Has any president ever suffered such public withering criticism while forced to just sit there and smile? The discomfort in the room seeps through the C-SPAN cameras. This performance was not for the assembled politicos and journalists, but the American people (those of us with eyes, ears and brains) who can only laugh at the black comedy that is the Bush Administration.
If for some reason you haven't seen the performance or read a complete transcript, you really should. It's your duty as an American to witness Colbert as he speaks truth to power, and then displays King-Kong-sized balls while shaking his hand with a broad smile.
But then, maybe George W. Bush doesn't exactly get irony. Even when he's getting it pie-in-the-face:
"I stand by this man. I stand by this man because he stands for things. Not only for things, he stands on things. Things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently flooded city squares. And that sends a strong message, that no matter what happens to America, she will always rebound -- with the most powerfully staged photo ops in the world."
The truth hurts. Even if it's couched in truthiness.
6 comments:
Except he was roundly lambasted for it. So what does that show?
The truth hurts? Good for Colbert. At least there is someone in the media willing to challenge the river of lies from this administration.
He was lambasted by main-stream media folks who were equally taken to task in the speech. And the army of (admitedly useless and uninfluential bloggers) were able to generate some willingness for papers and mags to re-examine the performance.
People are still writing and talking about it. More than you can say of just about any other "comedy" performances recently.
And if you read the text, it is clearly brilliant and ballsy. So more than anything it shows I still know what's funny, and this country is filled with mindless Toby Keith-worshippers and Dixie Chick-haters.
It was brilliant, even if not really laugh-out-loud funny. But I'm more troubled by the knee-jerk reaction to it. The media types acted as if it was horrifying to mock the president in his presence. As if they're more concerned with decorum than, I don't know, pointing out some minor *oopsies* in the Bush administration. And with skewering anyone who points them out.
Stupid media people.
I like the Dixie Chicks.
I like how PoppaMitch refrains from typing "ass." How sweet and fatherly!
I agree the speech wasn't filled with laugh-lines. He was aiming more for high satire, spoken through his O'Reilly-esque persona. Colbert knew he had the unique opportunity to shit all over the president to his face without suffering much for the offense. And he hit the mark dead-on.
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