Obama’s Secret Weapon vs. Leno: ‘Daily Show’ Writer (Updated)

President enlists comedy pro to help write WHCD jokes

By virtually all accounts, Barack Obama outshined Jay Leno at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on Saturday in Washington.

How’d he do it? He had some help. According to the Daily Beast, Obama enlisted writers from "The Daily Show" to help him with his "nerd prom" monologue.

In terms of Leno joke warfare — especially in a zinging, quasi-roast scenario — getting Jon Stewart’s team to punch up your material is like recruiting Albert Pujols to DH on your media league slow-pitch softball team.

In other words, unfair.

UPDATE: I asked Comedy Central about this, and am told that it was one writer who worked for Obama’s zing team as an independent contractor "completely independent of the show," and that "The Daily Show" had nothing to do with the arrangement.

So there you have it.

More to read:

Obama Zings Leno at ‘Nerd Prom’
Enquirer Cloud Skips White House Dinner
Slideshow: At the White House Correspondents Dinner

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