If you had wandered into the ballroom at the Hyatt Regency
Washington on October 8th, you might have had a hard time figuring
out who was being roasted at the 15th Annual Spina Bifida
Roast. Apparently, everyone on stage was fair game, especially
Senator Ted Kennedy, because no one could help themselves
from chiding the Democrat from Massachusetts about his nephew
in-law’s win in the California election. Roaster Tom Ridge tossed
a few barbs, saying that without an accent you would not know
Arnold was a Kennedy. Ridge himself was not exempt from
teasing, as fellow roaster Leslie Stahl accused him of consulting
“Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” for new homeland security colors
including pussycat pink! When the roasting was aimed at
its intended victim, Don Hewitt of "60 MINUTES" fame, no one
did a better job than former Sen. Bob Dole and former President
Clinton in a recorded Point/Couterpoint video segment. The
roasters had as many loving words for Hewitt as they did barbs,
covering his long career at CBS which began in 1948, and his
historic creation of television’s first newsmagazine "60 MINUTES"
in 1968. All of this took place under the watchful eye of the "K
Street" film crew who was filming the festivities.
