Biden Leaves 'Em Laughing at Media Dinner

As President Obama played host to the Irish prime minster at the White House on Wednesday night, his Irish-American vice president, Joe Biden, found himself at the Washington Convention Center entertaining media types at a formal dinner.

"Go figure," Biden told the Radio and Television Correspondents Association, "he's with my base and I'm with his."

Biden, in a tuxedo with a sprig of shamrock in his lapel for St. Patrick's Day, joked that the broadcasters' dinner often gets second billing to other more prestigious events, CNN said. "Welcome to my world," the second-in-command quipped.

The vice president, in a snappy stand-up routine, also had zingers for his Republican buddies. Why do GOP lawmakers keep insisting that the stimulus package has not "created a single job," he wondered. "Well, tell that to Senator Scott Brown" -- the Republican who campaigned on such a claim -- and won.

Sarah Palin was not spared. Biden said Republicans constantly complain about the health care bill being "222 pages long." He understands, he said. "Just ask Sarah -- that's a hell of a lot to write in the palm of your hand." (Just a detail, Mr. Vice President., but the Senate health bill is more than 2,000 pages long.)