubted his religion and accused him of being a radical leftist, while he made light of his graying hair.

"These days, I look in the mirror and I have to admit, I'm not the strapping young Muslim socialist that I used to be," Obama said. "Time passes. You get a little gray."

The president is a Christian who was born in Hawaii, but he included some material for so-called "birthers" who falsely assert he was born abroad.

"I'm also hard at work on plans for the Obama Library, and some have suggested that we put it in my birthplace, but I'd rather keep it in the United States," he said.

Obama made light of his own rapid rise to power by comparing himself to Republican Senator Marco Rubio, a Hispanic from Florida who is touted as a potential presidential candidate in 2016.

"One senator who has reached across the aisle recently is Marco Rubio, but I don't know about 2016. I mean, the guy has not even finished a single term in the Senate and he thinks he's ready to be president," Obama joked. "Kids these days."

Obama began running for president during his first term as a U.S. senator from Illinois.

In a room filled with journalists, the president saved some of his most biting jokes for the press.

"I know CNN has taken some knocks lately, but the fact is I admire their commitment to cover all sides of a story, just in case one of them happens to be accurate," he said, drawing applause.

"Some of my former advisors have switched over to the dark side. For example, David Axelrod now works for MSNBC, which is a nice change of pace since MSNBC used to work for David Axelrod."

Axelrod was the chief strategist for Obama's re-election campaign and a former White House adviser. MSNBC is considered to be a liberal-leaning television network.

Obama also made light of his wife's new bangs, drawing laughter from her when he showed mock pictures of himself with the same hairdo.

(Additional reporting by Elwina Nawaguna and Peter Cooney; Editing by Paul Simao)

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Obama's 'Crossed a Line' With Social Security Cuts, Critics Say

WASHINGTON - A crowd of about 100 progressive and liberal activists rallied outside the White House this afternoon to express outrage over the recently released Obama administration budget plan that would cut Medicare and Social Security benefits.

The rally, organized by left-wing organizations including MoveOn.org and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and attended by lawmakers including Sen. Bernie Sanders, was held in protest over the proposal to create a chained Consumer Price Index - or CPI - included in the White House budget, which could mean lower Social Security benefits for millions of senior citizens and veterans.

The chained CPI proposal could lead to slower growth of Social Security benefits in the next few years because it would determine benefits using a slower inflation rate. The proposal discussed in the past by House Republicans could lead to the average 65-year-old losing out on $130 a year in annual benefits starting in just three years.

RELATED: Social Security Cut of $130 Per Year Seen In Cliff Proposal

Organizers have formed a coalition to deliver petitions with more than 1 million signatures to the president to prevent the bill from making it to Capitol Hill.

"We want to make sure … this is dead on arrival," Democracy for American chairman Jim Dean told ABC News.

Dean's organization is one of the many progressive groups that are part of the coalition to deliver the petition to the White House. Dean said that although he and his organization appreciate the president's "forceful leadership" on issues like gun violence prevention, the CPI proposal is one that has caused them to be extremely disappointed in him.

"People understand that we are not getting everything out of this person," Dean said. "This was never our way or the highway - even when he was elected in 2008. He's crossed a line here."

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., urged President Obama to think twice about the budget plan and said it could only lead to devastating consequences in increasing the wealth disparity between the top 1 percent and the rest of America.

"People who have voted with the president … are extremely disappointed with the president," Sanders told ABC News. "(Americans) are saying do not balance the budget on people who have lost their arms and legs defending this country."

Rally organizers said Obama was doing a disservice to the senior citizens who rely on social security benefit checks to survive.

"We've got to get here now in order to be sure that the voices of people who are going to be impacted by the president's proposals will be heard by him," said Brad Wright, a spokesman for the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, which is also part of the coalition. "I can't tell you how disappointed we are - he has said that he would not cut social security … and now they're doing it. That's a pretty serious disconnect."

The budget has yet to take center stage in Washington. Instead, the focus has been on the gun control debate, with some GOP lawmakers threatening a filibuster on gun control legislation.

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