Truthiness to Power

April 30, 2006 12:05 AM

Steven Colbert (TruthyMan!) headlines the White House Correspondents Dinner -- and Bush is not amused. Will there be fallout? C-Span focused on Bush expression (lack of) during the slamming ... (link to story with video).
posted by Surfurrus (384 comments total)

How weird is it that I Tivo'd something on C-SPAN?
posted by SkinnerSan at 12:16 AM on April 30, 2006

[This is awesome.]
posted by jmhodges at 12:23 AM on April 30, 2006

Damn. That was harsh. Colbert is awesome.
posted by chunking express at 12:26 AM on April 30, 2006

The "Gannon" button in the interview tape made me snot out my nose.
posted by Popular Ethics at 12:27 AM on April 30, 2006

Colbert is like unto a god to me. He flubs his lines with clockwork regularity, but that just makes me like him more.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 12:28 AM on April 30, 2006

The C&L video is incomplete -- for the full show, try http://www.mininova.org/tor/296239.
posted by nmiell at 12:29 AM on April 30, 2006

Colbert is awesome. I'm surprised he got away with that. Don't they have people read the scripts beforehand?

The part where he pretends to be the President's press secretary was bogus, though.
posted by Afroblanco at 12:32 AM on April 30, 2006

The lack of response at the beginning of the video is stunning. How the hell did he get on there in the first place?
posted by jmhodges at 12:35 AM on April 30, 2006

That dinner was so weird. Bush's act was "I am a dumb idiot" however he was so dumb that he had to hire a professional comedian to help him with it. (sorta like Bush can only testify to the 911 commission if Cheney is there to hold his hand).

Then Colbert gets up and states or alludes to all sorts of things that Bush's handler bubble has been protecting him from.

I'm sure Bush is furious and I wonder if a White House maid will sell out to the National Enquirer and reveal stains in his underpants.
posted by MonkeySaltedNuts at 12:35 AM on April 30, 2006

Brilliant.
posted by jefbla at 12:38 AM on April 30, 2006

nmiel -- I don't have 'torrent-ability' but you are right, the 'crooks and liars' video is incomplete. Skinnersan's idea is best -- Tivo CSpan -- When I saw this on CSpan this evening (it is repeating in the morning) the camera view of Bush's face was boxed in the corner of the screen while Colbert talked!
posted by Surfurrus at 12:43 AM on April 30, 2006

That takes major intestinal fortitude. Props to Colbert, it's just a shame that the most outspoken against this administration have to be comedians.
posted by banished at 12:45 AM on April 30, 2006

When is this being re-broadcast on CSPAN? I just updated my TIVO schedule, and I'm not seeing it in the next 24 hours...
posted by Dunwitty at 12:48 AM on April 30, 2006

05:30 AM EST (that is in an hour and a half) according to their schedule
posted by jmhodges at 12:54 AM on April 30, 2006

C-SPAN 05:30 AM EDT 1:00 (est.)
White House Correspondents Dinner

My guide only shows a 5 hour block of "Public Affairs", so I've set up a manual recording.
posted by omarr at 12:55 AM on April 30, 2006

I stand by this man because he stands for things. Not only for things, he stands on things, like aircraft carriers, rubble and recently flooded city squares. And that sends a strong mesasge that no matter what happens to America she will always rebound with the most powerfully staged photo ops in the world!
posted by pruner at 12:59 AM on April 30, 2006

One more thing ... I predict this is going to be another demonstration of the huge gap between internet voices and the media. So far all the media reports on this are 'canned' stories (AP) with identical quips about Bush and his hired double. None of them bothered to watch it themselves? What about the reporters who were there? Are they going to just pretend it (Colbert as raptor) didn't happen?
posted by Surfurrus at 1:00 AM on April 30, 2006

god bless TiVo.
posted by scody at 1:00 AM on April 30, 2006

This administration is not sinking! This administration is soaring! If anything, they're rearranging the deck chairs on the Hindenberg!

I've had a man-crush on Colbert since well before he got his on show. However, this only reaffirms why I would bear that man's children, were I so equipped.
posted by sparkletone at 1:02 AM on April 30, 2006

Damn, that dude got balls..
posted by c13 at 1:05 AM on April 30, 2006

Wouldn't it be nice if Colbert's performance did for the administration what Jon Stewart's appearance did for Crossfire? Man, I would've loved to have been a fly on the wall in W's limo ride home.
posted by blueberry at 1:13 AM on April 30, 2006

Fox News presents both sides of every issue: the President's side and the Vice-President's side.

He started off strong, but the filim clip was tedious and unfunny.
posted by three blind mice at 1:15 AM on April 30, 2006

Man, I would've loved to have been a fly on the wall in W's limo ride home.

Well someone has to explain the jokes to him.
posted by three blind mice at 1:17 AM on April 30, 2006

Awesome.
posted by juv3nal at 1:18 AM on April 30, 2006

Balls of solid titanium. Damn.

This (like so many other moments) would be a terrible blow to the Admin if the press would actually carry it like they should... but they won't. It'll only reaffirm what those who pay attention in spite of the media already know about the emperor and his lack of clothes.

What I like the most is that he not only hit the Admin with both barrells, but essentially pulled out a second gun and gave two more barrells to the press.

This man's a hero.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 1:19 AM on April 30, 2006

I just noticed
this link on Wikipedia. (DivX / 640x480 / 26:35 / 200mb)

It's Colbert's full appearance and the video quality is a million times better than the video linked from the URL in the main post here.
posted by omarr at 1:33 AM on April 30, 2006

mayor nagen, id like to welcome to you to washington dc, the chocolate city with a marshmallow center...
this is one of the best routines ive ever seen.
posted by phaedon at 1:39 AM on April 30, 2006

Have to say I found the routine trite and geeky. He is the kind of guy you laugh at, not with.
posted by zaebiz at 1:52 AM on April 30, 2006

I watched it and was rather disgusted.

It wasnt really funny it was more pathetic. As a liberal I feel it did much much more harm then good.

Moronic infact.
posted by Addiction at 1:58 AM on April 30, 2006

hmmm maybe bush wasnt laughing because the guy's timing is all over the place , misses loads of beats , hasnt rehearsed his lines properly , drifts in and out of character etc etc.....shame , could have been a killer blow as well , very good material , i'm guessing he introduced it at a late stage in the game using the press secretary skit as cover, but one must simply be on top of ones lines darling......
posted by sgt.serenity at 2:01 AM on April 30, 2006

I'm sure you could do much better as evinced by the scathingly detailed critique you've just given us.
posted by IronLizard at 2:01 AM on April 30, 2006

(Not you sgt.)
posted by IronLizard at 2:02 AM on April 30, 2006

...aaaaand the Unwinnable War Of What's Funny And What's Not begins.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 2:03 AM on April 30, 2006

Funny? Who cares? It's one of the most direct attacks on Bush I've seen yet, since our citizen speaker guy (his name and the link elude me at the moment) gave him a dressing down.
posted by IronLizard at 2:05 AM on April 30, 2006

Is no one going to comment on a Doobie Brother in a kilt being at the dinner? Now that is comedy gold.
posted by vagabond at 2:15 AM on April 30, 2006

Heh heh lizard ..... i'm just a wee luvvie who likes to see people take wings and soar once the lead boots are removed...... it's for sure he was switching his material at the last minute though , the amount of times he looks at the script.....Is there a link to bushs doppelganger skit ?
posted by sgt.serenity at 2:17 AM on April 30, 2006

I watched it and was rather disgusted.

Yeah, the part when he shit into his own cupped hands, sniffed deeply and vomitted onto it, then, screeching like an albino ape, rubbed the mess into Bush's face until the blood came and the resultant filthy matter dripped down into the president's water glass, from which, before he was dragged away and pistol-whipped by the SS, Colbert drank greedily while shouting "I am the living god! I am the alpha and the omega!" -- that was a bit disgusting.

Still, fine and pointed political commentary.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 2:20 AM on April 30, 2006

Heh heh lizard ..... i'm just a wee luvvie who likes to see people take wings and soar once the lead boots are removed......
My fault, I didn't preview sgt, that's why I added the comment jusy below, I was referring to the previous two posters.
It absolutely looked like he switched, hell he was looking so hard at the script I wouldn't be surprised if he wrote it on a napkin just beforehand.
posted by IronLizard at 2:23 AM on April 30, 2006

man, that was actually quite painful... lotta silence on that tape. Still, awesome that all that was said within 10 feet of the president.
posted by Tryptophan-5ht at 2:29 AM on April 30, 2006

reality has a well-known liberal bias

Awesome. I guess Larry the Cable Guy wasn't available to make yuck-yucks about gays and ragheads.

Stephen's the man.
posted by bardic at 2:32 AM on April 30, 2006

(And IMO the awkward silences make the performance--he knew it would go down like this. Very Andy Kaufman.)
posted by bardic at 2:33 AM on April 30, 2006

More than Andy Kaufman. It's Kaufman with a purpose. Kaufman was more than willing to have his jokes slid right off his audience because much of his work was for his (and Zmuda's) enjoyment. Colbert knew that much of it would flop, but wanted it to flop and stick. And stick, it will, IMHO. People can't ignore the fact that a comedian went on for over 12 minutes mocking the president while he sat not 10 feet away. That's just too much of a scandal and ratings raiser to ignore.

To adopt an ill-fated buzzword, this is going to go viral even if it isn't picked up by the media companies immediately. There's too much momentum behind Colbert and his comments for it not to be. This is the inverse Dean scream for the American web-left. All of the web-centric Dean supporters hoped and prayed that the damn "YARGH" would be dropped, but it was beyond their control. The web cannot make a story unnoticed but it can (with enough penetration, in the marketing sense) make stories.
posted by jmhodges at 3:02 AM on April 30, 2006

If truth be a bomb, Colbert was MOAB! Loved it.
posted by Dizzy Bint at 3:09 AM on April 30, 2006

i'd sure like a bigger video. this is like watching a postage stamp.
posted by wakko at 3:12 AM on April 30, 2006

Great speech, or greatest speech?
posted by Leather McWhip at 3:15 AM on April 30, 2006

Watching the whole thing live on C-Span, right now.
posted by insomnia_lj at 3:17 AM on April 30, 2006

I'm going to go ahead and put you down for "greatest."
posted by Leather McWhip at 3:22 AM on April 30, 2006

He probably knew he had one chance at this thing. Even the slightest Bush criticism would mean hes never come back so he went all out. Bravo. TDS w Jon Stewart is your father's Oldsmobile.
posted by skallas at 3:31 AM on April 30, 2006

wow, that audience was not giving it up. It threw Colbert, but he's a pro and powered through. Washington is a serious city, and I must say watching his routine through their eyes it really gave it gravity and even muted my own laughs. The truthyness almost hurt. Colbert deserves a combat medal.
posted by Blingo at 3:36 AM on April 30, 2006

Interesting how the montage of clips from previous dinners (though I'm not sure that's where the Kennedy and Johnson clips came from) didn't feature the vignette about Bush's hunt for WMDs.

Colbert killed. I'm starting to enjoy his show more than the Daily Show.
posted by emelenjr at 3:37 AM on April 30, 2006

Watching him do that was surreal...

It was hilarious, but I was just too stunned to laugh.
posted by GooseOnTheLoose at 4:18 AM on April 30, 2006

"As a liberal I feel it did much much more harm then good."

Wow... you support a same-sex marriage ban, agreed that homosexuals are "evil" and gay adoption is an act of "violence", supported sending US troops into Iran, thought that Zell Miller did something "amazing" by backing Bush, called Pfc. Jessica Lynch's statement that the The Pentagon used her, "100% pure garbage", and said that we should "be grateful" that George Bush was there "to save us" after 9/11...

Liberal?! You keep using that word. I do not think that word means what you think it means...
posted by insomnia_lj at 4:30 AM on April 30, 2006

normally, i have to say, digging up old comments to beat someone with is low.. but goddamn. calling yourself a liberal sounds pretty dishonest after that.
posted by Tryptophan-5ht at 4:35 AM on April 30, 2006

"As a liberal I feel it did much much more harm then good."

P0wN3d !
posted by elpapacito at 4:43 AM on April 30, 2006

Yeah, the part when he shit into his own cupped hands, sniffed deeply and vomitted onto it, then, screeching like an albino ape, rubbed the mess into Bush's face until the blood came and the resultant filthy matter dripped down into the president's water glass, from which, before he was dragged away and pistol-whipped by the SS, Colbert drank greedily while shouting "I am the living god! I am the alpha and the omega!" -- that was a bit disgusting.

"And what do you call your act?"

"The Aristocrats!"
posted by Mikey-San at 4:47 AM on April 30, 2006

I can see why C&L cut out the first half... ZZZzzzz.

hmmm, skipped to 13 minutes in, still lame.

If you're making jokes at the expense of a hostile crowd, you've got to really slay them. I am reminded of one joke uttered in Hitler's presence near the end, where an SS attache remarked on the relocation of the Fuhrer's HQ from E Prussia to Berlin:

“Berlin will be most practical as our headquarters : we’ll soon be able to take the streetcar from the eastern to the western front !”

Now that's observational humor.
posted by Heywood Mogroot at 4:49 AM on April 30, 2006

Wow.

Go Stephen.

I really hope he's safe after that.
posted by Raoul.Duke at 4:49 AM on April 30, 2006

Apparently Addiction is very liberal in the use of the word liberal.
posted by Zombie Dreams at 4:55 AM on April 30, 2006

Bush's own routine was.... well, frightening to say the least. It's as if we had a just a momentary glimpse at what really goes on in that twisted little simian mind of his. That bit about Cheney being drunk..... It shocked me until I remembered just who was speaking.
posted by IronLizard at 5:02 AM on April 30, 2006

I'm reasonably sure that Bush didn't write his own material.
posted by trey at 5:09 AM on April 30, 2006

Sad for us that Colbert is completely wiped off the BBC story of the dinner.
posted by nj_subgenius at 5:18 AM on April 30, 2006

...same with the AP wire. Sad.
posted by nj_subgenius at 5:21 AM on April 30, 2006

Sure, he probably didn't write his own stuff, but the Bush 'n' Bush bit was actually really funny, and W delivered his lines well. LOL moments inlcluded the Cheny segment:

"I'm just glad I survived the White House shakeup!!"

and (paraphrasing here):

"The Vice President is a good man, he has a good heart--- well, he's a good man."

Colbert had a VERY tough act to follow.
posted by underthehat at 5:25 AM on April 30, 2006

As a ham and cheese sandwich, I feel it did more harm than good.
posted by wakko at 5:29 AM on April 30, 2006

Al Franken wrote in Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot how he did the White House Dinner one year and made so many cracks at Newt Gingrich that Gingrich threatened to beat the shit out of him after the monologue. Given that I'm actually worried Colbert's going to wake up this morning with an eagle head in his bed.
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 5:39 AM on April 30, 2006

What's an "infact"?
posted by psmealey at 5:49 AM on April 30, 2006

Colbert bombed, and it was admirable and awesome. The first joke was a true clunker, but after that, his "flopping" was more attributable to a hostile audience than anything else. Colbert could have done a better job setting up his character/schtick -- popular though he may be, if you're unaware of his tv persona his satire can be mistaken for blowhardedness.

Most telling of the audience's reaction: Laura wouldn't even get up to shake Stephen's hand.

And, though I can't stand the president, his bit was funny. A tad too long, but genuinely funny nevertheless.
posted by herc at 5:54 AM on April 30, 2006

Well, I wouldn't be so sure that Steven Colbert writes all his own material, either. The little quicktime clip (... hm. let me get out my magnifying glass ...) sure did make it seem like the audience was either too scared to laugh, or dead, or both. I think they could have cut the whole Helen chase scene out, and it would have been funnier.
posted by crunchland at 6:13 AM on April 30, 2006

What's really creepy about this is that if you read through the Google News list of stories on this topic, almost all the article (except, of course, the story as reported on a blog) say the same exact things. it's as if one writer wrote the first story and every other writer performed minor rewrites on that story and published it. (Yet the MSM will occasionally fire reporters for 'plagiarism'). Even creepier and more telling is that the "news" being reported is that Bush's double routine "delighted the media." Do they live in a bubble or what? Do we care what "delighted" reporters? No. But the media's self insulation has become so complete that it seems completely unaware of what average people want to hear, and what democracies and free socities need to know in order to properly function.
It's like those conservative myths about an elite who care not for the concerns of the people to whom they report have come true, only it's not a liberal or conservative elite, but rather an elite dedicated to preserving the status of itself.
I think that probably the Bush adminstration's own reality bubble would not have been possible if the media were not already in a reality bubbble of their own.
posted by eustacescrubb at 6:23 AM on April 30, 2006 [1 favorite]

I gotta go with the [adjective] balls crowd on this one.

In a time where you can have your patriotism called into question for simply asking "Why, Mr. President?" To do a routine like this in a place where you could make eye contact with the man?

I half expected little red dots of light to appear on his chest a few minutes in.
posted by Cyrano at 6:29 AM on April 30, 2006

2 or 3 funny bits and the rest was...awkward to say the least. I suppose Colbert is being given psychological leeway by people for the mediocre performance because it was in hostile territory with an unprotected President nearby.

Granted there were barbs about all the trigger points but I thought they were pretty lame for the mostpart. He has balls perhaps but overall that wasn't a great or even good performance. And the briefing room segment was crap.
posted by peacay at 6:30 AM on April 30, 2006

MSNBC has said nothing about Colbert this morning (That I've seen) and I didn't find a mention in their on-line story. I have sent them an innocent inquiry asking about it.

Meanwhile, MSNBC on TV is promo'ing that they are about to play the Pres's yuck-fest in its entirety. The news mannequin joked earlier after a Bush/Bush clip that she will have to redo her make-up after laughing so hard.

Of course, she may have been crying. She was off-camera while the clip played.

CNN's on-line written version does mention Colbert, but dismisses him:

Yet it's the Who's Who of power and celebrity in the audience -- invited by media organizations to their dinner tables -- that draws much of the attention.

posted by mmahaffie at 6:32 AM on April 30, 2006

I'm not sure the media is ignoring Colbert's slagging of the president. I think that, for the most part, they're just lazily giving the story of the dinner what they think it deserves -- scant attention. Perhaps they are unaware of how pleased many of us are that someone stood next to Bush and said these things.

"Bush Lampoons Self!" makes for a far easier, sellable headline. Especially when you can show a picture of Bush standing next to imposter Bush. Try selling, "Colbert Crucifies Our Unloved Leader".
posted by neek at 6:33 AM on April 30, 2006

What's really creepy about this is that if you read through the Google News list of stories on this topic, almost all the article (except, of course, the story as reported on a blog) say the same exact thing

You might want to read up on how wire services (AP, Reuters) work.
posted by malphigian at 6:40 AM on April 30, 2006

I'm actually worried Colbert's going to wake up this morning with an eagle head in his bed.

No! Not Stephen Jr. !
posted by arialblack at 6:43 AM on April 30, 2006

OoooooK I managed to download all of it, the prez was good and handled the minor roast fine and....

Colbert was...I still don't know, one word doesn't give an idea of what we have seen

Initially it looked like Colbert was going to start the "I love my Bushy Cudly Bush" persona a-la Bill O'Reilly, so one would have thought "phew he is just going to do the usual routine" and it went on for a while..the NSA stuff at the beginning was acceptable. The "attack" on China was ok...after all ...they are communist aren't they. "And reality has a well know liberal bias.... " that's a viral line foh sureh ! The 68% logical spin is memorable as well :)

The bomb : "the most powerfully staged photo ops in the world" and from now on it's almost vitriol against facts being forgotten, stubborn beliefs and the attacks on the media "just put it throught a spell check and go home" which I think was too oblique for many to understand, probably even for "the media". And the almost final line "I have nothing but contempt for this people, I know how to handle these clowns" and nobody knows how serious he was :)
posted by elpapacito at 6:44 AM on April 30, 2006

It's painful and uncomfortable to watch, which is exactly why it's so fantastic. He had to have known that even some people who think he's funny would be guarding their reaction to his routine, and that he was going to go down in flames. Watching someone walk the plank like that is just riveting.

It comes across as a total black eye on the evening, with the reality of what he's saying being too bitter a pill to be swallowed with just a few chuckles. The fact that it goes on for soooo loooong emhasizes that completely. Which is exactly what they get for asking him to speak-- whoever thought it would be a great idea and made the arrangements obviously didn't have a clue.

I actually stood up in shock when he told them that their grandchildren wouldn't know what a glacier was. Awesome.
posted by hermitosis at 6:49 AM on April 30, 2006

Liberal?! You keep using that word. I do not think that word means what you think it means...

There's a faction on the right that does this just so they can pull out a tedious speech on what it means to be a "classical liberal" when someone finally calls them on their bizarre usage, although they don't use that term properly either.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 6:53 AM on April 30, 2006

The audience didn't uniformly laugh uproariously, but there were plenty of laughs and chuckles at most of his lines, and some lines got a great response. I don't see why everyone is saying the crowd was so hostile and everything went down like a lead balloon... unless Omarr's link had a laugh track added in later.

The video bit at the end didn't do much for me though.
posted by Hal Mumkin at 6:53 AM on April 30, 2006

It seems like some people are not getting it.

This was not a comedy routine. It was a satire. It wasn't even a satire, it was a public execution. And it was an incredibly damning thing. He called the administration out, point by point on all their lies, their crimes and the total and complete absurdity that is the message they expect us to take as truth in a perfect way -- by pretending that he believed it all.

I've never seen anything like it. the fact that he did it right to the man's face is astonishing. The president deserves no pomp or respect, certainly, but Colbert hurt him more than he could have with any insult.... he bounced the man's own agenda back at him over and over and over in a forum where he had to sit there and take it -- his ideas stated so plainly that they mocked themselves. And they were not funny to hear... just shocking because through this a real Truth was revealed.
posted by n9 at 6:54 AM on April 30, 2006

That was good. Thank you Surfurrus.
posted by caddis at 6:56 AM on April 30, 2006

He started off strong, but the filim clip was tedious and unfunny.

I agree. Wow was that press secretary video ever tedious and unfunny.
posted by dobbs at 6:59 AM on April 30, 2006

Interesting that it's not posted on youTube because it's longer than 10 minutes and thus must be pirated.
posted by smackfu at 7:08 AM on April 30, 2006

I'm with the public execution viewpoint. And I think the length it went on served the point. It wasn't just barbed and uncomfortable -- we had to wallow in it. I take pleasure in knowing that the president had to sit through it.
posted by Astro Zombie at 7:09 AM on April 30, 2006

Wow...the wire stories hardly mention Colbert, and the right wing sycophants are all singing in perfect harmony this morning that "Bush rocked, Colbert bombed." (Seriously, check out Malkin, Captain's Quarters, etc...they all say the same thing.)

I haven't seen the performance yet, but that reaction betrays them. Colbert must be at the top of the talking points fax today. He got to them.
posted by edverb at 7:14 AM on April 30, 2006

I take pleasure in knowing that the president had to sit through it.

And what makes you think he was listening? I bet you he pretty much zoned out.
posted by tapeguy at 7:18 AM on April 30, 2006

Doubtful. He's famously bad at taking bad news and criticism. I imagine the whole experience was one long, slow burn for him.
posted by Astro Zombie at 7:28 AM on April 30, 2006

The full video is WAY funnier than the FPP video. The press secretary thing still sucks but the opening routing is spot on. Bush even chuckles during some of it.
posted by dobbs at 7:28 AM on April 30, 2006

I take pleasure in knowing that the president had to sit through it.

And what makes you think he was listening? I bet you he pretty much zoned out.

Seeing how that is how he normally deals with reality, i wouldn't be surprised, either.
posted by TechnoLustLuddite at 7:30 AM on April 30, 2006

YouTube Link: Part 1, Part 2
posted by blue_beetle at 7:32 AM on April 30, 2006

i can see the exact moment he gets really pissed.... right after the bit about standing on aircraft carriers and rubble. his facr goes to a grim mask at that point.
posted by n9 at 7:33 AM on April 30, 2006

kristol v. colbert :P

a master debate!
posted by kliuless at 7:34 AM on April 30, 2006

Wow...the wire stories hardly mention Colbert, and the right wing sycophants are all singing in perfect harmony this morning that "Bush rocked, Colbert bombed." (Seriously, check out Malkin, Captain's Quarters, etc...they all say the same thing.)

If conservative blogs were around in 1968 when Tommie Smith and John Carlos were stripped of their medals, Malkin and Morrisey would be writing about how their demeanor to the Olympic Committee showed just how silly the idea of civil rights was.

Wait- actually, Malkin and Morrisey are bitching about how silly civil rights are today.
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 7:39 AM on April 30, 2006

I think probably a lot more people in that audience found it funny than actually laughed. I think a lot of people were downright afraid to laugh at him in the presence of the President.
posted by Nicholas West at 7:47 AM on April 30, 2006

I think probably a lot more people in that audience found it funny than actually laughed. I think a lot of people were downright afraid to laugh at him in the presence of the President.

Did no one else notice the lady in the audience who burst out laughing and quickly covered up by facing down to regain her composure?
posted by IronLizard at 7:53 AM on April 30, 2006

Even creepier and more telling is that the "news" being reported is that Bush's double routine "delighted the media." Do they live in a bubble or what? Do we care what "delighted" reporters? No. But the media's self insulation has become so complete that it seems completely unaware of what average people want to hear, and what democracies and free socities need to know in order to properly function.

Hey, eustacescrubb, it is the Whitehouse Correspondence Dinner, it's a party for the press corp - so that's why it's relevant how the media felt about various routines.
posted by ill3 at 7:57 AM on April 30, 2006

I stayed up to watch the Cspan show again. The second showing was different (!!). The box with Bush's face was not there. What happened?

Also, my reaction was different. This second time I sat through the rewards part of the dinner to hear Colbert. It was sickening. These media people were lauding and applauding each other for 'grand achievements' in reporting -- awards for things like breaking the Duke Cunningham story or the appointment of John Roberts to the Supreme Court. Fairly safe stories. THEN they would each run over to Bush (almost bowing), shake his hand and pose for their picture with his arm around them. Bush is good at jumping up for a photo op.

Bush got a standing ovation from this audience for his 'skit'.

No wonder they didn't 'get' Colbert.

How can they look in the mirror in the morning??
posted by Surfurrus at 7:58 AM on April 30, 2006

if you're unaware of his tv persona his satire can be mistaken for blowhardedness

Which is his whole intention, to come off a O'Reilly. He did this perfectly. Those who are "disgusted" must be disgusted with O'Reilly as well...
posted by juiceCake at 7:59 AM on April 30, 2006

What's really creepy about this is that if you read through the Google News list of stories on this topic, almost all the article (except, of course, the story as reported on a blog) say the same exact things. it's as if one writer wrote the first story and every other writer performed minor rewrites on that story and published it.

Yeah, just who is Elizabeth White?
posted by Surfurrus at 8:04 AM on April 30, 2006

Mr. Colbert's testicular fortitude vastly exceeds mine. In fact, from here on out, I will refer to his show as the Carries-His-Huevos-In-a-Wheelbarrow Repor(t).

Stephen Colbert's persona is all about lampooning the pundits. Think of his bits: The Word is right from O'Reilly. Threatdown is Olbermann's Countdown. His self-indulgent cheer-for-me personality on the show comes from, well... most of them, perhaps an echo mostly of Joe Scarborough.

Remember there are people who still manage to grant The Daily Show "serious" interviews, thinking they're a real news program. Stephen Colbert, unless you know his background on TDS, could pass in a lot of minds as a quirky but otherwise dedicated and conforming soldier of the right wing. That's his brilliance.
posted by symphonik at 8:16 AM on April 30, 2006

That was a brilliant performance by Mr. Colbert.
posted by ludwig_van at 8:23 AM on April 30, 2006

Bush is certainly the worst president of my lifetime. Maybe he's the worst ever. But....

Boy, was that not funny. I admire the courage it takes to attack the president to his face like that but it just was not at all funny. I didn't even chuckle once. Just nothing. Yes, it's difficult to be funny when nobody is laughing but then Colbert's "audition clip" was painfully bad, like something high-school kids would put together, and there's no way to blame that on an unreceptive audience. I was embarrassed for him. Imagine what a comedian who was actually funny would have done with an opportunity like that. What a waste.
posted by TimeFactor at 8:30 AM on April 30, 2006

I can't help but feel that, despite Colbert's statement that it was "Just for laughs," people going on about how unfunny it was are completely missing the point.

i.e., The point ----> .







You guys--> .
posted by ludwig_van at 8:36 AM on April 30, 2006

FOOL:
May not an ass know when the cart
draws the horse? Whoop, Jug! I love thee.
posted by taosbat at 8:38 AM on April 30, 2006

I thought it was fantastic. Zing! The "audition clip" portion was so so.
posted by Mr_Zero at 8:40 AM on April 30, 2006

RE: the media are ignoring this story...

Have any of you considered the fact that it's Sunday morning, and the AP story was probably filed before the dinner even happened. Most of the journos who were there are probably still hung over.
posted by simra at 8:42 AM on April 30, 2006

If you're going to pie someone in the face, put on the damn chicken suit. I have no idea how much preparation went into Colbert's bit. But the Helen Thomas video at the end seemed like it was calculated to soften the impact of Colbert's lampooning. What could have been a truly legendary moment ended flat.
posted by horsewithnoname at 8:57 AM on April 30, 2006

Huh, that was really interesting. I didn't find much of it "funny" other than the Scalia bit.

I think it suffered from the opposite problem that the President's infamous "where are those WMDs" schtick from a few years ago did. In that case, it was a powerful man treating his serious failure with inappropriate levity; in this case there almost seemed to be an inappropriate gravitas much of the time. The line about "standing on an aircraft carrier, standing on rubble" is pretty pointed, but it would be more at home in an opponent's stump speech than a routine delivered by a comedian.

The comments directed at the press itself struck me as harsher than those directed at the President. In the latter case, they're comments based on disagreeing with what he's doing; in the former case, they're based on the idea that the press is longer doing its job at all.

There was one brilliant throwaway line that seemed to go by almost unnoticed. At the end of the bit about the President's approval rating, he says the glass is still a third full, but you wouldn't want to drink it because "the last third is mostly backwash anyway". Ouch.
posted by Armitage Shanks at 8:59 AM on April 30, 2006

The point: Colbert's inability to be funny made the whole thing pointless. Nobody who doesn't already despise Bush is going to see it as a triumph. The choir doesn't need preaching to. When the preacher's a flop it's not going to sway anyone who isn't already in the choir.
posted by TimeFactor at 9:05 AM on April 30, 2006

I'm sure Colbert's script was not a suprise to the Bush camp, they probably read an advance copy.

I thaught Bush and his doppleganger were funny. When Bush calls the UN nuclear inspection team the "EIEIO" that was funny.

Colbert was brilliant up to the crack about Bush's appearances on rubble and flooded city squares being the most powerful staged photo ops. That was aharsh cheap shot given that all presidents have the unenviable obligation to make an appearance at the site of national disasters, even if it's a delayed appearance as often is the case with Bush. Painting Bush's appearance at ground zero as purely disengenuine is probably where Colbert lost most of the crowd.
posted by StarForce5 at 9:07 AM on April 30, 2006

The etherkillers and mininova links are colberdotted. Could someone who's downloaded a high quality file rapidshare it, please?
posted by fleetmouse at 9:09 AM on April 30, 2006

ludwig_van gets it.

Also, My favorite part:

Addressing the reporters, he said, "Let's review the rules. Here's how it works. The president makes decisions, he’s the decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Put them through a spell check and go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know--fiction."
posted by diocletian at 9:09 AM on April 30, 2006

At this point, does anybody believe the 30 some odd percent who still aprove of Bush can be reasoned with?

I think a scream of inarticulate rage in Bush's direction would be plenty satisfying at this moment; the fact that Colbert was so articulate made it even more satisfying.
posted by Astro Zombie at 9:10 AM on April 30, 2006

This was pure performance art, it wouldn't have worked if the audience wasn't made uncomfortable by it.

If they wanted more laughs they could have gotten Billy Crystal to read some canned cliched jokes, but this was a different brand of performance entirely.
posted by Space Coyote at 9:12 AM on April 30, 2006

Bush's appearance at ground zero

bush went to japan?
posted by quonsar at 9:14 AM on April 30, 2006

Colbert was just OK. There were some funny moments, but I don't think it took as much courage as people seem to think. His approval rating in the the pits. Maybe somebody doing a routine like this when he was at the pinnacle would have been courageous. Now it's just a bit obvious.

What I can't believe is that I just saw Bush (through his doppelganger) making a joke about Cheney being drunk when he shot a man in the face. I always assumed Cheney was drunk, but isn't that basically confirmation? I know we're all supposed to be "past" that whole thing now, but it seems like that's the real story to me.
posted by willnot at 9:17 AM on April 30, 2006

Oh, I found a fast torrent with thousands of peers / seeds and a huge file.

alternate link to torrent
posted by fleetmouse at 9:19 AM on April 30, 2006

The question about whetehr he was funny here is as irrelevant to Colbert's performance as it was when Jon Stewart appeared on Crossfire.
posted by Astro Zombie at 9:21 AM on April 30, 2006

I thought it was funny, in a I'm-dying-inside kind of way. Apparently the only way to have public criticism of the press is to pretend it's a joke.

But the best skewering wasn't for Bush, but rather the press corps in front of him.

Here's how it works. The president makes decisions, he’s the decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Put them through a spell check and go home.

No wonder they weren't laughing.
posted by Nelson at 9:25 AM on April 30, 2006

er, "Apparently the only way to have public criticism of Bush is to pretend it's a joke."
posted by Nelson at 9:26 AM on April 30, 2006

This also illustrates the difference between Bush and dictator. Colbert would now be in 6 seperate pieces if Bush was a dictator.

Our freedom of expression is still relatively intact, barring joking around in an airport. We have got to get rid of these clowns before any more of it is compromised.

Bush was amusing because that, in the final analysis, is where his talent lies. As an actor; a performer. He is the public face of the hidden policy machine behind him, very much like Reagan, but smarter, if you can believe it. But Bush would have made a fine comedian a la The Cable Guy. His comic timing is more often than not flawless; it's just appalling that he jokes around at all considering what is happening in this world because of him.

Anybody know how Cheney reacted to Colbert? Was he there?
posted by Nicholas West at 9:26 AM on April 30, 2006

colbert's humor is born of frustration .
like the frustration many of us feel about what is going on in the country. the total lack of an honest discussion on 'where we are', 'where we are going' , and 'how we will get there' as a country.

thats why watching this hurts. it's thinly veiled as comedy, when in fact i anger , absurd , frustrated, and made to come to the presidents ear by way of false pretence. we feel uncomfortable , because the whole thing is brimming over with real emotion, hid, just below the smiling , comic surface.


he bounced the man's own agenda back at him over and over and over in a forum where he had to sit there and take it -- his ideas stated so plainly that they mocked themselves. And they were not funny to hear... just shocking because through this a real Truth was revealed.
posted by n9
posted by nola at 9:30 AM on April 30, 2006

The point: Colbert's inability to be funny made the whole thing pointless. Nobody who doesn't already despise Bush is going to see it as a triumph. The choir doesn't need preaching to. When the preacher's a flop it's not going to sway anyone who isn't already in the choir.

First, you're wrong that it wasn't funny. It was funny because it was true, and because he was saying it to the president. Is the idea of the government illegally spying on its citizens funny? No. But Stephen Colbert getting up in front of president Bush and sarcastically condemning the media for exposing us to such depressing news is funny.

Second, you're wrong about the point. Who says this is preaching to the choir? This wasn't on Comedy Central. His immediate audience consisted of members of the press and Washington heavies, but Colbert seemed to understand that the immediate audience wasn't necessarily the sole intended audience. And now it's out on there on the big old internet.

I think a scream of inarticulate rage in Bush's direction would be plenty satisfying at this moment; the fact that Colbert was so articulate made it even more satisfying.

Indeed.
posted by ludwig_van at 9:33 AM on April 30, 2006

Colbert channeled Andy Kaufman channeling Jonathan Swift. Not especially funny, but definitely brilliant.
posted by localroger at 9:35 AM on April 30, 2006

...I stand by this man because he stands for things. Not only for things, he stands on things, like aircraft carriers, rubble and recently flooded city squares. And that sends a strong mesasge that no matter what happens to America she will always rebound with the most powerfully staged photo ops in the world! ...

hah! : >

(i'll have to give his show another shot if he pushes it this much all the time--he wasn't at all when it started)
posted by amberglow at 9:37 AM on April 30, 2006

Yeah, this was so not about the 'funny'. I'm still not exactly sure if anyone really was sure what was happening. I just.. funny or not, the way things are, to stand up and say this kind of stuff, 10ft away from the president... the name Jose Padilla comes to mind. Still locked up, still no trial.
posted by ninjew at 9:38 AM on April 30, 2006

c-span is now rebroadcasting the dinner.
posted by kongg at 9:39 AM on April 30, 2006

and what Nelson said--the crack about the journalists being better off writing fiction about courageous reporters since none of them are, and a few others, showed he wasn't just ragging on Bush.

What would be hysterical would be if O'Reilly (and the other insane screeching nuts on the right) now go after him, like they do to all the others who dare speak truth in front of Bush.
posted by amberglow at 9:41 AM on April 30, 2006

Because the general cowardise of reporters hasn;t been to the advantage of Bush, oh no.
posted by Artw at 9:42 AM on April 30, 2006

What's saddest is it takes a huge effort like this just to discuss real criticism of the administration in front of the president.

Everyone in the White House is so far insulated from the real population with real concerns that theyre shocked when Colbert comes in there and says something not on the 'party line'. Even when the president is at his weakest and seemingly under assault- no one at the highest levels can voice differant viewpoint (or would even consider it).

The quailty of discourse in our country is literally non-existant, and we have little hope of ever seeing it raised- at least not at the levels that really get to shape policy.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:45 AM on April 30, 2006

Wow, so much negativity. That was nothing shy of genius, and I doubt we'll ever see much like it again. Thanks for the torrent links.
posted by prostyle at 9:49 AM on April 30, 2006

Medatic reaction is somehow interesting : both the allegedly uberliberal CNN and the uberconservative (not so allegedly) FoxNews run the same AP story. Is it just a coincidence or they are following Colbert suggestion of just-type-and-spellcheck ?

Even funnier

Others on the guest list included rapper-actor Ludacris; James Denton, the hunky plumber on ABC's "Desperate Housewives"; "Dancing With the Stars" winner Drew Lachey; New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin; tennis player Anna Kournikova; and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

WHA ? All this pointless celebrity , why ? I can understand Nagin, but what's the point of inviting Ludacris, foh pimping da hoez ? But certainly it is my fault, I just don't know ludacris as a riveting satirist or a journalist, but he certainly has mad skillz opinionz I am not aware of.


This also illustrates the difference between Bush and dictator. Colbert would now be in 6 seperate pieces if Bush was a dictator.

Correction, he wouldn't have reached the stage to being with.

But the best skewering wasn't for Bush, but rather the press corps in front of him.

Yes indeed ! By imitating the O'Reilly persona, Colbert slapped the attending guests with an very uncomfortable realization that even O'Reilly would NEVER have pronounced ; the element of truth being : by choosing to shut up on the errors of this government AND the misbehaviors of Republicans and by NOT pressing constantly , YOU "media" actually obeyed the threat and fear campaing that was targeted at the masses. The masses are excused by paradoxical virtue of their infinite ignorance and naivety, but NOT YOU you piece of press who behaved EXACTLY the way Colbert said the press should ....type-spellcheck-print.

This is a swift kick in the balls for anybody who believes he's taken "into consideration" ..reality being, you are lower then the photcopy guy except you believe you are somebody.
posted by elpapacito at 9:51 AM on April 30, 2006

is this the same dinner where Bush did that horrible thing of looking for WMDs under the couch in his office and all over?
posted by amberglow at 9:55 AM on April 30, 2006

Scalia looked like a good sport. He seemed to genuinely think the poke Colbert took at him was funny.
posted by Carbolic at 9:58 AM on April 30, 2006

amberglow: Yep. Same dinner, different year.
posted by jmhodges at 9:59 AM on April 30, 2006

This is obviously the Weekend of Colbert. After his shockingly brilliant takedown of an unprepared Bill Kristol on Thursday, Colbert obviously discomfited many Republicans at the White House Correspondents Dinner; he was the voice of "Ace" on Saturday Night Live's "The Best of TV Funhouse" (with Steve Carrell as "Gary"), and is profiled tonight on CBS News' 60 Minutes.

I find it odd how many people, both speaking at the dinner and in media reports of it, insist on pronouncing the final "t" in "Report" in the title of his show, The Colbert Report. The entire joke is that both "Colbert" and "Report" have a final silent "t", so either they don't get it, have never even heard the show advertised, or are doing it on purpose out of some refusal to let him have "his way." Very odd.
posted by mdeatherage at 10:00 AM on April 30, 2006

Here's my suggestion to the Colbert Report writers: Have Steven now attack Steven for satirizing Bush. Or at least, have him attack the "lefties" who have interpreted his speech as an attack on Bush.

If O'Really? and his types are going to make a stink about this, I think it would be great if the Colbert Report did as well.
posted by mmahaffie at 10:04 AM on April 30, 2006

I'm not a huge Colbert fan, but extra points for balls. Speaking truth to power and all that.
posted by jonmc at 10:08 AM on April 30, 2006

O'Really? O'Reilly? I like the first better.

The one thing I don't get about these events is that people other than journalists who supposedly don't like the President attend. That makes their dislike into somewhat of a joke. It you really don't like someone (or think their policies are bad), you don't socialize with them.
posted by ParisParamus at 10:09 AM on April 30, 2006

PP, It is, after all, their dinner. And, since they are the "White House Correspondents", they have to have the Pres, and/or his people, there.
posted by mmahaffie at 10:12 AM on April 30, 2006

The one thing I don't get about these events is that people other than journalists who supposedly don't like the President attend. That makes their dislike into somewhat of a joke. It you really don't like someone (or think their policies are bad), you don't socialize with them.

Do these people pay for their seats? Because I know I don't turn down a free meal.

Otherwise, that's quite an insightful observation! What filthy hypocrites! I'll never listen to Ludacris again!
posted by ludwig_van at 10:13 AM on April 30, 2006

His show has gotten better over time because it is very character driven, the early episodes are comparitively tedious because he had to establish the character first. Here he was essentially starting from scratch. I thought it was a particularly memorable performance but not a incredibly funny one (funny enough though). If you recall Don Imus in a similar position with Clinton it was a pretty big story. Of course Clinton being Clinton criticism will take the form of dick jokes, Bush being Bush criticism will be take the form of pointing to trainwrecks. It's the difference between semen stains and blood stains.
posted by I Foody at 10:14 AM on April 30, 2006

After the gathering, Snow, while nursing a Heineken outside the Chicago Tribune reception, declined to comment on Colbert. “I’m not doing entertainment reviews,” he said. “I thought the president was great, though.”

He's starting early, isn't he?

uh, with his job, not the beer
posted by hoborg at 10:18 AM on April 30, 2006

Wow. That was intense. Colbert has won earned my undying admiration.
posted by jenovus at 10:19 AM on April 30, 2006

Do not feed the weenus.
posted by fleetmouse at 10:20 AM on April 30, 2006

Crap. PP wrote "people other than journalists who supposedly don't like the President" and I read "journalists who supposedly don't like the President".

That makes my subsequent comment, well, stupid.

Sorry PP. I was putting words in you keyboard.
posted by mmahaffie at 10:20 AM on April 30, 2006

The president doesn't come to the White House Correspondents Dinner for the hunting, does he?
posted by Balisong at 10:25 AM on April 30, 2006

I understand the critiquing his delivery and all that, but really, I think some people have lost focus on what these events are usually like. This was a departure. And it's sort of disgusting to insist on only the most superlative entertainment form while in the presence of these people. I found it disgusting for people to laugh at the president's slideshow of him looking for WMD in the White House. To laugh at that is to hamstring their indignation at being lied to. Colbert's persistance in the face of crickets from the audience was inspiring.

big brass balls indeed.
posted by Busithoth at 10:29 AM on April 30, 2006

Metafilter: It's the difference in semen stains and blood stains
posted by aburd at 10:33 AM on April 30, 2006

Is today's current poll at The Colbert Nation (the unofficial web site of Stephen Colbert run by Comedy Central) a sly referencial aside to last night's "W is for Weber" Press Club roasting, mayhaps?

TODAY'S POLL

What would you do if you were attacked by a chimp?!


• Try to reason with it
  
• Try to fight it
  
• Give it a tuxedo and roller skates and pray that its training takes over
  

posted by Dunvegan at 10:57 AM on April 30, 2006

.
posted by punkbitch at 11:00 AM on April 30, 2006

I have a lot of questions about how well Colbert's character works in this type of environment. His satire is interesting, and when he's running off-the-cuff in interviews on his show it's intriguing to watch how he dances the line with his guests. Here... I'm just not sure. Maybe it has to do with the inconsistency of the material. Maybe it's that his character is giving a speech for another situation in this one. I mean, the dinner isn't a faux rally, but his material acts like it is.

In Colbert's defense though, having to topically lampoon someone so vulnerable is a tough task. The President could have used the exact same material as Colbert did and no one would have thought anything about it. That's the thing that fascinates me the more I play with this in my head.

In regards to people complaining about the press not picking up the story... It's really not the mainstream press's place to report on themselves. Putting up an incendiary host at this dinner, and then making it a top story is an ethical/credibility issue for the AP. They'll let the alt.weeklies and outlets like Editor and Publisher handle the heavy reportage if they'd like. Of course, chances are good you'll see it on the commentary shows, because god knows they have no ethics/credibility.
posted by pokermonk at 11:01 AM on April 30, 2006

Noticed they need to update the Dead to Me/On Notice list... Business Casual was let off the hook a couple weeks ago to make room for the singer for The New Cars.

Jesus. It's sad I know that.
posted by absalom at 11:02 AM on April 30, 2006

i'm watching it now. Damn. Colbert is hard-core.

Colbert has won earned my undying admiration.

Well said. i coudn't agree more.
posted by quin at 11:03 AM on April 30, 2006

In regards to people complaining about the press not picking up the story... It's really not the mainstream press's place to report on themselves.

Yeah, right! Watch the natural progression of any major story. First there are the reports about the story. Once those have been covered, they move on to the stories about how the press covered the stories. The press reports on themselves all the time. I can't even begin to imagine what you're on about.
posted by willnot at 11:08 AM on April 30, 2006

I love this guy. It was more than a blood letting. Colbert wielded language with the same deadly precision that a master samurai wields a sword, going right to the gut and heart. Bush & Co. including their Dick-whipped military "professionals", so used to being protected by the media whores, were stunned. Delightful.
posted by chance at 11:11 AM on April 30, 2006

15min, 26MB .mov hosted on rapidshare
posted by unmake at 11:14 AM on April 30, 2006

Damn, why do some of you morons keep up with the "it was not funny" shit? What is up with your brains? This was not a fucking comedy routine. It was a PISSTAKE OF THE PRESIDENT, RIGHT TO HIS FACE.

The best satire is about making its target uncomfortable, not about making a bunch of spoon-fed, ADD-addled airheads giggle over their fucking cheetos.

Idiots. What a fucking country.
posted by Decani at 11:26 AM on April 30, 2006

It's the difference between semen stains and blood stains.

Wow. A better summary of the last six years I can't recall.
posted by docpops at 11:26 AM on April 30, 2006

This is more or less exactly what I would do if I were in front of GWB and a big crowd of people, because he deserves it, as far as I can reason. Yet I didn't enjoy watching it because it felt overwhelmingly ungentlemanly on Colbert's part. Maybe it was the length of the performance, maybe it was the ambush aspect - but I actually started to feel a little bad for GWB.

Maybe Colbert, having clearly decided to not pull many punches, should have ditched the comedy (particularly considering the audience) and just let-fly more directly at the president and his accomplices. It would have been even braver, I think, and probably easier to laugh at.

Mad, mad props to Colbert, none-the-less. I suspect this moment will not go unremembered when the failures of GWB's administration are considered by history.
posted by chudmonkey at 11:29 AM on April 30, 2006

What others have said. How is Colbert "preaching to the choir"? The president was 20 frickin' feet away from him!
posted by bardic at 11:47 AM on April 30, 2006

The silence that greeted this line (regarding retired generals and the military) was deafening:

If you're strong enough to go on one of those pundit shows, you can stand on a bank of computers and order men into battle.

Full transcript here.
posted by kongg at 11:50 AM on April 30, 2006

Blingo: "wow, that audience was not giving it up. It threw Colbert, but he's a pro and powered through. Washington is a serious city, and I must say watching his routine through their eyes it really gave it gravity and even muted my own laughs. The truthyness almost hurt. Colbert deserves a combat medal."

I completely agree. I think this revealed how much his act is affected by its audience. He did seem a bit off and I think its because he wasn't getting the same energy. That said, my husband and I were dying with laughter watching it on MSNBC last night. They did a split screen with the pres, whp seemed either blasted, unsure of who Colbert even was, or annoyed. He scurried off really fast when the (boring, although I forever love Helen Thomas) film clip was over.
posted by macadamiaranch at 11:50 AM on April 30, 2006

I'm with Decani.
posted by wsg at 11:52 AM on April 30, 2006

I'm still downloading the big version, but the transcript is great. He's clearly a much better writer (or has much better writers) than performer.

John McCain. What a maverick. Somebody find out what fork he used on his salad, because I guarantee you wasn’t a salad fork. He could have used a spoon.
posted by mrgrimm at 12:07 PM on April 30, 2006

Yet I didn't enjoy watching it because it felt overwhelmingly ungentlemanly on Colbert's part. Maybe it was the length of the performance, maybe it was the ambush aspect - but I actually started to feel a little bad for GWB.

I had the same thought, but then I realized after the shock and insult to my intelligence and sense of morality in the last 6 years, I think the president could stand to take it in the face for 20 minutes.

(and thanks for the FPP surfurrus, the wikipedia link to "truthiness" provided nice context for what Colbert has been trying to do with his satire. I really admire the intelligence behind his humor more now.)
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 12:09 PM on April 30, 2006

YouTube has it in three parts.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
posted by phichens at 12:12 PM on April 30, 2006

Some seem to be concentrating on Colbert bitchslapping the Prez a little : in my humble opinion, he wasn't nearly as mistread as he could have been and Colbert was rather gentle with him, for the standard of "gentleness" of a roasting sessions. Actually the Prez imitator did a better job of minimizing the prez shortcoming while making he look like a loveable fool.

The big "FUCK OFF" went to media, imho.

Yet it wasn't just like screaming "fuck off" on top of the lungs like any Joe could do by revealing anger and impotent frustration ; it was an excellently delivered clue-call, delivering the top news "Word is out : you are so much the bitch of this administrations and it's so crystal clear evident it is no longer funny". Well deserved.

On a tangent: evidently nobody delivered Colbert a big big fat check to shut the fuck off, or the offer was laughable, or gasp he is really mad at the media.
posted by elpapacito at 12:12 PM on April 30, 2006

Taxonomy works by establishing cleavage points. I've decided that a good cleavage point for defining types of humor is that things can be funny because they relieve tension through comfortable lies or things can be funny because they create tension through uncomfortable truth.

Bush is a good clown, a damn good clown. I don't mean this as a back-handed insult but as an honest compliment. He is likable. He has good timing. He, at least superficially, puts people at ease. He is excellent at making serious problems seem less serious. Unfortunately he is our president and it is bad to choose a clown as president. Not enough people (Bush included) know that Bush is a great clown, this is a serious tragedy.

Colbert is a good satirist. He is smart and mean and honest. The more smart, honest, and mean he is the funnier he is. Here he is to funny for laughs. Colbert's success is that he engineered 20 uncomfortable very minutes. This more than laughter is a success, it is fine to laugh at a clown but it is awful to believe one. That flower will squirt water at you. That smile is painted on. Colbert made a room full of (self) important people see that they have been fooled and they resented it.
posted by I Foody at 12:13 PM on April 30, 2006

I'm a Green, liberal at heart. I was really glad that Colbert was up there, saying what he said. But I have to agree, that it made me uncomfortable for some reason, and I didn't laugh.

It's because the stuff that he pointed out wasn't funny.

The war isn't funny. Being lied to about the war isn't funny. Bush's handling of Katrina wasn't funny. The press secretary buffoonery and bald faced lies aren't funny.

I'm glad Colbert did it, and I like the guy. But I couldn't laugh at what he was saying, because it was too tragic and too true.
posted by rougy at 12:17 PM on April 30, 2006

Shouldn't a secret service man have jumped on the president at some point?

The big "FUCK OFF" went to media, imho.

I agree. The president was taking body blows but the audience was machine gunned into silence. You could see it happening. Chuckle.. chortle..oh fuck I am actually the butt of the joke.
posted by srboisvert at 12:32 PM on April 30, 2006

Colbert. Big. Giant. Towering. Satirical. Balls!
posted by dejah420 at 12:36 PM on April 30, 2006

Too bad they couldn't hold the dinner at Ford's Theatre; all that was missing was Colbert screaming "Sic semper tyrranus!" and jumping off the dais.

That was awesome and surreal. Wow. Wow. Wowowowow.

The clip at the end was pretty tedious, but after doing the verbal equivalent of going to every table and (rightfully)spitting in everyone's face, I suppose Colbert needed something to take the edge off.


And am I just a big pervert, or was Valerie Plame totally not wearing a bra?
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 12:39 PM on April 30, 2006

"Steve Colbert was utterly disgusting. Even the libs didn't laugh most of the time. He was rude, snarky and unpatriotic toward the President and First Lady."
posted by homunculus at 12:40 PM on April 30, 2006

Oops, that should be tyrannus.
And Joe Wilson's wife.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 12:41 PM on April 30, 2006

"Steve Colbert was utterly disgusting. Even the libs didn't laugh most of the time. He was rude, snarky and unpatriotic toward the President and First Lady."

heh. "Whoever invited him failed to realize that he is MOCKING conservatives and Fox News types (especially O'Reilly), not in a nice way either."
posted by mrgrimm at 12:45 PM on April 30, 2006

I just watched the first half of his speech. You know, right up to when he took the media to task, he was killing. Bush didn't seem too happy, but the audience sure sounded like they were enjoying themselves.
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:45 PM on April 30, 2006

It's because the stuff that he pointed out wasn't funny.

Which is exactly what made the piece brilliant. It was meant to be a biting, incitive, vitriolic rebuke of the press and the current administration, delivered skillfully like a trojan horse directly into the belly of the beast under the guise of comedy.

It's purpose was not meant to incite laughter, but rather to make it plain to the press and this administration what 70% of America has been trying to say. That they have a job to do and that we are sick of the dishonesty, the treachery and the immoral and manipulative abuses of their status for the sake of personal power and gain.

We laughed either because we felt so uncomfortable for those whom the remarks were directed at, or because we were so delighted that someone was finally saying what we've all wanted to say.
posted by fatbobsmith at 12:46 PM on April 30, 2006

Fatbobsmith -

I'm on your side here. I found myself feeling sorry for Bush, and I couldn't believe it. He has the blood of tens of thousands of people on his hands, and he should be locked up for the remainder of his life - but there I was feeling sorry for the beady-eyed prick.

I'm glad Colbert did it. And I'm glad people could laugh.

I couldn't.
posted by rougy at 12:52 PM on April 30, 2006

1) great, great stuff. 2) what Decani said
posted by mr.marx at 12:58 PM on April 30, 2006

It you really don't like someone (or think their policies are bad), you don't socialize with them.

That may be true in America, but not in a civilised democracy.
posted by Chuckles at 12:58 PM on April 30, 2006

How did I know that was from Canada?
posted by Astro Zombie at 1:06 PM on April 30, 2006

"The heart-warming story of a man who is repeatedly punched in the face."
posted by airguitar at 1:08 PM on April 30, 2006

in his parody "audition tape" for press sec. he drops his keys and then there's a close-up of the keychain which looks like it has a hand-written note on it. anybody else see that or curious as to what it says? it seems deliberate....
posted by punkbitch at 1:16 PM on April 30, 2006

unpatriotic toward the President and First Lady.

This sentiment, and the level of shock and admiration I'm seeing above is really telling. I would hate to live in a country who's leader is so revered / feared that this kind of satire is "courageous".

Bush should be glad he was never visited by Marg, Warrior Princess.
I so wish I could find a video of one of her "impromptu interviews" with PM Chretien for comparison.
posted by Popular Ethics at 1:18 PM on April 30, 2006

"Reality has a well known liberal bias."

"...stand on a bank of computers and order men into battle."

"Welcome to Washington, the chocolate city with a marshmallow center..."

He had some zingers.
posted by rougy at 1:20 PM on April 30, 2006

Because civilised didn't have a zed?
posted by furtive at 1:28 PM on April 30, 2006

it's as if one writer wrote the first story and every other writer performed minor rewrites on that story and published it.

In other news, the sky is blue.

NO SHIT.

When Moby-Dick was first published in the first half of the 19th century, the British publisher omitted the last chapter where Ishmael describes his rescue... consequently, many British reviewers complained "How's he telling this story? Everyone's dead!" A few months later, the book was published in America, last chapter included. The reviews came out shortly after, many of them saying "How's he telling this story? Everyone's dead!"
posted by dagnyscott at 1:33 PM on April 30, 2006

I'm glad Colbert did it, and I like the guy. But I couldn't laugh at what he was saying, because it was too tragic and too true.

IMO, this is the heart of it. The Press Corp holds a roast for the President?! Like they are supposed to be close, jovial friends?

Sorry, no. Having the media in bed with the government is not funny. It is absolutely horrifying.

Colbert took the roast and turned it into a funeral memorial.

Good on him.
posted by five fresh fish at 1:34 PM on April 30, 2006

Thank you metafilter, I wouldn't have caught this without you guys!
posted by Artw at 1:39 PM on April 30, 2006

The beginning of the clip, which I hadn't seen at first, has some of the best bits.

"Shoot me in the face!"
posted by ludwig_van at 1:53 PM on April 30, 2006

Colbert typically strikes me as overreaching and in the process as, gulp, unfunny. However, in this instance, this was less for laughter than it was as someone upthread called it, a trojan horse. A spectaular call-out, thinly veiled as roasting and comedic merrymaking. Brilliant, and Colbert has totally won my respect.
posted by moonbird at 1:57 PM on April 30, 2006

so is there a link to the bush skit yet or have i missed it ?
posted by sgt.serenity at 1:59 PM on April 30, 2006

Maybe it was the mood I was in last night, I don't know. But I read that everybody was rolling on the floor laughing at what Colbert said, and when I finally found the movie...I just flat out couldn't laugh. Then I saw a few other people who felt the same, and I...just had to let them know I felt that way, too.

Thing is, I agree with what most people are saying: how it was something that had to be said, how it wasn't supposed to be funny anyway, but rather a stab at the heart of the beast.

Bush supporters wouldn't laugh because they think Bush is a god or super hero, and that his motives are inviolable.

I didn't laugh because Bush is the face of modern day evil, and he's not out of office...yet.

People are dead because of that man. A lot of people.
posted by rougy at 2:00 PM on April 30, 2006

So American's have been too lazy to read the fucking book since pretty much day one, huh? Niiice.
posted by graventy at 2:02 PM on April 30, 2006

From homunculus' link: I cannot believe our president was forced to endure this disgusting insult. I am beyond ashamed.

Beats waterboarding.
posted by brundlefly at 2:03 PM on April 30, 2006

Oh, that's just a collegiate prank. Being snotty to the president-- that's a real offense!
posted by Astro Zombie at 2:05 PM on April 30, 2006