article_snippet.sent: But when you step back and look at the event as a whole, and appreciate what's really happening -- in terms of press freedoms and even a U.S. president willing and able to poke fun at himself as well as others -- it's hard not to think of this particular Beltway-meets-showbiz event as a wonderfully American exercise in tolerance and good humor.
article_snippet.sent: Obama, as in past years, came out strong -- a tough act to follow for any comedian.
article_snippet.sent: Obama had strong comedy lines and delivered strong comedy lines with timing that many stand-up comics would envy.
article_snippet.sent: Obama, noting the night's guest speaker, said, "On 'Saturday Night Live,' Cecily impersonates CNN anchor Brooke Baldwin.
article_snippet.sent: Then, after a brief but well-timed pause, Obama added, "Which is surprising, because usually, the only people impersonating journalists on CNN are journalists on CNN.
article_snippet.sent: Obama was nailing Obama own punch lines frequently, and perfectly.
article_snippet.sent: Then, to up the ante on Obama time at the podium, Obama welcomed Obama "anger translator" -- a recurring character played by Keegan-Michael Key on Comedy Central's "Key & Peele.
article_snippet.sent: It was a clever surprise, and the crowd reacted with surprising enthusiasm (I wouldn't have presumed most of the crowd knew of Key's character or his series), though Key's jokes lost something in the translation, and didn't pack the punch of Obama's.
article_snippet.sent: Obama himself getting so worked up about a snowball being carried into Congress to denounce global warming that the President's "anger translator" had to calm Obama down instead.
article_snippet.sent: : Obama gets an A-,  Keegan-Michael Key a C, Cecily Strong a B-, and the entire telecast and event an A+ for democracy -- but a D as television.
highlights_snippet.sent: Obama says "anger translator" bit was funny, but crowd was tough on Strong as event went on and on .