Correspondents Dinner strategically targets civilian

UPDATE: Professor Jacobsen takes down Obama's mockery of patriotism and his "abysmal" behavior here.
  Watching much of the White House Correspondents' Dinner makes one wonder why journalists and politicians would want to expose their dirty underpanting that way.
  Admittedly, outsiders might not get some of the jokes, because we're not part of the cozy little in crowd. 
  But last night's dinner was as bad as last year's, where Obama actually mocked the press for their sycophantic adoration.
  Usually the president's the comedian's target but last night, the main target was not a politician or a journalist, but rather a politically expedient civilian named Trump.
  The worst The One could do to mock himself was to compare himself to a fictional lion PRINCE from Africa. Whoa, he was really hard on himself there!
  Or wait. Was he instead being hard on those who believed he was born in Africa. Hm.
  From Wikipedia, here are some jokes from the past:

1. "Impressionist Jim Morris began his Bush bit in silence - just moving his head, sort of stammering, trying to get some words out. The president [Bush], watching Morris do his inarticulate-thing, started laughing hard, and finally held his big white dinner napkin over his face." The Washington Post - also Coverage By the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Joel Connellyhttp://www.seattlepi.com/archives/1989/8901120012.asp
2. ^ "The comic genius brought in to entertain at the association's 77th annual black-tie dinner by Sheridan Broadcasting Company's Robert Ellison, the first and only Black president of the elite organization, brought down the house with hilarious quips and jokes about Bush's less than impressive fishing skills." Jet Magazine, May 20, 1991

  This chiding of the current president you would not have seen last night. Gentle prods, perhaps.

  Instead what you saw was a lapdog experience, with cracks about conservatives, tea partiers, Paul Ryan, and, particularly, Donald Trump, who was slightly amused at the beginning but appeared angry by the end of the many, many jokes at his expense.

  And why shouldn't he be? He had no opportunity to be part of the fun by responding. Although Seth Morgan of SNL fame wrote some jokes about journalists, Trump was the favorite target, not the usual target of POTUS. 

  But they so love themselves.

  The kiss-up sweetness between the press and this administration is hard to take, harder than watching the slobbering coverage of a royal wedding. 

  Don't kid yourself. The Trump target was a strategic shot across the bow of any candidate who opposes this president. 

  The Donald has gained traction (for some reason) and that's why he was attacked so often and so meanly last night. 

  It's a preemptive strike.