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 Washington (CNN) – President Barack Obama attended the Gridiron Club and Foundation’s annual dinner in Washington Saturday night, even cracking a joke on forced budget cuts along the way. 
 
 The annual event brings together politicians and Washington’s media elite. Because there’s limited press access, presidents who attend usually act a little looser than when the camera light is on. 
 
 
 
 This is the second time Obama has attended the dinner as president but the first since 2011. 
 
 “As you know, I last attended the Gridiron dinner two years ago. Back then, I addressed a number of topics - a dysfunctional Congress, a looming budget crisis, complaints that I don’t spend enough time with the press. It’s funny, it seems like it was just yesterday,” Obama said. 
 
 This year, the president said the jokes were a little harder to come by because of forced budget cuts and also talked of the notoriously long dinner. 
 
 “My joke writers have been placed on furlough,” Obama said. “Of course there is one thing in Washington that didn’t get cut: The length of this dinner. Yet more proof that the sequester makes no sense.” 
 
 Vice President Joe Biden wasn’t in attendance but his presence was still felt. Biden is rumored to be a potential presidential nominee in 2016 but Obama said he may have different aspirations. 
 
 “(The) vice president is still ambitious. But let's face it, his age is an issue. Just the other day, I had to take Joe aside and say, ‘Joe, you are way too young to be the pope,’” Obama said. 
 
 Obama even made light of Sen. Marco Rubio’s infamous water sip during the Republican response following the State of the Union address. 
 
 “Of course, as I begin my second term, our country is still facing enormous challenges,” the president said, taking a long sip of water. “That, Marco Rubio, is how you take a sip of water.” 
 
 The president also brought up his new Secretary of State, John Kerry, and compared him to his predecessor, the famously pantsuit-wearing Hillary Clinton. 
 
 “Let’s face it - Hillary is a tough act to follow. But John Kerry is doing great so far. He is doing everything he can to ensure continuity. Frankly, though, I think it’s time for him to stop showing up at work in pantsuits. It's a disturbing image,” Obama said. 
 
 Every president since 1885 except for Grover Cleveland has spoken at the 128-year-old organization’s dinner. 
 
 The Gridiron is a media organization bringing together the “who’s who” of the Washington press corps. About 650 people attended the dinner according to Gridiron and they included top politicians and journalists. There are 65 members of the Gridiron and membership is by invitation only. The group is a charitable organization and provides annual scholarships to colleges and journalistic organizations. 
 
 Despite being a media organization, the dinner is traditionally closed to the television press pool which typically covers the president. But a newspaper pool reporter was allowed into the dinner Saturday for the first time ever and provided updates to the media. The idea behind the limited media access is to allow both club members and politicians a chance to let their guards down and tell jokes they may not otherwise tell with cameras watching and listening. 
 
 Still, some have criticized the gathering both for the limited media access and for the perceived coziness between the press and politicians they have to report on. 
 
 Obama will be attending the larger White House Correspondents’ Dinner next month which does allow television media coverage. 
 
 The president ended tonight’s dinner on a serious note, thanking journalists for the work they do. 
 
 “In an age when all it takes to attract attention is a Twitter handle and some followers, it’s easier than ever to get it wrong. But it’s more important than ever to get it right. And I’m grateful for all the journalists who do one of the toughest jobs there is with integrity and insight and dedication and a sense of purpose that goes beyond a business model or a news cycle,” Obama said. ||||| President Barack Obama had a ready excuse for anyone who didn't think he was funny enough at Saturday night's Gridiron dinner: "My joke writers have been placed on furlough." 
 
 President Barack Obama walks with Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, right, as they leave the Gridiron Dinner through a loading area at a hotel in Washington, Saturday, March 9, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) (Associated Press) 
 
 Always a target for humorous barbs, the president tossed out a few of his own during the Gridiron Club and Foundation dinner, an annual event that features political leaders, journalists and media executives poking fun at each other. 
 
 The so-called sequester that struck the federal budget this month drew another observation from Obama: "Of course, there's one thing in Washington that didn't get cut _ the length of this dinner. Yet more proof that the sequester makes no sense." 
 
 The ambitions of 70-year-old Vice President Joe Biden? "Just the other day, I had to take Joe aside and say, `Joe, you are way too young to be the pope. You can't do it. You got to mature a little bit.'" 
 
 During a pause in his remarks, Obama took a long, slow sip of water and then said, "That, Marco Rubio, is how you take a sip of water." 
 
 Obama also mocked criticism from some quarters that he takes time off from his job. "We face major challenges. March in particular is going to be full of tough decisions. But I want to assure you, I have my top advisers working around the clock. After all, my March Madness bracket isn't going to fill itself out. And don't worry _ there is an entire team in the Situation Room as we speak, planning my next golf outing, right now at this moment." 
 
 The dinner was the organization's 128th since its founding in 1885. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar represented the Democrats while Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal cracked wise for the Republicans. 
 
 Klobuchar joked that Obama had aged in office. "His Secret Service name used to be `Renegade,'" she said. "Now it's `50 Shades of Gray.'" 
 
 Jindal took a poke at Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, telling the audience that Romney had warned him that "47 percent of you can't take a joke." Referring to his own prospects for a presidential run, Jindal asked, "What chance does a skinny guy with a dark complexion have of being elected president?" 
 
 Political disputes and feuds between politicians and the news media provided plenty of fodder for jokes and Gridiron parodies. There was Obama's sometimes frosty relationship with the news media, the internal struggles roiling the Republican Party, and journalist Bob Woodward's dustup with White House economic adviser Gene Sperling. He advised Woodward in an email that the veteran Watergate reporter would regret his reporting about the forced spending cuts called a sequester. 
 
 In prepared remarks to welcome the 650 people attending the dinner, Gridiron President Charles J. Lewis of Hearst Newspapers noted that the organization had promised to keep the evening short, "especially because Gene Sperling said that a late night is something we'd all regret." 
 
 With a nod to print reporters' complaints about dealing with the Obama administration, Lewis said he thought he had overhead Obama remark on the way to the dinner: "So many newspaper reporters. So many interviews to turn down." 
 
 Musical skits are a tradition at the Gridiron dinner, and club officials released its musical program ahead of the event. Using the Beatles song "When I'm 64," one skit featured a look at Hillary Rodham Clinton's future with the lyrics: 
 
 Got a bit older, Growing my hair, Gained a pound or two 
 
 Going home to vegetate in Chappaqua, I just want to be a grandma 
 
 It was more than a case of Benghazi flu, Still I'll be just fine. 
 
 Will you select me, will you elect me, When I'm 69 
 
 Noting the close relationship between the GOP and the National Rifle Association, Gridiron members sang a tune called "My Gun," a takeoff on the song "My Girl." The lyrics included: 
 
 If you hate the NRA/Tell my Walther PPK 
 
 You're flirting with disaster/With my Bushmaster 
 
 And when pigs fly away/You can take me away 
 
 From my gun 
 
 In a jab at Obama, the Gridiron players offered a version of "Pinball Wizard" that put to music complaints about some journalists' lack of access to the president: 
 
 Who knew when his magic/First had us all transfixed 
 
 That this politician/Hated politics? 
 
 Loves his teleprompter, loves a White House ball 
 
 But mighty Obama/Don't schmooze with us at all. 
 
 The Gridiron Club and Foundation contributes to college scholarships and journalistic organizations. It limits its active members to 65 journalists based in Washington. 
 
 Except for Grover Cleveland, every president since the Gridiron was founded has addressed it. The club is the oldest and most exclusive for Washington journalists. Its motto is "singe but never burn." 
 
 No TV cameras were allowed. ||||| President Obama took more than a few lighthearted digs at the Washington press corps in his Saturday night speech at the Gridiron Club's annual white-tie dinner, including a long riff on Bob Woodward, who recently suggested White House aide Gene Sperling had threatened him in an email. 
 
 "We noticed that some folks couldn’t make it this evening. It's been noted that Bob Woodward sends his regrets, which Gene Sperling predicted," the president said to the laughter of the room, according to an official transcript provided by the White House. "I have to admit this whole brouhaha had me a little surprised. Who knew Gene could be so intimidating? (Laughter.) Or let me phrase it differently — who knew anybody named Gene could be this intimidating? (Laughter)" 
 
 "Now I know that some folks think we responded to Woodward too aggressively," the president continued. "But hey, when has — can anybody tell me when an administration has ever regretted picking a fight with Bob Woodward? (Laughter.) What’s the worst that could happen? (Laughter and applause.)" 
 
 President Obama also made light of the press corps' grumbles about acess and transparency. 
 
 "Now, since I don’t often speak to a room full of journalists — (laughter) — I thought I should address a few concerns tonight," he said. "Some of you have said that I’m ignoring the Washington press corps — that we're too controlling. You know what, you were right. I was wrong and I want to apologize in a video you can watch exclusively at whitehouse.gov. (Laughter.)" 
 
 "While we’re on this subject, I want to acknowledge Ed Henry, who is here — who is the fearless leader of the Washington press corps now. (Applause.) And at Ed’s request, tonight I will take one question from the press," he said. "Jay, do we have a question? (Laughter.) Surprisingly, it’s a question from Ed Henry. (Laughter.) “Mr. President, will you be taking any questions tonight?” (Laughter.) I'm happy to answer that. No, Ed, I will not. (Laughter.)" 
 
 But the president ended on a serious note, praising reporters for maintaining a commitment to seriousness and integrity. 
 
 "In an age when all it takes to attract attention is a Twitter handle and some followers, it’s easier than ever to get it wrong," the President said. "But it’s more important than ever to get it right. And I am grateful for all the journalists who do one of the toughest jobs there is with integrity and insight and dedication — and a sense of purpose — that goes beyond a business model or a news cycle." 
 
 Read more about: Gridiron Club, Bob Woodward, Press, Gene Sperling, Ed Henry
– President Obama put in his second appearance of his presidency at the Gridiron Club last night, lamenting the not-so-funny consequences of the sequester, his vice president, his administration's weird tiff with Bob Woodward, and more. Highlights, as per Politico, CNN, and the AP: On the Woodward ruckus: "Now I know that some folks think we responded to Woodward too aggressively. But hey, when has—can anybody tell me when an administration has ever regretted picking a fight with Bob Woodward? What’s the worst that could happen?" On Joe Biden's higher ambitions: “(The) vice president is still ambitious. But let's face it, his age is an issue. Just the other day, I had to take Joe aside and say, ‘Joe, you are way too young to be the pope.'" On Hillary Clinton's replacement: "Hillary is a tough act to follow. But John Kerry is doing great so far. He is doing everything he can to ensure continuity. Frankly, though, I think it’s time for him to stop showing up at work in pantsuits. It's a disturbing image.” On consequences of the sequester: “My joke writers have been placed on furlough. Of course there is one thing in Washington that didn’t get cut: The length of this dinner. Yet more proof that the sequester makes no sense.” Amy Klobuchar on how Obama has aged: "His Secret Service name used to be 'Renegade.' Now it's '50 Shades of Gray.'" Bobby Jindal on his own presidential ambitions: "What chance does a skinny guy with a dark complexion have of being elected president?"