Comedian Jimmy Kimmel is featured entertainer

WASHINGTON, Apr 29: President Barack Obama poked fun at his likely presidential rival Mitt Romney and Republican opponents in Congress, including a dig at Romney�s treatment of a pet dog, at the annual White House Correspondents� Association dinner.The black-tie dinner, informally billed as the �nerd� prom,� is the biggest social event of the year for Washington media and gives presidents a chance to show a lighter side.�I�m not going to attack any of the Republican� candidates. Take Mitt Romney; he and I actually have a lot in common,� the president said, telling the crowd of Hollywood celebrities and Washington power players that both men trailed their wives in national opinion polls.Obama, who faces re-election in November, is expected to be matched against Romney, a multimillionaire and former Massachusetts governor.He joked that the luxurious ballroom in the Washington Hilton hotel where the dinner was held was �what Mitt Romney calls a fixer-upper,� a dig at Romney�s sometimes clumsy references to his wealth.Obama said yesterday he had expected a tough campaign but that� one video had gone too far. A fake political attack ad rolled with a news clip of Romney defending himself against criticism for strapping the family dog, Seamus, in a crate on the top of the car during a family trip in 1983.The clip showed images of the Obama family dog Bo, apparently miserable at being held captive by �European style dog socialism.� A deep voice intoned: �American dogs can�t afford four more years of Obama. To them, that�s 28 years.�Obama also took a shot at former Speaker of the House� Newt Gingrich, who has announced he would quit the Republican primary race. �Newt, there�s still time man,� he said to Gingrich, who was in the audience with his wife, Callista.�� � (AGENCIES)