Colbert is my hero

[mishdogg.livejournal.com]

There are precious few journalists out there who have the courage to speak loudly about the problems/inconsistancies/irrationality of the Bush administration, but it seems that Jon Stewart's crew is holding the flame high. And they do it so well, too!

If you haven't seen Steven Colbert's keynote address to the White House Correspondants Assn dinner this past Saturday, you're really missing out. This man is a ballsy, ballsy genius.

Here's the transcript

Here's the video

Comments

[somethingbleu.livejournal.com]

Love Colbert. He is hilarious! It's just a shame the LIBERAL MEDIA BIAS didn't air it instead focused on Bush's light-hearted chuckle routine.

[studmuff.livejournal.com]

how dare you talk in that tone with a minnesota vikings helmet on

[simplypekyulear.livejournal.com]

That is the funniest goddamn thing I've seen. Maybe ever.

And the press corps is saying that he bombed it out?

wtf?

Also, the cuts to GW are absolutely hilarious.

[hoboclown.livejournal.com]

I'm sure he bombed out in the same way that Jon Stewart bombed at the Oscars. The live audience was the butt of the majority of the jokes, and they lack the ability to laugh at themselves.

[madmethod.livejournal.com]

I love Colbert, love his show. This is one of the funniest things I've seen in a while, especially considering the setting.

I'm not sure I'd call him a journalist. These days that's something of an insult.

[mishdogg.livejournal.com]

I agree. However, the sad thing is that the camp at Comedy Central is becomming the closest thing to real political journalism that we have available to us right now...

[tbonestg.livejournal.com]

Eh. I like his show, but wasn't impressed with his act here.

[katndhat33.livejournal.com]

This is a great example of how the truth can hurt and be hilarious at the same time.

[madmethod.livejournal.com]

Kind of like sex

[tydestra.livejournal.com]

I love how Fox News started ripping into him shortly afterwards, how seriously they took him. They're forgetting that he's a comedian (a brilliant one that hit it on the head) but I wonder what would happen if it was done by someone with political clout.

[zombiesmustdie.livejournal.com]

Fox News: "No one insults Fearless-Leader and gets away with it!"

[vlion.livejournal.com]

Heh. You think he *doesn't* have political clout among the X million Comedy Central viewers?

[somefantastic10.livejournal.com]

yeah, i agree. Afterall, by talking about it it only gives Colbert more power.

[sallamino.livejournal.com]

thats brilliant. Thanks for posting, wouldnt have seen it otherwise :D

[mishdogg.livejournal.com]

I know, right? You probably wouldn't, because by the next day, all major network's "journalists" ommitted every mention of cobert in their reports.

(http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/05/03/145234)

[kitsuneluke.livejournal.com]

It was beautiful. Like you say, he's got some balls of steel. What I wonder is, how the fuck did he get invited there in the first place? Were they not in on the joke?

[tbonestg.livejournal.com]

Balls of steel? He was hired to do what he does on a daily basis. That doesn't take any balls.

[ccnuggie.livejournal.com]

I thought it was funny for the most part...but I'm used to silly lib humor and let it slide. For the most part I think he made liberals look more ridiculous by pointing out the things they obsess over.

[tbonestg.livejournal.com]

I think his act was missing something. Maybe he needed his little caption bar from the show or something.

I mean Colbert is funny in his show because because he parodies conservative pundits' attacks on liberals. When he tries to shift that emphasis onto the President, something doesn't work.

[sbp.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I kept reading bits in the London Guardian, but thanks for posting a link to the whole transcript.

[carlomelo.livejournal.com]

Colbert was outstanding. XD

(Matching avatar with the occassion!)

[vlion.livejournal.com]

The sad thing about it all-

He's not a journalist.

[tbonestg.livejournal.com]

Why is that sad?

He's a comedian hired to be a comedian. Why on earth would anyone think that he's a journalist (aside from his excellent reporting on the Daily Show)?

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

Yeah... like speaking out against any given current administration in this country takes courage. It just takes good joke writers.

[unluckystunt.livejournal.com]

There's a saying that the jester is the only person who can get away with telling the king the truth. Comedy has a way of tackling controversial and sensitive subjects when no one else will touch them with a ten foot pole, and I think that's what we're seeing WRT Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart.

[nacreousflaneur.livejournal.com]

I do have to give Colbert credit. It takes an unimaginable amount of courage to take thinly-veiled jabs at a person who is arguably the most powerful person in the world, when he is sitting two seats away from you. Whatever his politics, I salute him for making a point, under the guise of comedy, in front of an obviously hostile audience and in a way that was not obscene or crude.

Now, I did watch the bit with the Bush impersonator, and I found it just as amusing (if not more so) than Colbert's speech. Say what you will about Bush, but at least the man can laugh at himself.

Obviously, the press corps loved it too, judging from their reaction. Colbert's speech, in contrast, did get some laughs and even a smattering of applause, but there were some jokes that fell flat to an awkward silence.

The one thing I can't figure out is if the bit about McCain was meant to be critical. Was he trying to say that McCain has been acting more Republican lately?

[studmuff.livejournal.com]

not sure how much courage it takes to take jabs at the president. though you are right, not many are doing it.........

[dlmorgoth.livejournal.com]

Anyone who can get upset at a "roast" doesn't deserve a bit of sympathy.

The whole point is to let loose with as biting satire as possible.

[kitsuneluke.livejournal.com]

I don't think this was supposed to be a roast.