Reagan Amuses Reporters With Jokes at His Expense : Has ‘Positive Opinion of Reporters,’ Reagan Says

WASHINGTON — The Iran- contra scandal cast no pall over President Reagan’s reception at the White House Correspondents’ Assn. annual dinner Wednesday night.

“I have a positive opinion of reporters,” said Reagan, mentioning World War II correspondent Ernie Pyle.

He even shook hands and congratulated Bob Woodward of the Washington Post, who was awarded a prize for his reporting of the Iran-contra affair.

Reagan cracked a joke at the expense of his reputation for memory lapses concerning the Iran case and he poked some fun at the journalists attending the black-tie affair.

“I’ve got a news item for you,” Reagan said. “We have a spinoff from our ‘Star Wars’ research. It’s a helmet for me to wear at press conferences. All I do is push a button and it shoots down incoming questions.”

He called his wife, Nancy, to the podium and asked her to say a few kind words about the press. After a long pause, she protested: “I’m thinking, I’m thinking.”

Comedian Jay Leno warmed up the crowd. He avoided skewering the guest of honor, although he did advise Mrs. Reagan that his mother, a polite woman, would have called her anti-drug campaign, “Say No Thank You to Drugs.”