Playing to tough crowd is a way of life in D.C.

WASHINGTON — The overweening desire to play up to power in D.C. can backfire, as two recent episodes show.

On April 21, the White House Correspondents Association invited Rich Little to entertain 2,500 reporters and their guests, the president and administration officials at the annual dinner. Last year, the event boasted Comedy Central star Stephen Colbert, who shot witty barbs at everyone, including the press corps' sycophantic relationship with the politicians they cover.

The president was clearly not happy, nor were some of the media elite.

This year they opted for Little, a softer comedian who was at his height when Richard Nixon was tanking in 1974.

As you may have heard, Rich did poorly. Bathroom jokes and references to Viagra overdoses don't play here. Moreover, the atmosphere is now partisan and poisonous.

You can get a lot of work done at these events, and get past sound bites into thoughtful conversation. But this year it felt odd applauding and cracking wise with leaders in both parties whose behavior is in question.

A decade ago, some conservatives refused to stand when President Clinton entered the gala. It was in shockingly poor taste.

But perhaps the present fake camaraderie is equally tasteless. And if you can't handle political satire, you should not be working in D.C.

After this year's dinner, The New York Times announced it would no longer participate. It may be right.

Concerns about a politically edged entertainer clouded another event.

Walter Reed Army Medical Center abruptly "disinvited" folk singer Joan Baez from a special concert for wounded soldiers at its hospital April 27.

She had been asked by John Mellencamp to perform with him for the troops and made travel arrangements.

Both Mellencamp and Baez are against the war in Iraq, but only Mellencamp was allowed to sing.

He later told Rolling Stone that Walter Reed officials told him that Baez did not fit in. For their part, Walter Reed officials haven't commented.

Baez, who sang at Vietnam War protests in the 1960s and '70s, denigrated U.S. soldiers unfairly at the time.

This week, she wrote a letter to The Washington Post. She said she does not regret her opposition to Vietnam and the war in Iraq.

But, she added, "I realize now that I might have contributed to a better welcome home for those soldiers fresh from Vietnam. Maybe that's why I didn't hesitate to accept the invitation to sing for those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan."

It might have been a moving moment had she been allowed to sing. But we won't know.

Letter from Washington is an examination of the culture of politics and power in the nation's capital. Alicia Mundy can be reached at 202-622-7457 or at amundy@seattletimes.com.