Barack Obama has had a busy week, with all that diplomatic wrangling and stuff. But behind the scenes, his staff has been getting ready for Obama’s big debut on the Washington dinner scene. On Saturday, Obama will speak at the White House Correspondents Association’s annual dinner. It’s an event that most presidents have used to poke fun at the reporters who cover them—and, as Bill Clinton famously did, at themselves. Some people think it’s a silly event—your Gaggler won’t lie and say she’s not looking forward to it—but one thing is for sure: No president can afford to show up unprepared. It’s a moment where people judge whether the Commander in Chief has the ability to be funny or not.

With all that pressure, presidents have been known to recruit outside help in prepping their speech. Clinton had a joke writer and was rumored to have solicited help on occasion from some of his comedian friends in Hollywood. George W. Bush, and his wife, Laura, had assistance from a GOP speechwriter who had written jokes for everyone from Ronald Reagan to Arnold Schwarzenegger. No doubt Obama has the few names of funny people in Hollywood who would be willing to help him out, but according to Obama aides, the president isn’t bringing in backup. He’s sticking with his usual team of writers, including senior adviser David Axelrod and speechwriter Jon Favreau.
 
According to aides, Axelrod is considered Obama’s go-to guy for jokes, in part because he knows the limits on what his boss can get away with. As a senator, Obama went outside his inner circle just once for jokes to use at a roast. He wasn't thrilled with the results and ended up not using most of the material. Instead, Obama has relied on Axelrod, who has written some of his boss's best zingers. That includes many of the jokes Obama used during last fall’s Alfred E. Smith dinner in New York. That’s not to say Axelrod hasn’t come up with a dud or two. “Ax is good at coming up with jokes, both good and bad,” says White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. Asked about his role, Axelrod downplayed his position as chief funny guy, describing it all as a “collaborative” effort with Favreau and other staff. But, he allowed, “I’ve been in this business for a long time…and sometimes (jokes) come easy.”

The new Ranking Member on the Judiciary Committee, Alabama conservative Jeff Sessions, has been asked an assortment of questions about what qualities make for a good Supreme Court Justice over the past few days, and his responses have been somewhat unconventional. He told Fox News yesterday that could theoretically vote for a pro-choice nominee, if he was satisfied with their interpretation of Roe Vs. Wade. "If they are faithful to the law, then we can get along pretty well," he said. This morning Sessions said that being openly gay isn't a disqualifier for a position on the land's most important bench. "It depends on their personal ethics and standards and their legal skill and ability. I don't think a person who acknowledges that they have gay tendencies is disqualified per se for the job," Sessions said on MSNBC's Morning Joe. These are hardly ringing endorsements of gay or pro-choice candidates. And if you read between the lines, it sounds like he'll only support a candidate, gay or straight, who believes that the legality of abortion is a state issue. He certainly seems focused on ensuring that the nominee follows the law "faithfully" and refrains from "activism" - both of which are conservative codes for overturning Roe v Wade. Still, for the Alabaman to make those allowances is big step that indicates some openness towards the Administration, and one that will surely rile Christian conservatives. 

Perhaps a more significant statement though was when he told the Associated Press Wednesday that he was not inclined to filibuster Obama's nominee (although he didn't rule it out entirely). Sessions said that the bipartisan Gang of 14 approach, which helped avoid filibusters of judicial nominees in the 109th Congress, had set a "standard" that Senators should try to adhere to, except in unusual circumstances. While this statement is easier to make at a time when Republicans in theory lack the requisite votes to filibuster, Senate Democrats aren't the most disciplined bunch and their newest member is hardly the most reliable vote. So Sessions's apparent aversion to judicial filibusters should be a heartening sign to the Administration, provided Obama sticks by his promise of not selecting a "bomb thrower". But as is often the case, what happens on TV talk shows and the Senate floor could well be two very different things.

Our favorite bits of news this morning from around the web:

Senate discusses journalism's future
Usually we like to keep the intersection of politics and journalism right here at the Gaggle. So when the senate starts discussing the future of the media, we take note. (AFP)

Arnold entertaining the idea of straying from cigars
Increasing public support for the legalization of marijuana has led Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to lead a study on the substance's impact on the
state. For an ailing economy, a robust market could also be just what the doctor ordered. (NY Times)

Mining desperately for sympathy
A vast collection of West Virginia residents who oppose coal mining wrote an unusual plea to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson this week: "You are our last hope for justice at this point.” (Grist)

Religious mix-ups
Although he consistently denied it, Barack Obama was accused during his campaign of being untruthful about his religious identity. Now, complicating things, church documents show that Obama's mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, was posthumously baptized by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (Chicago Tribune)

Send mail soon, seriously
The U.S. Postal Service is close to $2.3 billion in the red. Despite an increase of the price of a first class stamp next week to 44 cents, some postal analysts think the service could be broke by the end of the year. (NY Times)