Alright- I confess. I did not watch any news for a few days, and have been wrapped up with end of the semester stuff. Wht happened with Stephen Colbert- someone throw the links in the commens so I can find out what happened.
*** Update ***
Alright- I watched it. My only complaint would be that Colbert wasn’t as funny as he could be- I normally think he is funnier. I don’t know why some people are describing the audience as stone-faced, though. From what I saw people were laughing. I also can recognize how some people think it was in appropriate for Colbert to do what he did- it is supposed to be a light-hearted event. Were I Colbert and asked to do the roast, and knew I would not be able to play along with the way it has been done in the past, I would have turned down the invite. That is just a question of tact, and I wouldn’t want to try to humiliate anyone. Except maybe Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson.
I don’t think the claims that the MSM are avoiding this make any sense- this event usually is good for about a day’s worth of filler clips every year, and that is about it. I remember some brouhaha with Don Imus several years back, and that was ‘scandalous’ for about 48 hours, tops.
As with everything in the blogosphere, it seems, this is much ado about little to nothing, and probably says more about the people commenting about the event than the event itself.
nongeophysical Dennis
Well, what you’ve gheard is quite likely true, I just watched it myself.
I enjoyed the stonefaced of the audience most of all.
nongeophysical Dennis
Err, that should be stanefaced silence. Too much caffeine, I suppose.
Krista
Salon has pretty good coverage of it. Basically, Colbert refused to throw softballs, and was skewering Bush, while the man in question was not three feet away from him. The MSM is completely ignoring it, and have only been giving coverage to some sort of lame-ass Bush impersonator who was also there.
salvage
It make Bush ANGRY!
salvage
Oppps link lost
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/060501/1whwatch.htm
Krista
While I saw some stonefaced silence (primarily from Bush and the missus), I also saw a lot of people laughing with their hand over their mouths, in that “Oh my god, I can’t believe he just said that” fashion.
VidaLoca
John,
Or you might try here.
slickdpdx
He was on fire. People in the audience may have been unfamiliar with his role as a “straight man” or made uncomfortable by the precision comedy strikes. Funny stuff.
Not sure what MSM coverage is lacking. If only they had the guts to be critical of this administration I’m sure this comedy routine would have been on all the front pages!
nongeophysical Dennis
Krista,
Yeah, there was some of that. The Wilsons defintiely let out with honest-to-goodness belly laughs. But it seems that the correpondents didn’t enjoy the cracks about their being typists. While they were a secondary target, I still think they are well worth going after!
Halffasthero
Stephen Colbert delivered a collosal ass-kicking to the Pres and the press. Honestly, it was painful to watch him hit that hard. He actually crushed the press a lot harder than the president.
The routine he gave was not funny. It was too true to be funny.
The Other Steve
Some links via slashdot
torrent download
youtube Part 1
youtube Part 2
youtub Part 3
Mr Furious
Plenty of video feed available. these on YouTube are the ones I watched last night. Broken into three segments, and pretty good sized screen.
The video at Crooks and Liars (unless they changed it) was tiny and missed some of the early (strong) material.
Part One
Part Two
Part Three (pretty much just his audition tape for WH spokesman.)
The whole thing is about 20-25 minutes long.
Andrew
Scalia seem to like it, actually.
The Other Steve
The best take I’ve read on Colbert was A Comedian’s Perspective on Stephen Colbert over at dKos.
Further, a very great point this guy makes…
The Other Steve
Colbert claimed that Bush is going to be on his show. I’ve heard reports that might be tonight.
No idea if this is correct or not. Maybe it’s the impersonator Bush.
Pooh
Indeed. The two takes on this I’ve seen are
A) good on him for being able to take a joke
B) easy to take a joke when you have a lifetime appointment
I myself side towards A, as I somehow don’t see Clarence Thomas or RB Ginsburg belly laughing at jokes at their expense.
Paul Wartenberg
The debate, if there is one, is whether or not what Colbert did was geniunely funny, or if it even needed to be.
The ‘official’ position is that Colbert crossed a line and wasn’t as funny as he should have been. But most of the ones who applauded his performance aren’t focusing on if it was funny, they are focusing on the fact that he did it, right there, right in front of Bush. A 20 minute shredding of Bush’s policies and performance, forcing Bush to publicly listen to criticisms of his administration.
Andrew Sullivan has a link on how the responses applaud Colbert’s in-your-face criticisms of Bush.
The reason the MSM (except for C-SPAN) isn’t making big hay out of it is due to the Administration’s obvious ‘We are not amused’ reaction to being openly told off like that. Salon’s War Room (or Daou Report) has noted former Bush aides recognizing signs of anger on Dubya’s face. Even with Bush at a wounded-animal 33 percent approval rating, the media boys aren’t about to bite the hand that grants coveted interviews…
Ancient Purple
Here’s the rundown:
Some Bush impersonator gets up and does his routine with Bush by his side playing off him.
Colbert gets up and rips Bush, Cheney and everyone else to shreds with his biting satire. People want to laugh, but notice that Bush is doing a slow burn. Best line of the night:
Bush and Laura exit quickly after the routine. dKos goes wild with praise. Righty blogs, by and large, condemn Colbert, with one commenter on Lucianne Goldberg’s site calling Colbert “unpatriotic.”
Tweety says Colbert bombed because he forgot that “Bush isn’t just a politican, but is also the Head of State.”
Media largely ignores reporting on Colbert because he ripped them to shreds as well (see quote above).
John Stewart defends Colbert.
Etc.
Krista
No, but why do I have a strange feeling that Mr. Colbert is going to get audited this year?
LITBMueller
I thought it was hysterical because I dig Colbert’s O’Reilly-on-steroids approach.
I also liked the video presentation – especially the bit with his car keys.
The Other Steve
Actually that comedian’s post I linked to(with the wrong link had the best insight on that as well.
To paraphrase McNealy… The network was the audience.
So the Wingnut take on it that the MSM wasn’t laughing is because the jokes were about them, not for them.
Dilbert
I think a commenter at the General’s site said it best:
“Mr. Colbert just wasn’t that funny, if you happened to be in the audience. Watching it on TV from afar gives a different perspective; it’s all due to lighting and trick photography.
On TV it looked like Colbert satirically gob-smacked the audience by bluntly illuminating their weakness and vacuousness: he told the truth. To their faces. Telling the truth served two purposes; it let the audience know that outside their chummy cliques there are people who do not agree with their kind self-assessments, and it demonstrated the behavior that the audience is unable to muster. It was a riot.
Now, if you were in the audience, it looked nothing like that. From that perspective it looked like there was a guy up on stage saying, “Let me show you what courage is you worthless bunch of smug, self-satisfied sycophants. And this goes doubly for you, you stupid lying sack of shit.” It wasn’t that funny, if you were there.”
Here’s a transcript of the complete routine:
http://dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/4/30/1441/59811
Zifnab
It was comedy gold.
Probably the best episode of the Colbert Report I’ve seen since “Truthiness”.
Krista
I bet Jon Stewart was just giggling his arse off while watching that.
DougJ
The Colbert routine was great. Here’s something interesting: the “centrist” press is trying to say things like “those on the left loved it, while those on the right hated it.” That’s completely untrue. I checked out the reaction over at Free Republic and was surprised by how many people saw it for what it was — an attack on the toxic culture of inside-the-beltway mutual backscratching. A lot of people said things like “I’m a conservative, but I loved it.” The true nutjobs — JeffG, Confederate Yankee, etc. — hated it, of course, but they represent the 5% of the population that would support the president if he ate a baby.
Tim F.
Both Stewart and Colbert’s routines are pointed at the media more so than at politicians, although the latter get plenty as well. It helps to explain Colbert’s cold reception that the former don’t take criticism well.
DougJ
I don’t think the claims that the MSM are avoiding this make any sense
You’re wrong. I’m a bit disappointed in your reaction, honestly. I may have to leave here and move over to Surber’s. Don may be the last honest conservative on the web. You think I’m kidding, but I’m not.
Pb
The Other Steve,
I figured that was a joke–and a funny one at that. I hear Frank Rich might have gotten bumped…
DougJ
Did you know that Goldstein actually goes on a radio show called “Hoist the black flag”. I thought he was kidding, but it seems to be a real show. Are we all sure he’s on the up and up? That sounds an awful lot like something I might do.
John Cole
Umm. I haven’t watched the news but in passing for the past five days, and I heard about it several times. Claiming they are avoiding the issue is absurd.
And really, the whole media bias bit is tedious and tiresome when the right wing is doing it. When the left is doing it, it seems even more worn out.
Have fun at Don’s!
And I did not say it was not funny. It was. I said, and I quote:
While you are perusing other ‘honest conservative’ websites, maybe you should brush up on your reading comprehension. Or maybe not- there is nothing reading skills can do to help people who intentionally misread things to start arguments.
Marcus Wellby
I think the best thing about Colbert was his forcing the Bush Cultists out of the woodwork with their “don’t mock our Commander in Chief” bullshit. Its funny to watch these yahoos and morons piss and moan because their manly God-child was mocked — openly. Wah!
neil
I certainly agree that it could have been funnier. Colbert’s delivery was definitely off — it could have been that he was being bombarded with bad vibes, or maybe it’s a lot harder to mock the President when he’s sitting two seats to your right. The worst part was his timing, the long pauses he took.
I dunno about the audience being stone-faced.. when I watched it, the reaction seemed to be that Colbert was talking about things that should not be talked about. (Maybe this was just the expressions on the faces of the tables that CSPAN cut to for reaction shots.) A few instances of shocked laughter that accompany a taboo being broken, but more instances of wishing he wouldn’t address the topics he was addressing, I think.
Barbar
“I have nothing but contempt for these people.” Classic.
Cyrus
I don’t have a link handy, but I’ve seen comments to the effect that the MSM wasn’t laughing because Colbert was SO unfunny that even his natural audience for this (because the White House press correspondents are SUCH a liberal, anti-American bunch, dontchaknow) didn’t get the jokes.
The Other Steve
Generally I agree. But in this case the MSM does seem to be running away rather hard.
As I saw it, Colbert was smacking down the media not the President.
ppGaz
Colbert’s material was comic gold.
Remember who the audience is … people who laughed loudly at Bush joking about not being able to find WMDs.
Laughed loudly at jokes about WMDs.
Did I mention? Laughed loudly at jokes about WMDs.
That’s right, the president joked about not finding WMDs
No, not the president of the International Assholes Association. The President of the United States.
nongeophysical Dennis
Alrigt John, you can name names I said stonefaced–not some people, just me! ;)
Perhaps I was inartful with my descriptions. They weren’t stonefaced, but it was definitely something like “nervous-laughter-pretending-somebody-didn’t-just-call-attention-to-the-huge-steaming-turd-in-the-middle-of-the-living-room-floor” kind of laughter. It certainly wasn’t the comfortable laughter of people happily watching a comedian telling dick jokes or making observations about relationships.
The Other Steve’s second (correct) link to dKos sums it up marvelously.
Jim Allen
I think it’s indicative of something bigger. Can you imagine Colbert (or anyone) doing something like this a year ago?
When Imus did his routine about Clinton, it said something along the lines of, “We’re disgusted by your behavior and we’re going to let you know it.” Imus’s routine was in poor taste, yes, but it was in reaction to something that was (at least) in poor taste. Same kind of thing here — enough is fast becoming enough, and Colbert was the first highly visible instance (unless you count Coretta King’s funeral) of someone standing up and saying so.
And, as has been pointed out previously, it isn’t just a slam at Bush, but also against the press and other media who have sat back and allowed it to happen. Maybe I’m being overly optimistic, but I hope this will be enough of an embarassment to the media that they’ll remember what their job is supposed to be.
nongeophysical Dennis
Why must I type so poorly today? I’m going to blame it on too much activity this weekend and having tense muscles.
There is however the possibility that I just suck as a typist….
Jim Allen
That would explain “stanefaced” then — I thought they may have had spaghetti sauce on their faces!
DougJ
You’re missing the point, John. It’s not about “media bias”, it’s about the media inability to laugh at itself. I think I spelled that our pretty clearly. And you criticize my reading comprehension.
Frankly, Don Surber would have understood what I said. He doesn’t have anything about Colbert up. I may email him to see what he thinks.
DougJ
Even if I spelled “out” as “our”.
nongeophysical Dennis
Ouch. I must admit I was expecting a snark attack from a more juvenile angle. Touche’ sir. For the record, I was kayaking all weekend and my forearms are crazy-tense and sore right now. I didn’t think it was possible, but typing actually hurts.
The Other Steve
LOL! I’m laughing at this commercial Open Sores media is running to the right, claiming the Democrats are Bandits.
BWAAAHAHAHAA!!!!!
r4d20
1) No he was not as funny as normal. It was body language and tone more than material – at least I find it funnier on paper.
2) Yes I am applauding for his “balls” but also for, I think, his “intelligence”. I dont think it was an accident – he knows his core audience and he knows that DC ‘power players’ dont pay his bills. Young, political, idealistic people pay his bills and THEY are a crowd who will (and has) respond to EXACTLY this kind of in-your-face gesture of defiance.
3) Intentional or no, I hope this helps convince Dems that they should worry about offensce and not defence.
r4d20
“That would explain “stanefaced” then—I thought they may have had spaghetti sauce on their faces!”
I thought it was a allusion to the stain of shame that SHOULD be visible on their faces.
Pooh
COLBERT = COMMIE! Too bad Ben D is no longer with the WaPo to tell us why.
Steve
Anyone who recalls Tucker Carlson’s bunched-panties reaction to Jon Stewart’s Crossfire appearance will be utterly unsurprised at how the media reacted to this latest episode.
The media feels entitled to take pot shots at anyone and everyone, even on a subject as vapid as the color of Al Gore’s suits, but they react with outrage at the audacity of anyone who dares to criticize them back.
Jim Allen
Ive had too mnayistances of myown suky typing to be to snarky!
Jon H
” That is just a question of tact, and I wouldn’t want to try to humiliate anyone. ”
But there has to be a line somewhere, some point where you’re excused from playing nice.
I’d say a President who believes himself above the law, who craps on the Constitution, who tortures people and imprisons them without trial, has lost the privilege of being treated with kid gloves. He holds the American system of government, and the American people, in deep contempt, and should expect no different.
But I can certainly imagine the White House Press Corps and Washington society having exactly the same reaction if the President in question were, say, Hitler.
tBone
The audience was stone-faced, relatively speaking. The Bush w/impersonator routine before Colbert got a much better response. No accounting for taste, I guess.
One thing I haven’t seen anyone comment on – during the Bush bit, the impersonator made a joke about Cheney’s hunting accident, and had a line in there about Cheney being “drunk as a skunk.” I was amazed that they would openly joke about that, especially after all the right-wing frothing about “irresponsible speculation” from the left.
Then again, they did that WMD routine a couple of years ago, so maybe it’s not so surprising after all.
Paul Wartenberg
Compare the MSM’s touting of Dubya’s bringing up a lookalike to goof alongside himself and the cricket-in-the-seat silence that followed Colbert. The only cable/airwave channels that made any big deal about Colbert were C-SPAN and the Daily Show.
tBone
I had no idea DougJ was from Horatia.
Doug
Re: the media running from the story. The day after Colbert’s routine, I did a Google News search and, by and large, the news stories it turned up were focused on the Bush and his clone bit with only a brief mention along the lines of “and Stephen Colbert was there too.”
Funny or not, I don’t think I’m going too far out on a limb by stating that of the two comedy bits, Colbert’s was by far the most news worthy. And yet the mildly amusing Bush & his twin bit got the most ink. After the left wing blogosphere erupted in a tizzy, Colbert got a bit more ink. But, it was mostly a “story on the story” coverage rather than coverage of what Colbert said directly.
The Other Steve
During a campaign event in New Hampshire, the MSM made fun of Wesley Clark’s sweater.
The Clark campaign responded by putting the sweater up for a charity auction. I recall he even joked about it on Bill Maher’s show.
Jon H
tBone writes: “The audience was stone-faced, relatively speaking”
Probably because they know full well that Rove would go over the tapes and identify any journalist who laughed, and shut down their access.
KC
Kevin Drum said about the same thing as you, John. I have to say, I tend to agree with both of you.
Eural
After days of reading about it I finally watched the clips myself. I got the distinct impression that Colbert knew what he was doing – his timing didn’t seem “off” it seemed very pre-meditated. He knew he wasn’t doing a knee-slapping joke routine. He was methodically skewering 6 years of lying, incompetence and corruption with angry satire thinly disguised as a joke routine. He delivered more truth in 20 minutes than we’ve had in 6 years – and it was all at the expense of the dinner audience. Colbert knows his audience and it wasn’t the people in that room.
Pb
Steve,
And indeed, Tucker Carlson reacted the same way this time as well. He was pretty gleeful about how he thought that Colbert wasn’t funny, actually. Then again, you’re right, he did say the same thing about Jon Stewart–unfortunately for him, Jon Stewart was there to respond that time, and soon afterwards poor Tucker’s show was cancelled:
And yes, apparently The Decider was not amused either, not that he’d tell anyone personally or anything:
Some people just can’t take a joke… :)
Jim Allen
Hmm. Tucker Carlson finds a star of Comedy Central unfunny and he’s canceled. Dubya finds a star of Comedy Central unfunny. Dare one hope…..
Steve
Excellent, Pb. The part I remember most vividly is this:
Carlson, as a professional pundit, sits there every day and offers his opinions to the world; who is doing the right thing, who is doing the wrong thing, who is a good person and who is a bad person. But when someone dares to criticize HIM – oh, no, can’t have that! Criticism is for OTHER people!
gratefulcub
Who got fired for booking Colbert?
The ‘disconnected from the rest of us’ meme isn’t getting enough attention.
They all seem to be grasping at straws trying to understand Americans these days.
-$100 gas rebate (The GOP got together and decided that was a good idea, a real November winner)
-Colbert (They knew he was popular, and the kids love him. Let’s book him!! Did they not even watch an episode? For christ’s sake, it is on 4 nights a week)
-The media seems to be as lost as the pols. They live in the same bubble.
They are all starting to look like idiots
Pb
gratefulcub,
starting? :)
Mac Buckets
I watch Colbert as often as I can. I’ve thought for several years that he’s one of the funniest guys on the planet… but he wasn’t very good that night.
He looked nervous from the get-go, and started by thoroughly botching his first joke (to the point that he had to start over — ouch), and any comic will tell you, that’s usually death… and it was. From there, he looked rushed and a bit panicky. The jokes were good, but the delivery was why no one was laughing.
Well, that, and the fact that I’m sure 80% of the audience had not a single clue as to who this guy was. Someone should’ve told them that he was Ace from the Ambiguously Gay Duo!
Forge
Stephen Colbert: great comedian, or the greatest comedian?
John S.
Well compared to your deadpan delivery and comedic stylings, Colbert was definitely a bit off the mark that evening.
Oh wait, your comments here aren’t satire?
Nevermind.
Nikki
Lame response, MacBuckets
gratefulcub
Exactly. He looked like a guy with a cable fake news show, taking on the most powerful, and vindictive, man on earth. I am sure he was scared shitless. Who wouldn’t be nervous knowing what he was about to do?
Of course we loved it, and want everyone to see it. It was the first time someone has had to opportunity and balls to take him on, while in the room with him. It was everything that I want to say to him, and someone finally said it. I now adore him, and not for being funny.
Love him or hate him, he challenged the president of the united states. As Bill Rafferty would say, “He’s got ONIONS!”
Of course the right hates it. He challenged the president. Their president. To his face. It was humiliating.
There is a legitimate debate to be had about the appropriateness of the routine. The night is supposed to be lighthearted, and Colbert took the stage and made a partisan political statement. He absolutely hijacked the evening. I don’t know if he had the right or not.
But, as to the question of whether it was funny or not: who cares, it wasn’t the point. He wasn’t trying to be funny, he was making a political statement. The delivery was not important, the jokes weren’t even important. The importance was that he challenged the president to his face, in a room that didn’t appreciate it (except for Helen Thomas).
Pb
Oh, and Froomkin has a huge blog round-up on this; his column yesterday covered it as well.
Kazinski
The reason Bush’s routine got more attention in the press is because once a year the President gets up and tries to do some sort of standup routine. Usually it isn’t very memorable, this year Bush (OK, his aides) come up with something that hadn’t been done before, no matter how funny or not funny it was. It was at least unusual.
On the other hand Colbert does his routine almost every night, and while it was somewhat out of the ordinary that Bush was there in the same room with Colbert, it still was basically same old Colbert.
And that is why it wasn’t front page headlines as some commentators think it should have been.
canuckistani
Best summary yet.
I’ve got to say that given the force of the smackdown he laid on the audience that night, I would have expected to see more than “Stephen Colbert also performed” in the news. And when the vacant woman on CNN (whose name I do not know, nor feel it necessary to know) announced that she thought the double Bush act “stole the show”, I knew the fix was in. Whether you thought Colbert yanked Bush’s nards off, or crashed with the force of a train wreck, he WAS the story that night.
DougJ
Of course the right hates it. He challenged the president.
Actually, the right doesn’t hate it that much. Check out the reaction at Free Republic. Pretty mixed. There’s lots on the right who understand this was aimed at the whole culture of Washington as much as at the president. Let’s not judge the right by its most unhinged members (Jeff Goldstein et al.).
Mac Buckets
I would guess the idiot who booked Colbert was Mark Smith of the Associated Press who says in his intro for Colbert that “I was feeling pretty pleased the day after signing Steven for this dinner…” And fired for it? He’s probably sore from all the back-slaps down at the AP!
Pb
Also, Stephen Colbert is apparently a huge dork on the inside, what with all the Fantasy novels and role-playing back in the day–which is cool, I can relate… :)
Ryan S
Hey!! I take ofense to that. I know where I am. ;)
Ryan S
But not enough to give you two f’s.
Mac Buckets
Oh, please. “The most vindictive man on earth?” Loosen the tinfoil, cub.
Then he made a lot of accidental jokes!
…and every other White House correspondent…and the other members of the media…and their guests…Joe Wilson…and…
But hey, I’m glad the lefties finally have a hero in show business!
Anderson
The day after the story is already old news, Cole checks in from hibernation to explain that there’s nothing to see here, not that funny anyway, move along.
That in itself is pretty funny.
danelectro
every time i read this, i start laughing again.
Zifnab
For a massive balls-to-the-wall bash on modern Washington, I think it was amazing. Although, I will admit Colbert looked like he knew he was dying up there. He picked up on the fact that he wasn’t with his audiance back home in NY really quick, but I’m impressed that he didn’t slow down and he got a few big laughs – particularly the one bit:
And getting Helen Thomas to do the video, that was just awesome.
Ryan S
OOooo. I know I want a Decider action figure. A GWB in green tights, with a big D on his chest and a red cape, and when you squeze his head he says, “I make the Decisions!”. I bet you could sell a million of em, and I bet that everyone would buy one righties and lefties. The big question IS. Is he a superhero or a villain.
Pb
Ryan S,
Did you see the latest ‘The Decider‘ cartoon in The Daily Show? It’s short, but almost as fun as ‘Divertor’ from SNL.
Also note the part where President Bush essentially said two-thirds of one of Stephen Colbert’s jokes about the media, and Jon Stewart essentially finishes with the last third… reality’s liberal bias setting in again.
ppGaz
Yeah, some folks can tell if something is funny even without a laugh track, Mac. I saw it, and his material was gold. The audience was not up to the challenge.
Remember, these are people who laughed when the president made jokes about WMDs. Laughed, out loud. Guffawed.
“Can’t find the WMDs.” Thought that was funny.
Andrei
Colbert’s performance on Saturday was classic, brutal, in your face comedy in the tradition of Andy Kaufman. He basically went on in character and commited to the part regardless of audience reaction. (I know me and my co-workers were laughing our asses in the office watching the clip.) That’s one sign of comic genius. The other is how smart his material is when he’s basically just regurgitating what others say, but does so to the extreme to amplify the absurdity of the media and the hard right.
It will go down as one of the best, and balliest, feats of comedy in the history of the profession.
Brian
It strikes me as odd how the left embraces celebrities and comedians as the carriers of their message. It’s their intelligencia.
scarshapedstar
It strikes me as odd how the left embraces celebrities and comedians as the carriers of their message. It’s their intelligencia.
Uh… who would you embrace? University professors? I can count the number of liberal public figures who aren’t comedians and/or celebrities on one hand.
Considering that the right embraces Jerry fucking Falwell, I don’t think we made such a bad choice.
Andrei
Easily the asshat comment of the month. Winner takes all, Brian. No need for anyone else to try to compete.
Perry Como
Us on the right prefer to have intellectuals like Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh to be our standard bearers. The way Coulter can dissect an argument and tell the truth the about how all Liberals are traitors is the essence of all that is good about civil discourse. How Limbaugh weaves words of wisdom between his insanely funny cracks about Hitlery and his unwavering support of Bushism is the pinnacle of thought provoking commentary.
You liberals just wish you had people like that on your side. Just like you wish you could win elections.
Joe Wilson is a liar.
ppGaz
Brian is a spoof. We’ve established that already.
scarshapedstar
Oh, not to mention that yes, if you’re going to pick a spokesman, they ought to be well-known charismatic.
Also, I’m not exactly sure what your definition of “embrace” is, because we don’t snub, for example, Amnesty volunteers. But – and this may come as a shock to right-wingers, who, despite their fantasies of being locked in the gimp box by the liberal media, can always turn on TV and see somebody espousing their viewpoints – often times comedians are the only people who actually say what we think.
I know, I know what you’re thinking, “how can this be? Why, any liberal can look at Hilary Clinton trying to ban Grand Theft Auto… okay, bad example. I mean Ted Kennedy saying the National Anthem shouldn’t be sung in Spanish… dammit. Okay, what I’m saying is, we can turn on CNN and listen to a liberal like Wolf Blitzer — Lou Dobbs — Nancy Grace — fuck. Liberal media, liberal media, liberal media!”
Ultimately, though, it comes down to respecting ideas more than individuals. I know, in the age of the Bush Personality Cult, this is nearly treason. It also has an element of not really seeing anything wrong with satire. I’m sure you were terribly confused by “A Modest Proposal”. I’m sure a lot of stupid people were confused at the time it was written. You’re not the intended audience.
Brian
Moby, Tim Robbins, Bruce Springsteen, George Clooney, Susan Sarandon, Michael Moore, Julia Roberts, Alec Baldwin, Gwynneth Paltrow, Woody Harrelson, Sean Penn, Mike Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Jon Stewart, Barbra Streisand, Madonna, Robert Altman, Ed Asner, Margaret Cho, Al Franken, Janeane Garofalo, Martin Sheen, Eddie Vedder.
Ladies and gentlemen…..your Intelligentsia!!!
(And these are just off the top of my head. Are these not your high-profile representatives?)
Pb
Unlike some people on the Right, I don’t need a representative to tell me what I think–but if I did, that representative certainly wouldn’t be Brian.
jaime
No.
Brian
They’re the only ones you get all wet over, hence the excitement over Colbert.
So, your answer should be “Yes”.
The Other Steve
You can tell what someone fears by how they attack you. Have you noticed that wingnuts frequently attack liberals based on some love of hollywood?
Yet, the Republicans prop up people like Schwarzenegger, Reagan and so forth as politicians. Hell even Sonny Bono, or Clint Eastwood.
When was the last time you saw a liberal hollywood movie star as a politician? I can’t think of any, other than in movies.
Inside this argument is the pent up insecurity people like brian feel. They want their ideas to be confirmed and validated by the super stars. When that doesn’t happen, when instead a star like Harrison Ford questions their sanity, they lash out at them instead.
I wish I was a psychologist. Brian would make a wonderful case study.
tBone
Michael Savage, Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Michelle Malkin, Bill O’Reilly, Bernard Goldberg, Bill Bennet, James Dobson . . .
More assholes per square inch than a hot dog factory.
Brian
More accurately, you don’t think. You follow blowhard actors and comedians who spoon-feed you piffle.
SeesThroughIt
Good one, Perry Como.
tBone
My question is, how did you get them off of there when you’re wearing that asshat so tightly?
Brian
If they could get elected……..
Well, why bother. They can’t. Heck, Democrats in general can’t get elected, except in TV shows like West Wing or Commander in Chief. Better to have a fantasy pres than none at all.
TOS, if you’re so secure, then you must be content with the message from your political comrades out there. You know, the message nobody wants to hear outside the echo chamber?
jaime
I like Thunder Road, and the Daily Show. I don’t vote for someone because they tell me to. So the answer is no.
Steve
Maybe I’m the only one who remembers all the right-wing bloggers creaming themselves when manly Curt Schilling campaigned for Bush in 2004.
jaime
Your hubris is showing.
Nikki
Gosh Brian, you sound jealous. What, Arnold Schwartznegger, Bruce Willis, Morgan Brittany, Bo Derek, Dennis Miller, Ron Silver, Britney Spears don’t do it for you? Too B-List?
demimondian
Actually, Brian, I wouldn’t use the string “intelligencia”…at the least, for instance, I’d spell the word “intelligensia” correctly.
Don’t try to run with the big boys if you can spell the big words.
Steve
Brian is so cute when he decides he’s going to be the awesome internet troll and get all the liberals riled up. Truly precious.
Pb
Brian,
I’m going to be a bit more polite than is strictly warranted here:
Shut the fuck up, you incredible arrogant idiot of a spoof.
That is all.
Perry Como
You forgot the part about Joe Wilson being a liar.
ppGaz
Spoofapalooza.
jg
Republicnas in general can’t govern.
Brian
Is that the only word you guys know? Spoof? Talk about limited vocabulary. And must you be so crude?
Actually, it’s spelled “intelligentsia”, you retard. I spelled it correctly in my comment at 5:47pm. I’ve been so influenced by the illegal aliens here in Los Angeles, that I tend to shape my words like those on Mexican retaurants.
ppGaz
…Don Surber, Tall Dave, Mac Buckets, Stormy, Darrell, GOP4Me ….
….Homer, Jethro …. Laurel, Hardy ….. Elmer Fudd ….
….DeLay, Cunnigham …..
jaime
People must spit in your food all the time.
Brian
Why do you have to get so personal?
tBone
Actually the word is restaurant, you retard.
Congrats, though – this thread marks a new high in your career as a passive-aggressive trolling bullshit artist.
ppGaz
BIRDZILLA FAN CLUB.
MXH
Colbert’s routine actually reminded me of the Pam Anderson celebrity roast with Courtney Love in attendance. One of the regulars said something along the lines of “Who would have guessed 10 years down the road that Curt Cobain would end up better looking than Courtney Love?”
It’s funny because you can’t believe they’re actually saying that to the person’s face.
Brian
I’m one of the few serious commenters here. Ever. You always descend to comments like this because I take the wind out of your nonsense.
And I’m always suspicious of people who write like you do, yet never use their name, even their first name. Hence pseudonyms like ppGaz or tBone. It’s because you’re sissies who cannot stand in front of your own words. It allows you to say things you would never say to someone’s face. It’s because you are a chicken shit coward who would get his nose broken if he used such comments in person. It’s because you’re a loser.
MXH
oops . . . should be Kurt Cobain.
jaime
I am glad you are using your aggression and bravery in Iraq. It’s brave men like you who defend my right to say things like “go fuck yourself”.
ppGaz
Heh. Well, there’s spoofing, and then there’s farce.
Oh, I have a real name. John Cole has it, as do several posters here. My email address is easily available to you.
How about you?
Eural
Ok – Brian here’s my problem with the whole tenor of the thread recently. It really annoys me when conservatives lump all liberals into a tidy little box and begin making grand proclaimations about what they believe and who they follow. It really annoys me when liberals do it as well.
I “follow” Tim Robbins like I follow anyone – I listen to what they have to say, measure it against my understanding and make my own decisions. Sometimes I agree, sometimes I disagree. I agreed with Cindy Sheehan at first. Now, I disagree with Cinday Sheehan based on a change in my understanding and her behavior and actions.
My point is this – when you post an idea or point I like to think about it regardless of where you’re coming from because it challanges my thinking and helps me to grow and mature in my understanding of things. I don’t automatically think “oh, Brian, dumbass ditto-head, kool-aid swilling right-wing Nazi”. I’d appreciate the same. You might find your conversations get a little farther that way.
Of course you might just be one of those who enjoys a message board free for all of insults in which case have at it.
ppGaz
BTW, Brian, as people who have my email and real name know,
ppGaz is a combination of my initials and the abbreviation of the state where I live. And anyone with two functioning brain cells (so, you might need a friend to help you with this) can look at my url and divine my email address.
So, who did you say you were, again?
ppGaz
Brian? Did we lose Brian?
ppGaz
Brian?
ppGaz
I think Brian went shopping for a new moniker.
Pooh
A martini drinking lapdog?
Eureka, Brian is Stephen Green!
Zifnab
hehe. God’s gift to the blogsphere.
tBone
Yeah, using your first name is a true act of bravery. Why, there can’t be more than 3 or 4 million Brians on teh Intertrons.
Jesus. Internet tough guy talk is all you have left? Quick, get a ruler and open a Flickr account and we can settle this once and for all.
If you don’t want to be called a passive-aggresive trolling bullshit artist, don’t act like one. Pretty simple. Like I said yesterday, you can be an OK guy when you feel like it, so why do you keep pulling this shit?
Ancient Purple
Right. Because “Brian” is so unique that we all know who “Brian” is. Why, he’s the “Cher” or “Twiggy” of Balloon Juice.
As for your crying about people being cowards, feel free to post your name, address and phone number the next time you respond.
Andrew
Don’t hate on Surber, ppG. Have you seen that glamour shot he’s got on his blog? What a good looking man!
demimondian
Nah…with his toilet humor, Brian is Dog’s gift to the bogosphere. That’s why he’s so full of sh?t.
— demi “not my real name” mondian
ppGaz
Anybody brave enough to put his face on the Internet is okay with me.
Perry Como
My Internet pic.
ppGaz
Cleanup on aisle three. I spit my coffee here.
Sirkowski
How come it was appropriate for Laura Bush to joke about her husband jerking off a horse last year?
Perry Como
Are you sure it was a joke?
ppGaz
W-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-oo-o-o-o-h.
This is scary ……
Sine.Qua.Non
I stole a bunch of the wonderful links many of you provided! Thanks!
By the way, irony can be subtle and many people just do not get irony. I use it all the time at work to see if anyone picks up on it and it is amazing the blank looks you get.
ppGaz
This just in: Bush lied, people died
ppGaz
Here’s something to really laugh about
Some folks don’t want to use a vaccine that could save lives because it might send the wrong message.
If you ever find yourself doubting just how evil these Bushes and their people really are, just refer back to this story.
They are willing to kill Americans in order to send the “right” message.
Remember that the next time you hear these scum talking about something “sending a message.” Even if people have to die, nothing will stop them.
ppGaz
Are you laughing yet?
A bunch of people who lied about Iraq in order to start a war, and who want to keep American women from getting a vaccine that could save lives because it might send the wrong message ….
… are sitting around talking about whether a comedian overstepped his bounds by chiding them in public.
We are living in interesting times, my friends.
Ancient Purple
Are you surprised, ppG?
This is the same administration and party that want us to drill in ANWR in order to help break our addiction to oil.
/boggle
ppGaz
Nothing surprises me about these people any more, Purple.
Seriously. I think they are monsters.
stickler
Oh, come on, Mr. PpGaz.
The House of Bush is not a bunch of monsters. It’s not like they helped fund the Nazi rise to power or anything.
So stop it with the hyperbole.
(And you sold the Mustang? Ugh. It is to weep.) (Hey, you suggested that we click on your name…)
ppGaz
Nope. I’m serious. These people are worse than dirt. They care about nothing but their own power and their own agenda.
Stop it with the girlish twittering. We’re at war with bad people who have taken over our country. They made the mistake of declaring war on their own fellow citizens who don’t agree with them.
We are talking about a president who made jokes about WMDs.
We are talking about a president who lied about Iraq’s nuclear program.
We are talking about people who would hold back a life saving vaccine in order to advance an ideological agenda.
You call them whatever you like. I call them scum, and monsters.
The Other Steve
Honestly, I’m secure enough to know I don’t really care. As long as they vote with me, that’s all that matters.
So essentially the argument you are making here is you agree with 100% of what Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter and Adolf Hitler have said. Right? That’s your argument, because you’re trying to pin that on me and I think it’s fucking bullshit. But clearly you wouldn’t want me to accuse you of hypocrisy. Right?
It’s dissappointing you can’t have a serious discussion.
ppGaz
No biggie. I don’t usually keep a car very long. Right now I am going with the 30-40 mpg machine until I see what is going to happen next. I am predicting that my next vehicle purchase will be a dual-fuel model. Or, a diesel.
The Other Steve
It’s interesting that is frequently the rightwing’s complaint about Clinton. When you get right down to it, it’s much more true of the Bushies.
ppGaz
When the country is in danger of being taken over by the Clintons, then I’ll worry about that.
stickler
Back to the national nightmare of a booming stock market, $1/gallon gas, peace abroad, and blowjobs in the Oval Office?
I for one would like to welcome our new Clintonian overlords.
ppGaz
Eh?
r4d20
I think its simple projection. Actually “getting deeply into the mind of your opponent” is hard and most people simply project their own mind into the material circumstances of their opponent and think “what would I do in his situation” rather than “what would HE do”.
Theives suspect everyone of being a theif, Adulterers often accuse their partners of adultry, and hypocrites are keen to accuse others of hypocricy.
Everytime I say “I don’t want the president to have this much power” I hear the assertion “You would sing a different tune if a Lib was president…”. Besides the fact that I am simply not a “Liberal”, what is amazing about this assertion is that THEY are TRANSPARENTLY guilty of exactly the same thing – they would not support any liberal who did what GWB is doing even in the name of National Security. I opposed Clintons expantion of federal drug laws just like they did, it’s they who changed their tune once Bush got in.
But maybe they aren’t hypocrites… They do seem to be pretty open about their double-standards.
neil
_I’m one of the few serious commenters here. Ever._
Now I’m sure he’s a spoof!
John Redworth
When Colbert got up there and started his routine, I will admit I was more than shocked… it was a like a Dean Martin Roast all over again… but it wasn’t just aimed at Bush but also the press and DC folks… his barbs were sharp and his wit was soaked with humorous poison… half the time I was so shocked at what he said that I didn’t even get most of the lines until I watched it over…
If Bush really got upset as some lefty sites say, then his skin is way too thin… yes, some were pointed at him but to be perfectly frank, others were a bit harsher at others who didn’t seem to get too upset (Scalia who I thought was going to piss himself)…
The people who asked Colbert to be there had to know that he would do his routine… even the President had to know before Colbert stepped up to the mic…
As someone else said… it shows how strong and wonderful of a country we have that you can openly make jokes about the leader less than 20 feet away, and not end up in a prison camp or executed… can’t say that about many places…
The Disenfranchised Voter
Colbert metapohrically bitch slapped both the Bush Admin and the Press with one hand tied behind his back.
Of course the press doesn’t want to report about this. He made them look just as incompetent at the Bush Administration. Why would they want to showcase their miserable failure these past 6 years?
Colbert was magnificient. He pulled off a real life version of the Emperor has no clothes and then went on to ridicule the press for being the weak-willed bastards that they have been for Bush.
The Disenfranchised Voter
Hey look it’s our new slogan…
THE USA!: Hey, at least were not communist China!
Perry Como
Yeah, China has a manufacturing base.
Al Maviva
He was the funniest comedian, ever~ he was so good that Robin Williams started snorting coke again, Carl Reiner committed suicide, Bobcat Goldthwaite started speaking in a normal voice, Howie Mandel quit washing his hands for five seconds, and Larry David was actually polite to a service worker industry. They just couldn’t hang. Colbert was the sharpest political commentator ever, too. Even the decayed corpse of Will Rogers rose out of the grave to applaud enthusiastically. Pathetic Harry Reid should take note – THIS is how you bash Bush and win at the polls. And anybody who failed to literally crap their pants on the spot with laughter, is clearly a complete Bush fellater and a moron to boot, devoid of any sense of humor, a pure partisan hack and part of the Noo Boosh Fascist America. In fact if you weren’t laughing hard enough to herniate yourself, you are a Bush fellater. It’s amazing Bush could even breath after the bloody beating he took at Colbert’s hands, people with a brain would have just hemorraged from it on the spot. It was awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwesommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmme, maybe the best thing ever, and I’m including the Big Bang, Christ’s resurrection, the Steelers’ Superbowl wins and the Enlightenment in that assessment. And I can’t believe anybody would disagree with my view, it must be pure partisan bile if you do.
And as for you Redworth, what makes you so sure Colbert isn’t rotting in Gitmo already? Oh yeah? Prove he isn’t.
Al Maviva
Mr. Grouchypants
There is a simple reason that Colbert can say things that the press corps won’t. He’s a comedian. He can make any statement he wants because he knows he won’t have to back it up. If anyone challenges him about something he says, he can just say, “Hey, it’s just a comedy routine.” The press corps doesn’t have that luxury, so they are more cautious.
demimondian
Hey, Al — here’s the problem you guys have got…
What Colbert said rang true. Whether it’s true or not, it was, in the immortal words of the Republican party, “truthy”. That’s a much greater problem, politically, than being true but ignored — _vide_ Howard Dean, who said a bunch of true but double-plus untruthy things about invading Iraq some years ago.
Worse, the press didn’t report it, which made his monologue a good candidate for a guerilla marketing campaign. Worst, since this administration has clearly made its way by telling partial truths and ignoring the realities, a truthy but not true attack sticks as fair, so any attack based on inaccuracy makes the routine seem even more correct.
In short — you guys made your bed. Now lie in it.
Ancient Purple
Shorter Grouchypants: In 2006, the press is comprised mostly of cowards.
Al Maviva
Demimondian, please. being peeved about not getting enough coverage, and then getting more worked up about the lack of coverage of the coverage, and then renewing your outrage over the lack of coverage of the lack of coverage of the lack of coverage of the coverage is just lame.
I didn’t watch the event on C-SPAN, don’t give a shit what Colbert said and I don’t give a shit that you feel I should somehow feel despondent at Colbert’s dammnation of me and my spawn unto the 10th generation, or whatever it is I was supposed to take away from it. Hell, I wish that Colbert done a full Lenny Bruce at the event and mentioned pork barelling while he was at it, Washington hypocrisy and greed needs to get punctured more often. My only comment is that outrage over (1) outrage over a lack of coverage of what a comedian says at a presidential roast is lame; and (2) outrage over conservatives and media members not finding the same political jokes funny that you do is also lame. And if you get down to brass tacks, there is something a wee bit totalitarian in insisting not only must everybody agree with your politics, but they have to find the same things funny, too, and must be affected in the same way. “Ha ha, Colbert was really tough on you! Agree with me! Laugh or it proves you are evil pond scum, I hope you choke on it!”
don surber
OK
You caught us
There was a memo sent out to all members of the press by The Big Kahuna Himself (if I say his name publicly, I will die a horrible death) with orders to ignore whatever Stephen Colbert said because Comedy Central is not considered to be a legitimate source of news
The memo ended “on Monday we will resume our Bush bashing in an attempt to get his approval rating down to the single digiuts. Bwa-ha-ha-ha”
Mr. Grouchypants
Reporters realize that their remarks will be scrutinized far more than Colbert’s. And since they aren’t complete morons, they are more measured in their remarks.
don surber
“they aren’t complete morons”
We ain’t?
demimondian
Sorry, bad wording on my part. You’re right, metacomplaints about not being covered are totally lame. I don’t care about the coverage one way or another; I meant that as a business decision for the so-called MSM, it was a bad choice.
However, trying to parody Colbert’s successful exploiting of the fact that the press *does* have a clear conflict of interest here, and really *has* done a poor job by pretending that he’s being childish to exploit that fact is also pretty lame, no?
Al Maviva
If you think I’m here to defend the MSM, or that what I wrote immediately above is a defense of the MSM, you are sadly mistaken. They national level MSM are generally lazy, generally reflect their personal bias in whatever story they cover, and generally go about their business in an indefensible, slipshod, imprecise manner. In short, it is in the best tradition of journalism as HL Mencken wrote about the trade, and the trade at the national level appears to have gotten rid of the hard working, clean-living, attention-to-detail types that so plagued Mencken and drove down sales when he was an editor. (Some folks at a few of the periodicals will follow the facts – Byron York at NR, a few writers at The New Republic, Michael Kelly when he was alive – are the exception to the rule). The only thing missing from the traditional archetype of journalism today is the drunkenness. Thank goodness we at least have Mr. Gregory. [hick…]
dagon
first thing first,
john, maybe you have been away from the news lately but you might be better off just claiming your ignorance of the matter and moving on.
the press COMPLETELY ignored colbert’s performance on saturday; glaring, blanket refusal to mention it or even show any clips of the ‘awkward’ moments. and this is unprecedented due to the high profile nature of the event and the fact that of the 2 marquee performances, colbert’s was clearly the most newsworthy.
what you are seeing now and perhaps reacting to is the ‘backlash’ or ‘backwash’ as it were, of a veritable revolt on the nets. the media is covering the sensation that this has become NOT the performance itself. hell, we were fully into another news cycle before the outlets started picking this up.
all i’m saying is, try to get your story straight before leading with the bullying pronouncements that this is much ado about nothing. that is of course unless you are once again trying to push a thread into the stratosphere with your one-sided belligerence.
peace
Jon H
John Redworth writes: “As someone else said… it shows how strong and wonderful of a country we have that you can openly make jokes about the leader less than 20 feet away, and not end up in a prison camp or executed… can’t say that about many places…”
No, but if you hold an anti-Bush protest sign in view of his motorcade, you might just get arrested (while the pro-Bush signholders go unmolested)
Chris Johnson
Yet! :D
Davebo
Pretty freakin hilarious coming from the guy who’s normally complaining that Reagan isn’t on Rushmore.
DougJ
Don and Al — you disappoint me here. A lot of thinking conservatives are saying that the press did indeed ignore the Colbert diatribe, not because he attacked the president, but because he attacked them. I think of you guys as thinking conservatives, so I’m surprised that you’re missing this angle.
Tony Dismukes
I really liked this commentary from a (former?) professional comedian.
The Disenfranchised Voter
Colbert did point out the greed and excessiveness in Washington. In fact it was his joke. He made a comment about 14 black bullet broof SUV’s being blocked in by 14 black bullet proof SUV’s.
You should really watch his routine before you give your opinion, Al.
The Disenfranchised Voter
his first joke*
W.B. Reeves
They’re not re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic! This administration is soaring I tell you! If anything they’re re-arranging deck chairs on the Hindenburg!
I’ll go on record as saying I think Mal Al’s essay into satire was 2/3 to 3/4 pretty funny. In the end though,his target is too narrowly partisan, his chosen caricature too obviously drawn from his own imagination, to match up well against Colbert’s schtick.
As has been pointed out, while Colbert smacked Bush around a good bit, he had bigger fish to fry. In this case the corrupt establishment of which Bush is symptomatic. This includes all those who fancy themselves the elite gate keepers and arbiters of US political culture. I imagine that is what resonates with folks across the spectrum.
skip
Richard Cohen, the POST’s resident Tartuffee, deplored Colbert’s “rudeness.” Clearly Cohen’s delicate sensibilities were upset. I used to see Cohen in the Guards bar in Georgetown, twirling his gray cape. I imagine him thinking his crappy column put him on a level with Lord Byron.
Colbert? He hadn’t paid his dues. He wasn’t one of the elect.