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Commentary: My imaginary speech at the White House Correspondents’ dinner

Being able to sit in a room and chuckle while people make fun of you is the absolute opposite of arrogance.

(Willy Sanjuan | Invision | The Associated Press) In this March 24, 2018, file photo, Michelle Wolf arrives at the sixth annual Hilarity For Charity Los Angeles Variety Show at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. Wolf delivered a controversial roast of the administration and the press at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, where White House aides, reporters and other famous-for-Washington types gathered without President Donald Trump to toast press freedom.

The following are the remarks I would like to have given at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner last weekend in Washington, D.C.:

It is a tremendous honor to be invited to address this group, which of course includes the White House press corps, but which tonight also includes the president of the United States, Donald Trump.

This is the first time President Trump has attended this event during his administration and, although I disagree with him about virtually everything, I am glad he decided to join us., because this annual event is dedicated to humor, here in the nation’s capital, where things are so often laughable rather than funny. There is no question in my mind that the country would be better off if Americans who disagree strongly could sit together and laugh about it once in a while.

Why does this matter? Who really cares whether the president attends an inside-the-beltway comedy event rather than holding a political rally in some Midwestern swing state?

Personally, I think it matters quite a bit.

For one thing, it gives me a glimmer of hope that the leaders of opposing parties might still be capable of talking to each other. I am not a Washington insider. But from my outsider’s view, it appears that our Republican congressional leaders can barely stand the sight of their Democratic counterparts, and vice versa. In a democracy, that’s an awful thing.

Our system of government includes numerous checks and balances that require the two parties to work together, at least a little bit, for anything to get done — even when the same party controls the House, Senate and White House. If leaders from different parties can’t even tolerate being in each other’s presence, that’s a recipe for disaster. So in my opinion it’s a display of courage and leadership for the president to be here tonight among a crowd that is the farthest thing from a bunch of hand-picked campaign volunteers.

More important, being able to sit in a room and chuckle while people make fun of you is the absolute opposite of arrogance. It shows humility. It shows a willingness to consider the opinions of others. It shows a recognition that every one of us is fallible. And it shows that presidents aren’t despots or kings, whose legitimacy is jeopardized by even a hint of criticism or dissent.

For isn’t arrogance the most frightening trait for someone who sits in the Oval Office? If there is one utterly fundamental, essential principle that runs throughout our democracy, it is that the best decisions arise out of a robust, unfiltered exchange of competing ideas. We don’t want a president who surrounds himself with sycophants and gets his news solely from social media and friendly news channels. As Americans, we want a president who is humble enough to listen and learn.

So hats off to you, Mr. President, for having the guts to be here tonight. It probably wasn’t fun. But you showed the nation something important about your character by showing up.

Paul Svendsen

Paul Svendsen is a real estate agent in Salt Lake City who did not attend the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner last weekend. Like someone else we know.