President Bush Charms The Press At WHNPA Gala

Armed with a slew of jokes and a slideshow featuring photographers going to unusual lengths to get their shots, President Bush won over a tough crowd at the White House News Photographers' Association's annual dinner May 21 in Washington, D.C.

The appearance was Bush's first at the WHNPA event since taking office five years ago. And as the guest of honor, the President delivered a well-written presentation that had even his many critics in the audience in stitches.

"No one at this table likes the guy, but he was great," said one photographer, expressing a sentiment heard throughout the Ritz Carlton ballroom.

Arriving promptly at 8:00, Bush proceeded to charm the crowd with his self-deprecating brand of humor. The President referred to himself as "Laura Bush's straight man," a nod to the First Lady's well-received address at the White House Correspondents dinner earlier this month. (Laura Bush, incidentally, spent the weekend touring the Middle East, where protestors heckled her.)

The President's slideshow gently poked fun at the White House photographers and even some of his current and former cabinet members. Showing a picture of White House photographer Eric Draper lying in the grass to get a close-up shot of the presidential dog, Barney, Bush quipped, "Eric will do whatever it takes to get the shot, but I wouldn't lie in that grass." When a picture of Karl Rove appeared showing the presidential advisor holding a sign that read "Free Kittens," Bush joked that that was his new way of selling social security reform.

The President took Stephen Crowley of The New York Times to task for shooting a picture with the camera raised above his head. "Steve, I'm not an expert, but it seems to me you'd get a better picture if you looked through the camera," Bush joked. Bush even took aim at himself by showing a series of photographs of him falling off his mountain bike.

Bush closed with a hilarious video montage of Vice President Dick Cheney zipping around the country on a Segway scooter, set to the tune "He's a Rebel."

Bush did get serious for a moment, however. "When people think of historical events, they don't usually remember the words that were written, they remember the images" he said. "One photograph may not tell us the entire truth, but it gives us a piece of the truth. One photograph may not provide a complete history, but a glimpse of history, and that's important work."

Although Bush's appearance was clearly the highlight of the event, the most emotional moment came during the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award to longtime US News & World Report photographer Chick Harrity.

Over a 48-year career with the Associated Press and US News, Harrity has photographed nine presidents, including John F. Kennedy a week before his assassination and Nixon the day he resigned. But arguably his most important photograph was a single shot taken during the Vietnam War that showed a young Vietnamese girl abandoned to sleep in a cardboard box on the street.

When published, Harrity's picture galvanized support for Vietnam's war orphans. Thousands of homeless children, including Nhanny Heil, the girl Harrity photographed in the box, were eventually adopted into American families. Heil, who now lives in Ohio, appeared on stage with Harrity as the crowd gave a warm ovation.

Former Florida Congressman and current MSNBC talk show host Joe Scarborough emceed the event and managed to keep his politics mostly in check. Scarborough was a polished speaker and seemed to exhibit a genuine affection for the role photography plays in explaining the world around us. He couldn't resist injecting a little politics, however; at one point the host spoke of how photography got him elected: "All you needed to get elected [in 1994] was a picture of your opponent with Bill Clinton."

© Reuters / Photo by Chip Somodevilla From left: WHNPA president Susan Walsh, President George W. Bush, and Nikon general manager Steve Heiner (far right) congratulate Andrea Bruce Woodall on winning Photographer of the Year in the "Eyes of History" contest.

In receiving her Photographer of the Year award, The Washington Post's Andrea Bruce Woodall gave thanks to her mom for "putting up with all the worrying and all the hives and never asking me to stay at home." Woodall's video presentation demonstrated the photographer's ability to tell strong, intimate stories?one essay profiled an Iraqi woman forced into prostitution to care for her extended family?as well as broad issues like elections in the U.S. and Afghanistan.

Now in its 84th year, the WHNPA's annual "Eyes of History" gala brings together some of Washington's finest political photographers and photojournalists. In attendance were veteran White House photographers Diana Walker, David Burnett, Joe Marquette and J. Scott Applewhite, as well as a younger generation of photographers represented by Jay L. Clendenin, Nancy Pastor and Jahi Chikwendiu.

Also spotted were Newsweek's Charles Ommanney, Chris Hondros, Marco DiLauro and Joe Raedle of Getty Images, Chris Usher, multiple Pulitzer winners Michel duCille and Carol Guzy, AP photographer Pablo Martinez Monsivais, Christopher Anderson, Michael Williamson and Karen Ballard.

Most of the news organizations that bought tables used the occasion to woo clients or schmooze congressional aides who control access to Washington's power players. The Washington Post, however, had a more altruistic aim. Scattered among all the photographers and editors was a table of wounded veterans on leave from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Winning images from the WHNPA's "Eyes of History" competition are currently on exhibition at The Corcoran College of Art + Design in Washington, D.C. President Bush's remarks can be seen at www.c-span.org. For more information, visit www.whnpa.org