If ever there were an apt metaphor for the DC press corps, it would be a creaky, over-the-hill, bootlicking comedian crooning impressions for the amusement of powerful insiders as the rest of the nation looks on in mild disgust.

So thank god they found that exact guy to host the White House Correspondents Association dinner. The gathering, an annual lovefest between the brave, combative journalists and the political powers they cover every day, was hosted last year by Stephen Colbert, ...