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Colbert Lampoons Bush at Dinner, President Does Not Seem Amused
By E&P Staff
Published: April 29, 2006 11:40 PM ET
WASHINGTON A blistering comedy “tribute” to President Bush by Comedy Central’s faux talk show host Stephen Colbert at the White House Correspondent Dinner Saturday night left George and Laura Bush unsmiling at its close.
Earlier, the president had delivered his talk to the 2700 attendees, including celebrities and top officials, with the help of a Bush impersonator.
Colbert, who spoke in the guise of his talk show character who ostensibly supports the president strongly, urged the president to ignore his low approval ratings, saying they were based on reality, “and reality has a well-known liberal bias.”
He attacked those in the press who claim that the shake-up at the White House was merely re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. “This administration is soaring, not sinking,” he said. “They are re-arranging the deck chairs--on the Hindenburg.”
Colbert told Bush he could end the problem of protests by retired generals by refusing to let them retire. He compared Bush to Rocky Balboa in the “Rocky” movies, always getting punched in the face—&ldquoand Apollo Creed is everything else in the world.”
He also made biting cracks about missing WMDs, “photo ops” on aircraft carriers, and Vice President Cheney shooting people in the face.
He closed his routine with a video fantasy where he gets to be White House Press Secretary, complete with a special “Gannon” button on his podium. By the end, he runs fleeing from Helen Thomas and her questions about why the U.S. really invaded Iraq.
Also hitting the press, Colbert complained that he was “surrounded by the libeal media who are destroying this country, except for Fox news. Fox believes in presenting both sides—the president’s side and the vice president’s side."
As he walked from the podium the president and First Lady gave him quick nods, unsmiling, and left.
Asked by E&P after it was over if he thought he'd been too harsh, Colbert said, "Not at all." Was he trying to make a point politically or just get laughs? "Just for laughs," he said. He said he did not pull anything as being too strong, just for time reasons.
Helen Thomas said her segment with Colbert was "just for fun."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E&P Staff
Full Version: Colbert Lampoons Bush at Dinner, President
Common Ground Common Sense > National & International News > Op-Ed Articles from the Mainstream Media > Op-Ed Articles from the Mainstream Media Archive
And the BrassBalls Award goes to.... Stephen Colbert
Thanks for the link, I emailed it to my mother!
Here is the video thanks to C&L -
http://movies.crooksandliars.com/WH-Dinner-Colbert.wmv
http://movies.crooksandliars.com/WH-Dinner-Colbert.wmv
"Crooks and Liars www.crooksandliars.com" has a video of part of Stephen Colbert's performance at the WH Correspondents' Dinner, here http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/04/29.html#a8104 . Apparently, C-Span did broadcast the whole performance on TV, but I can't find Colbert on their site now; instead, they quote the wire services, saying " Bush Lampoons Self at Press Corps Dinner (AP)" and " Bush skewers self at correspondents' dinner (Reuters)". Decide for yourself.
Neil Young's "Living With War" is streaming (free) on the Web, here: www.neilyoung.com.
cheers,
Neil Young's "Living With War" is streaming (free) on the Web, here: www.neilyoung.com.
cheers,
http://beta.nationalreview.com/frum/print/
Apr. 30, 2006: Why Wasn't Colbert Funny?
I'm a huge fan of Stephen Colbert's Colbert Report, and though illness has had me in bed by 8 almost every night this week, I struggled on Saturday night to stay awake to watch both the president's speech to the White House Correspondents Association dinner and then Colbert's afterward.
I expected the president's speech to be only mildly amusing: presidents make people laugh by depreciating themselves, and this president (rightly in my view) does not go in for the funny but institutionally damaging self-mockery of eg Bill Clinton's hilarious but eyebrow-raising 2000 "final days" video at the WHCA dinner.
But Colbert I was sure would be excellent value.
Wrong on two counts.
The president's double-Bush act was terrific. It played off something everyone senses: that Bush's outward persona is very much a deliberate construction, and that under a thin shell the old mocking, biting, sarcastic Bush Id still lurks. Bush impersonator Steve Bright put the Id on show in hilarious counterpoint to the real Bush's theatrically pious remarks.
Good punchline too, when Bush explained that Bright had played him during the debates against Senator Kerry - and then turned to Bright to say sorrowfully that he thought Bright could have done a better job.
Then Colbert. Colbert is an unusual kind of comedian. He does not tell jokes exactly - rather he creates a smug, self-satisfied character who is the butt of his own unintended humor. "I don't read books." "I feel it in my gut." "Iraq: great war - or the greatest war?" These Colbertisms are not intrinsically funny, but they become funny in context. Which is why the Colbert show is often hilarious to watch - but impossible to quote. Repeated out of context, his lines lose their point.
Colbert does not really do comedy. He does irony.
Last night, severed from his context, Colbert faced a problem. Minus his set, his screaming eagle special effects, his freedom to assume that his audience understood such long-running gags as his character's self-infatuation, he could not do irony. So instead he did sarcasm.
And despite the contrary opinion of ill-behaved 14-year-olds, sarcasm is not funny. It's just unpleasant.
Which is why Colbert's monologue fell flat even upon the assembled journalists and Hollywood figures who might have been expected to applaud it.
For the same reason, even lines that tracked more closely to the joke format - set up line, unexpected reversal, etc. - failed to work:
"This administration is not sinking, it is soaring. We're not rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. It's the Hindenberg."
Or "I believe the government that governs best governs least. And by that standard, the government of Iraq is governing very very well."
Humor turns things upside down to yield an unexpected point of view. Unsuccessful humor goes to a lot of effort to arrive at ... just exactly what you would expect the person making the joke to say in straight conversation.
For an ironist like Colbert, this creates a special problem. The dialectic that gives the show his bite is that Colbert and his writers offer a conventional liberal point of view, refracted through the tabloid conservative style of Fox News. The show is most funny when the Colbert character is most unaware that his own words are subverting his supposed right-wing point of view. It is least funny when the show's liberal substratum rises to the surface, and Colbert loses character and just sounds like ... Daily Kos.
That's why his interview with Bill Kristol failed so clumsily. The left-wing blogosphere is delighted by the interview, for obvious reasons: They enjoy seeing conservatives scolded and hectored from the hard left, and Colbert gave them what they enjoy. But not even they could imagine that it was funny.
There was one moment of true humor right at the very top.
Colbert: Speaking of thinking alike, you were a member, or are a member of the New Project for the American Century, correct?
Kristol: I am.
Colbert: Were or am, am?
Kristol: Were and am.
Colbert: How's that project coming?
That's funny because ironic: The opening years of this century have been tough for America, and the Colbert character is too clueless to understand it. He just keeps insisting that "we're winning in Iraq" like some mindless right-wing cheerleader. But then Colbert lost character. Within seconds, we had tumbled out of his bizarre alternative pseudo-Fox comic universe into an all-too familiar litany of left-wing talking points, from neocon cabal through insinuations of chicken-hawkdom. The rest of the show had all the wit, verve, and charm of an after-dinner speech by Joseph Wilson.
As the old saying goes, comedy is hard. (Which itself is a double-edged ironic observation.) Last night, Colbert went easy on himself - and so barbs that he intended to cut the president ended up slicing his own palms.
**
Here's a link to a round-up of Colbert reviews. Consensus: Colbert did indeed bomb. The dissenters are those hard-left bloggers who cannot tell the difference between a sneer and a laugh. But then they would have been just as entertained by a 45-minute PowerPoint presentation on global warming by Al Gore.
10:19 AM
Apr. 30, 2006: Why Wasn't Colbert Funny?
I'm a huge fan of Stephen Colbert's Colbert Report, and though illness has had me in bed by 8 almost every night this week, I struggled on Saturday night to stay awake to watch both the president's speech to the White House Correspondents Association dinner and then Colbert's afterward.
I expected the president's speech to be only mildly amusing: presidents make people laugh by depreciating themselves, and this president (rightly in my view) does not go in for the funny but institutionally damaging self-mockery of eg Bill Clinton's hilarious but eyebrow-raising 2000 "final days" video at the WHCA dinner.
But Colbert I was sure would be excellent value.
Wrong on two counts.
The president's double-Bush act was terrific. It played off something everyone senses: that Bush's outward persona is very much a deliberate construction, and that under a thin shell the old mocking, biting, sarcastic Bush Id still lurks. Bush impersonator Steve Bright put the Id on show in hilarious counterpoint to the real Bush's theatrically pious remarks.
Good punchline too, when Bush explained that Bright had played him during the debates against Senator Kerry - and then turned to Bright to say sorrowfully that he thought Bright could have done a better job.
Then Colbert. Colbert is an unusual kind of comedian. He does not tell jokes exactly - rather he creates a smug, self-satisfied character who is the butt of his own unintended humor. "I don't read books." "I feel it in my gut." "Iraq: great war - or the greatest war?" These Colbertisms are not intrinsically funny, but they become funny in context. Which is why the Colbert show is often hilarious to watch - but impossible to quote. Repeated out of context, his lines lose their point.
Colbert does not really do comedy. He does irony.
Last night, severed from his context, Colbert faced a problem. Minus his set, his screaming eagle special effects, his freedom to assume that his audience understood such long-running gags as his character's self-infatuation, he could not do irony. So instead he did sarcasm.
And despite the contrary opinion of ill-behaved 14-year-olds, sarcasm is not funny. It's just unpleasant.
Which is why Colbert's monologue fell flat even upon the assembled journalists and Hollywood figures who might have been expected to applaud it.
For the same reason, even lines that tracked more closely to the joke format - set up line, unexpected reversal, etc. - failed to work:
"This administration is not sinking, it is soaring. We're not rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. It's the Hindenberg."
Or "I believe the government that governs best governs least. And by that standard, the government of Iraq is governing very very well."
Humor turns things upside down to yield an unexpected point of view. Unsuccessful humor goes to a lot of effort to arrive at ... just exactly what you would expect the person making the joke to say in straight conversation.
For an ironist like Colbert, this creates a special problem. The dialectic that gives the show his bite is that Colbert and his writers offer a conventional liberal point of view, refracted through the tabloid conservative style of Fox News. The show is most funny when the Colbert character is most unaware that his own words are subverting his supposed right-wing point of view. It is least funny when the show's liberal substratum rises to the surface, and Colbert loses character and just sounds like ... Daily Kos.
That's why his interview with Bill Kristol failed so clumsily. The left-wing blogosphere is delighted by the interview, for obvious reasons: They enjoy seeing conservatives scolded and hectored from the hard left, and Colbert gave them what they enjoy. But not even they could imagine that it was funny.
There was one moment of true humor right at the very top.
Colbert: Speaking of thinking alike, you were a member, or are a member of the New Project for the American Century, correct?
Kristol: I am.
Colbert: Were or am, am?
Kristol: Were and am.
Colbert: How's that project coming?
That's funny because ironic: The opening years of this century have been tough for America, and the Colbert character is too clueless to understand it. He just keeps insisting that "we're winning in Iraq" like some mindless right-wing cheerleader. But then Colbert lost character. Within seconds, we had tumbled out of his bizarre alternative pseudo-Fox comic universe into an all-too familiar litany of left-wing talking points, from neocon cabal through insinuations of chicken-hawkdom. The rest of the show had all the wit, verve, and charm of an after-dinner speech by Joseph Wilson.
As the old saying goes, comedy is hard. (Which itself is a double-edged ironic observation.) Last night, Colbert went easy on himself - and so barbs that he intended to cut the president ended up slicing his own palms.
**
Here's a link to a round-up of Colbert reviews. Consensus: Colbert did indeed bomb. The dissenters are those hard-left bloggers who cannot tell the difference between a sneer and a laugh. But then they would have been just as entertained by a 45-minute PowerPoint presentation on global warming by Al Gore.
10:19 AM
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jesse-kornbl...t-_b_20083.html
04.30.2006
All Hail Stephen Colbert (You Have to See It to Believe It)
If there was any doubt about Stephen Colbert's genius, it evaporated at the White House Correspondents dinner.
Jon Stewart, God bless him, serves up the clip that shows you the President is an idiot. He works in the noble tradition of satire, and he can do it for years and years so long as there are white men in brogues who are stupid and powerful.
Colbert, God love him, goes much further. His is a high-wire act that could go down in flames at any moment. For he doesn't satirize our idiot government and gutless media, he becomes the biggest idiot of all. He's the true believer, the guy totally on message, the loyalist who would give his all for the Commander-in-Chief.
And he never breaks the character. Which is amazing. We're rolling on the floor, wetting our pants, weeping with laughter, and he's still hammering home views that make Hannity and O'Reilly sound like moderates.
No wonder Bush left in a snit. He got shown up for what he is --- by someone who pretends to love him.
04.30.2006
All Hail Stephen Colbert (You Have to See It to Believe It)
If there was any doubt about Stephen Colbert's genius, it evaporated at the White House Correspondents dinner.
Jon Stewart, God bless him, serves up the clip that shows you the President is an idiot. He works in the noble tradition of satire, and he can do it for years and years so long as there are white men in brogues who are stupid and powerful.
Colbert, God love him, goes much further. His is a high-wire act that could go down in flames at any moment. For he doesn't satirize our idiot government and gutless media, he becomes the biggest idiot of all. He's the true believer, the guy totally on message, the loyalist who would give his all for the Commander-in-Chief.
And he never breaks the character. Which is amazing. We're rolling on the floor, wetting our pants, weeping with laughter, and he's still hammering home views that make Hannity and O'Reilly sound like moderates.
No wonder Bush left in a snit. He got shown up for what he is --- by someone who pretends to love him.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/al-eisele/wh...html?view=print
05.01.2006
White House Correspondents Dinner: D.C. Dinosaur or Disaster?
God help me. I know this is going to make me persona non grata with the Washington media establishment, but my conscience compels me to say this: The White House Correspondents Association's annual dinner, which I just attended, should go the way of the Linotype, the teletype and the typewriter.
If ever there was anything that proves to the rest of the world that the Washington press corps is out of touch, out of synch and out to lunch, it is this awful Spring lemming-like migration of Washington journalists, politicians, lawmakers -- although to their credit they were few and far between -- lobbyists, political junkies and celebrity seekers to the Hinkley Hilton as the press kow-tows to the powers that be.
Some 2,700 people, and I'm ashamed to admit I was one of them, turned out in their formal finest, crowded into the Washington hotel where President Reagan was nearly killed by someone trying to impress a movie actress. Fortunately, there was no similar attempt this time, but then it was hardly necessary as this crowd was as ready to drink the Kool-Aid dished out by the Bush administration as were Jim Jones' demented acolytes.
Indeed, even as we were making nice with President Bush, the next morning's newspapers were reporting that his administration is going after reporters with a vengeance in order to plug leaks and threatening them with criminal proscecution.
Actually, President Bush was one of the few people who preserved a measure of dignity during this dreadful evening of press preening in which some of Washington's most powerful journalists prostrated themselves before the people they are supposed to be keeping a critical eye on.
Persuaded perhaps by his Fox News friend and newly-appointed press secretary Tony Snow, Bush teamed up with a talented impersonator to poke fun at himself and argue that he's not the arrogant, know-it-all Decider-in-Chief who listens only to God and nobody else. His line about surviving the recent White House shakeup ranked right up there with Nancy Reagan's boffo Gridiron Dinner skit as Second Hand Rose that defused criticism of her as an empty-headed clothes horse.
But the self-congratulatory tone of the dinner, with its chintzy scholarship awards to a trio of local high school and college students along with three of its own members -- did anybody think of honoring the legendary Art Buchwald as he lays dying in a nearby hospice? -- was grating, to say the least.
But who cares about such things when you can rub shoulders with gorgeous Geoge Clooney, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Rothlisberger, raunchy rap star Ludacris or a half-dozen lesser lights of the TV sit-coms? The real story here was which celebrity you could lure to your table to prove your importance in the entertainment -- er, news -- business. The Washington Post, which used to specialize in bringing down lying presidents, had at its table that old fraud Henry Kissinger, who still writes interminably long, turgid essays for the Post's op-ed page.
But at least the Los Angeles Times invited former Dodgers Manager Tommy LaSorda, who was happy to offer his take on Barry Bonds' steroid-infused assault on Babe Ruth's homerun record by declaring, "That son-of-a-bitch is a disgrace to baseball."
I've been to most of these dinners in the 40 years since I came to Washington as a correspondent for the St. Paul Dispatch-Pioneer Press, and in the 11 years since I helped start The Hill, a nonpartisan newspaper covering Congress. This year, the dinner's planners saw fit to seat me in a Siberian section that offered a view of the head table only through a TV screen that showed the captions in reverse.
Worse yet, I was seated next to someone who introduced himself as a "presenter" for the BBC from Oxford, who said he once attened Georgetown University and worked as an intern for tone of my heroes, the late Democratic Sen. Paul Douglas of Illinois. But he was one of the most cynical people I've ever encountered who refused to stand for President Bush.
My suspicion that the real reason for this dinner is the big bucks it brings in for the Whiite House Correspondents Association was confirmed when I asked another of my table mates what he does for a living. "I'm an entertainer," he said.
"What kind of an entertainer?," I asked.
"A hypnotist and mind-reader from New Orleans," he replied.
I wonder if he could read my mind and know that I am about to turn in my card as a member of the White House Correspondents Association?
Oh yes, as I've been reminded by my former colleague on Vice President Mondale's staff and by Suzanne, I should have mentioned Colbert's smackdown of Bush. They're right; Bush's body language made he clear he would rather have been anywhere, even Fallujah, rather than listening to Colbert's devastating put-down of the president. But I thought he should have done it with a scalpel, not a sledgehammer. Sorry for the emission.
05.01.2006
White House Correspondents Dinner: D.C. Dinosaur or Disaster?
God help me. I know this is going to make me persona non grata with the Washington media establishment, but my conscience compels me to say this: The White House Correspondents Association's annual dinner, which I just attended, should go the way of the Linotype, the teletype and the typewriter.
If ever there was anything that proves to the rest of the world that the Washington press corps is out of touch, out of synch and out to lunch, it is this awful Spring lemming-like migration of Washington journalists, politicians, lawmakers -- although to their credit they were few and far between -- lobbyists, political junkies and celebrity seekers to the Hinkley Hilton as the press kow-tows to the powers that be.
Some 2,700 people, and I'm ashamed to admit I was one of them, turned out in their formal finest, crowded into the Washington hotel where President Reagan was nearly killed by someone trying to impress a movie actress. Fortunately, there was no similar attempt this time, but then it was hardly necessary as this crowd was as ready to drink the Kool-Aid dished out by the Bush administration as were Jim Jones' demented acolytes.
Indeed, even as we were making nice with President Bush, the next morning's newspapers were reporting that his administration is going after reporters with a vengeance in order to plug leaks and threatening them with criminal proscecution.
Actually, President Bush was one of the few people who preserved a measure of dignity during this dreadful evening of press preening in which some of Washington's most powerful journalists prostrated themselves before the people they are supposed to be keeping a critical eye on.
Persuaded perhaps by his Fox News friend and newly-appointed press secretary Tony Snow, Bush teamed up with a talented impersonator to poke fun at himself and argue that he's not the arrogant, know-it-all Decider-in-Chief who listens only to God and nobody else. His line about surviving the recent White House shakeup ranked right up there with Nancy Reagan's boffo Gridiron Dinner skit as Second Hand Rose that defused criticism of her as an empty-headed clothes horse.
But the self-congratulatory tone of the dinner, with its chintzy scholarship awards to a trio of local high school and college students along with three of its own members -- did anybody think of honoring the legendary Art Buchwald as he lays dying in a nearby hospice? -- was grating, to say the least.
But who cares about such things when you can rub shoulders with gorgeous Geoge Clooney, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Rothlisberger, raunchy rap star Ludacris or a half-dozen lesser lights of the TV sit-coms? The real story here was which celebrity you could lure to your table to prove your importance in the entertainment -- er, news -- business. The Washington Post, which used to specialize in bringing down lying presidents, had at its table that old fraud Henry Kissinger, who still writes interminably long, turgid essays for the Post's op-ed page.
But at least the Los Angeles Times invited former Dodgers Manager Tommy LaSorda, who was happy to offer his take on Barry Bonds' steroid-infused assault on Babe Ruth's homerun record by declaring, "That son-of-a-bitch is a disgrace to baseball."
I've been to most of these dinners in the 40 years since I came to Washington as a correspondent for the St. Paul Dispatch-Pioneer Press, and in the 11 years since I helped start The Hill, a nonpartisan newspaper covering Congress. This year, the dinner's planners saw fit to seat me in a Siberian section that offered a view of the head table only through a TV screen that showed the captions in reverse.
Worse yet, I was seated next to someone who introduced himself as a "presenter" for the BBC from Oxford, who said he once attened Georgetown University and worked as an intern for tone of my heroes, the late Democratic Sen. Paul Douglas of Illinois. But he was one of the most cynical people I've ever encountered who refused to stand for President Bush.
My suspicion that the real reason for this dinner is the big bucks it brings in for the Whiite House Correspondents Association was confirmed when I asked another of my table mates what he does for a living. "I'm an entertainer," he said.
"What kind of an entertainer?," I asked.
"A hypnotist and mind-reader from New Orleans," he replied.
I wonder if he could read my mind and know that I am about to turn in my card as a member of the White House Correspondents Association?
Oh yes, as I've been reminded by my former colleague on Vice President Mondale's staff and by Suzanne, I should have mentioned Colbert's smackdown of Bush. They're right; Bush's body language made he clear he would rather have been anywhere, even Fallujah, rather than listening to Colbert's devastating put-down of the president. But I thought he should have done it with a scalpel, not a sledgehammer. Sorry for the emission.
Colbert Lampoons Bush at White House Correspondents Dinner -- President Not Amused?
By E&P Staff
Published: April 29, 2006 11:40 PM ET updated Sunday
WASHINGTON A blistering comedy “tribute” to President Bush by Comedy Central’s faux talk-show host Stephen Colbert at the White House Correspondent Dinner Saturday night left George and Laura Bush unsmiling at its close.
Earlier, the president had delivered his talk to the 2,700 attendees, including many celebrities and top officials, with the help of a Bush impersonator.
Colbert, who spoke in the guise of his talk-show character, who ostensibly supports the president strongly, urged Bush to ignore his low approval ratings, saying they were based on reality, “and reality has a well-known liberal bias.”
He attacked those in the press who claim that the shake-up at the White House was merely re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. “This administration is soaring, not sinking,” he said. “If anything, they are re-arranging the deck chairs on the Hindenburg.”
Colbert told Bush he could end the problem of protests by retired generals by refusing to let them retire. He compared Bush to Rocky Balboa in the “Rocky” movies, always getting punched in the face — “and Apollo Creed is everything else in the world.”
Turning to the war, he declared, "I believe that the government that governs best is a government that governs least, and by these standards we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq."
He noted former Ambassador Joseph Wilson in the crowd, just three tables away from Karl Rove, and that he had brought " Valerie Plame." Then, worried that he had named her, he corrected himself, as Bush aides might do, "Uh, I mean ... he brought Joseph Wilson's wife." He might have "dodged the bullet," he said, as prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald wasn't there.
Colbert also made biting cracks about missing WMDs, “photo ops” on aircraft carriers and at hurricane disasters, melting glaciers and Vice President Cheney shooting people in the face. He advised the crowd, "if anybody needs anything at their tables, speak slowly and clearly into your table numbers and somebody from the N.S.A. will be right over with a cocktail. "
Observing that Bush sticks to his principles, he said, "When the president decides something on Monday, he still believes it on Wednesday -- no matter what happened Tuesday."
Also lampooning the press, Colbert complained that he was “surrounded by the liberal media who are destroying this country, except for Fox News. Fox believes in presenting both sides of the story — the president’s side and the vice president’s side." In another slap at the news channel, he said: "I give people the truth, unfiltered by rational argument. I call it the No Fact Zone. Fox News, I own the copyright on that term."
He also reflected on the alleged good old days for the president, when the media was still swallowing the WMD story.
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."
He claimed that the Secret Service name for Bush's new press secretary is "Snow Job."
Colbert closed his routine with a video fantasy where he gets to be White House Press Secretary, complete with a special “Gannon” button on his podium. By the end, he had to run from Helen Thomas and her questions about why the U.S. really invaded Iraq and killed all those people.
As Colbert walked from the podium, when it was over, the president and First Lady gave him quick nods, unsmiling. The president shook his hand and tapped his elbow, and left immediately.
Those seated near Bush told E&P's Joe Strupp, who was elsewhere in the room, that Bush had quickly turned from an amused guest to an obviously offended target as Colbert’s comments brought up his low approval ratings and problems in Iraq.
Several veterans of past dinners, who requested anonymity, said the presentation was more directed at attacking the president than in the past. Several said previous hosts, like Jay Leno, equally slammed both the White House and the press corps.
“This was anti-Bush,” said one attendee. “Usually they go back and forth between us and him.” Another noted that Bush quickly turned unhappy. “You could see he stopped smiling about halfway through Colbert,” he reported.
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.”
Strupp, in the crowd during the Colbert routine, had observed that quite a few sitting near him looked a little uncomfortable at times, perhaps feeling the material was a little too biting -- or too much speaking "truthiness" (Colbert's made-up word) to power.
Asked by E&P after it was over if he thought he'd been too harsh, Colbert said, "Not at all." Was he trying to make a point politically or just get laughs? "Just for laughs," he said. He said he did not pull any material for being too strong, just for time reasons. (He later said the president told him "good job" when he walked off.)
Helen Thomas told Strupp her segment with Colbert was "just for fun."
In its report on the affair, USA Today asserted that some in the crowd cracked up over Colbert but others were "bewildered." Wolf Blitzer of CNN said he thought Colbert was funny and "a little on the edge."
Earlier, the president had addressed the crowd with a Bush impersonator alongside, with the faux-Bush speaking precisely and the real Bush deliberately mispronouncing words, such as the inevitable "nuclear." At the close, Bush called the imposter "a fine talent. In fact, he did all my debates with Senator Kerry." The routine went over well with this particular crowd -- better than did Colbert's, in fact, for whatever reason.
Among attendees at the black tie event: Morgan Fairchild, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, Justice Antonin Scalia, George Clooney, and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter of the Doobie Brothers -- in a kilt.
By E&P Staff
Published: April 29, 2006 11:40 PM ET updated Sunday
WASHINGTON A blistering comedy “tribute” to President Bush by Comedy Central’s faux talk-show host Stephen Colbert at the White House Correspondent Dinner Saturday night left George and Laura Bush unsmiling at its close.
Earlier, the president had delivered his talk to the 2,700 attendees, including many celebrities and top officials, with the help of a Bush impersonator.
Colbert, who spoke in the guise of his talk-show character, who ostensibly supports the president strongly, urged Bush to ignore his low approval ratings, saying they were based on reality, “and reality has a well-known liberal bias.”
He attacked those in the press who claim that the shake-up at the White House was merely re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. “This administration is soaring, not sinking,” he said. “If anything, they are re-arranging the deck chairs on the Hindenburg.”
Colbert told Bush he could end the problem of protests by retired generals by refusing to let them retire. He compared Bush to Rocky Balboa in the “Rocky” movies, always getting punched in the face — “and Apollo Creed is everything else in the world.”
Turning to the war, he declared, "I believe that the government that governs best is a government that governs least, and by these standards we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq."
He noted former Ambassador Joseph Wilson in the crowd, just three tables away from Karl Rove, and that he had brought " Valerie Plame." Then, worried that he had named her, he corrected himself, as Bush aides might do, "Uh, I mean ... he brought Joseph Wilson's wife." He might have "dodged the bullet," he said, as prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald wasn't there.
Colbert also made biting cracks about missing WMDs, “photo ops” on aircraft carriers and at hurricane disasters, melting glaciers and Vice President Cheney shooting people in the face. He advised the crowd, "if anybody needs anything at their tables, speak slowly and clearly into your table numbers and somebody from the N.S.A. will be right over with a cocktail. "
Observing that Bush sticks to his principles, he said, "When the president decides something on Monday, he still believes it on Wednesday -- no matter what happened Tuesday."
Also lampooning the press, Colbert complained that he was “surrounded by the liberal media who are destroying this country, except for Fox News. Fox believes in presenting both sides of the story — the president’s side and the vice president’s side." In another slap at the news channel, he said: "I give people the truth, unfiltered by rational argument. I call it the No Fact Zone. Fox News, I own the copyright on that term."
He also reflected on the alleged good old days for the president, when the media was still swallowing the WMD story.
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."
He claimed that the Secret Service name for Bush's new press secretary is "Snow Job."
Colbert closed his routine with a video fantasy where he gets to be White House Press Secretary, complete with a special “Gannon” button on his podium. By the end, he had to run from Helen Thomas and her questions about why the U.S. really invaded Iraq and killed all those people.
As Colbert walked from the podium, when it was over, the president and First Lady gave him quick nods, unsmiling. The president shook his hand and tapped his elbow, and left immediately.
Those seated near Bush told E&P's Joe Strupp, who was elsewhere in the room, that Bush had quickly turned from an amused guest to an obviously offended target as Colbert’s comments brought up his low approval ratings and problems in Iraq.
Several veterans of past dinners, who requested anonymity, said the presentation was more directed at attacking the president than in the past. Several said previous hosts, like Jay Leno, equally slammed both the White House and the press corps.
“This was anti-Bush,” said one attendee. “Usually they go back and forth between us and him.” Another noted that Bush quickly turned unhappy. “You could see he stopped smiling about halfway through Colbert,” he reported.
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.”
Strupp, in the crowd during the Colbert routine, had observed that quite a few sitting near him looked a little uncomfortable at times, perhaps feeling the material was a little too biting -- or too much speaking "truthiness" (Colbert's made-up word) to power.
Asked by E&P after it was over if he thought he'd been too harsh, Colbert said, "Not at all." Was he trying to make a point politically or just get laughs? "Just for laughs," he said. He said he did not pull any material for being too strong, just for time reasons. (He later said the president told him "good job" when he walked off.)
Helen Thomas told Strupp her segment with Colbert was "just for fun."
In its report on the affair, USA Today asserted that some in the crowd cracked up over Colbert but others were "bewildered." Wolf Blitzer of CNN said he thought Colbert was funny and "a little on the edge."
Earlier, the president had addressed the crowd with a Bush impersonator alongside, with the faux-Bush speaking precisely and the real Bush deliberately mispronouncing words, such as the inevitable "nuclear." At the close, Bush called the imposter "a fine talent. In fact, he did all my debates with Senator Kerry." The routine went over well with this particular crowd -- better than did Colbert's, in fact, for whatever reason.
Among attendees at the black tie event: Morgan Fairchild, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, Justice Antonin Scalia, George Clooney, and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter of the Doobie Brothers -- in a kilt.
QUOTE(Robin @ May 1 2006, 05:45 PM)
Colbert Lampoons Bush at White House Correspondents Dinner -- President Not Amused?
By E&P Staff
Published: April 29, 2006 11:40 PM ET updated Sunday
WASHINGTON A blistering comedy “tribute” to President Bush by Comedy Central’s faux talk-show host Stephen Colbert at the White House Correspondent Dinner Saturday night left George and Laura Bush unsmiling at its close.
Earlier, the president had delivered his talk to the 2,700 attendees, including many celebrities and top officials, with the help of a Bush impersonator.
Colbert, who spoke in the guise of his talk-show character, who ostensibly supports the president strongly, urged Bush to ignore his low approval ratings, saying they were based on reality, “and reality has a well-known liberal bias.”
He attacked those in the press who claim that the shake-up at the White House was merely re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. “This administration is soaring, not sinking,” he said. “If anything, they are re-arranging the deck chairs on the Hindenburg.”
Colbert told Bush he could end the problem of protests by retired generals by refusing to let them retire. He compared Bush to Rocky Balboa in the “Rocky” movies, always getting punched in the face — “and Apollo Creed is everything else in the world.”
Turning to the war, he declared, "I believe that the government that governs best is a government that governs least, and by these standards we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq."
He noted former Ambassador Joseph Wilson in the crowd, just three tables away from Karl Rove, and that he had brought " Valerie Plame." Then, worried that he had named her, he corrected himself, as Bush aides might do, "Uh, I mean ... he brought Joseph Wilson's wife." He might have "dodged the bullet," he said, as prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald wasn't there.
Colbert also made biting cracks about missing WMDs, “photo ops” on aircraft carriers and at hurricane disasters, melting glaciers and Vice President Cheney shooting people in the face. He advised the crowd, "if anybody needs anything at their tables, speak slowly and clearly into your table numbers and somebody from the N.S.A. will be right over with a cocktail. "
Observing that Bush sticks to his principles, he said, "When the president decides something on Monday, he still believes it on Wednesday -- no matter what happened Tuesday."
Also lampooning the press, Colbert complained that he was “surrounded by the liberal media who are destroying this country, except for Fox News. Fox believes in presenting both sides of the story — the president’s side and the vice president’s side." In another slap at the news channel, he said: "I give people the truth, unfiltered by rational argument. I call it the No Fact Zone. Fox News, I own the copyright on that term."
He also reflected on the alleged good old days for the president, when the media was still swallowing the WMD story.
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."
He claimed that the Secret Service name for Bush's new press secretary is "Snow Job."
Colbert closed his routine with a video fantasy where he gets to be White House Press Secretary, complete with a special “Gannon” button on his podium. By the end, he had to run from Helen Thomas and her questions about why the U.S. really invaded Iraq and killed all those people.
As Colbert walked from the podium, when it was over, the president and First Lady gave him quick nods, unsmiling. The president shook his hand and tapped his elbow, and left immediately.
Those seated near Bush told E&P's Joe Strupp, who was elsewhere in the room, that Bush had quickly turned from an amused guest to an obviously offended target as Colbert’s comments brought up his low approval ratings and problems in Iraq.
Several veterans of past dinners, who requested anonymity, said the presentation was more directed at attacking the president than in the past. Several said previous hosts, like Jay Leno, equally slammed both the White House and the press corps.
“This was anti-Bush,” said one attendee. “Usually they go back and forth between us and him.” Another noted that Bush quickly turned unhappy. “You could see he stopped smiling about halfway through Colbert,” he reported.
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.”
Strupp, in the crowd during the Colbert routine, had observed that quite a few sitting near him looked a little uncomfortable at times, perhaps feeling the material was a little too biting -- or too much speaking "truthiness" (Colbert's made-up word) to power.
Asked by E&P after it was over if he thought he'd been too harsh, Colbert said, "Not at all." Was he trying to make a point politically or just get laughs? "Just for laughs," he said. He said he did not pull any material for being too strong, just for time reasons. (He later said the president told him "good job" when he walked off.)
Helen Thomas told Strupp her segment with Colbert was "just for fun."
In its report on the affair, USA Today asserted that some in the crowd cracked up over Colbert but others were "bewildered." Wolf Blitzer of CNN said he thought Colbert was funny and "a little on the edge."
Earlier, the president had addressed the crowd with a Bush impersonator alongside, with the faux-Bush speaking precisely and the real Bush deliberately mispronouncing words, such as the inevitable "nuclear." At the close, Bush called the imposter "a fine talent. In fact, he did all my debates with Senator Kerry." The routine went over well with this particular crowd -- better than did Colbert's, in fact, for whatever reason.
Among attendees at the black tie event: Morgan Fairchild, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, Justice Antonin Scalia, George Clooney, and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter of the Doobie Brothers -- in a kilt.
By E&P Staff
Published: April 29, 2006 11:40 PM ET updated Sunday
WASHINGTON A blistering comedy “tribute” to President Bush by Comedy Central’s faux talk-show host Stephen Colbert at the White House Correspondent Dinner Saturday night left George and Laura Bush unsmiling at its close.
Earlier, the president had delivered his talk to the 2,700 attendees, including many celebrities and top officials, with the help of a Bush impersonator.
Colbert, who spoke in the guise of his talk-show character, who ostensibly supports the president strongly, urged Bush to ignore his low approval ratings, saying they were based on reality, “and reality has a well-known liberal bias.”
He attacked those in the press who claim that the shake-up at the White House was merely re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. “This administration is soaring, not sinking,” he said. “If anything, they are re-arranging the deck chairs on the Hindenburg.”
Colbert told Bush he could end the problem of protests by retired generals by refusing to let them retire. He compared Bush to Rocky Balboa in the “Rocky” movies, always getting punched in the face — “and Apollo Creed is everything else in the world.”
Turning to the war, he declared, "I believe that the government that governs best is a government that governs least, and by these standards we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq."
He noted former Ambassador Joseph Wilson in the crowd, just three tables away from Karl Rove, and that he had brought " Valerie Plame." Then, worried that he had named her, he corrected himself, as Bush aides might do, "Uh, I mean ... he brought Joseph Wilson's wife." He might have "dodged the bullet," he said, as prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald wasn't there.
Colbert also made biting cracks about missing WMDs, “photo ops” on aircraft carriers and at hurricane disasters, melting glaciers and Vice President Cheney shooting people in the face. He advised the crowd, "if anybody needs anything at their tables, speak slowly and clearly into your table numbers and somebody from the N.S.A. will be right over with a cocktail. "
Observing that Bush sticks to his principles, he said, "When the president decides something on Monday, he still believes it on Wednesday -- no matter what happened Tuesday."
Also lampooning the press, Colbert complained that he was “surrounded by the liberal media who are destroying this country, except for Fox News. Fox believes in presenting both sides of the story — the president’s side and the vice president’s side." In another slap at the news channel, he said: "I give people the truth, unfiltered by rational argument. I call it the No Fact Zone. Fox News, I own the copyright on that term."
He also reflected on the alleged good old days for the president, when the media was still swallowing the WMD story.
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."
He claimed that the Secret Service name for Bush's new press secretary is "Snow Job."
Colbert closed his routine with a video fantasy where he gets to be White House Press Secretary, complete with a special “Gannon” button on his podium. By the end, he had to run from Helen Thomas and her questions about why the U.S. really invaded Iraq and killed all those people.
As Colbert walked from the podium, when it was over, the president and First Lady gave him quick nods, unsmiling. The president shook his hand and tapped his elbow, and left immediately.
Those seated near Bush told E&P's Joe Strupp, who was elsewhere in the room, that Bush had quickly turned from an amused guest to an obviously offended target as Colbert’s comments brought up his low approval ratings and problems in Iraq.
Several veterans of past dinners, who requested anonymity, said the presentation was more directed at attacking the president than in the past. Several said previous hosts, like Jay Leno, equally slammed both the White House and the press corps.
“This was anti-Bush,” said one attendee. “Usually they go back and forth between us and him.” Another noted that Bush quickly turned unhappy. “You could see he stopped smiling about halfway through Colbert,” he reported.
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.”
Strupp, in the crowd during the Colbert routine, had observed that quite a few sitting near him looked a little uncomfortable at times, perhaps feeling the material was a little too biting -- or too much speaking "truthiness" (Colbert's made-up word) to power.
Asked by E&P after it was over if he thought he'd been too harsh, Colbert said, "Not at all." Was he trying to make a point politically or just get laughs? "Just for laughs," he said. He said he did not pull any material for being too strong, just for time reasons. (He later said the president told him "good job" when he walked off.)
Helen Thomas told Strupp her segment with Colbert was "just for fun."
In its report on the affair, USA Today asserted that some in the crowd cracked up over Colbert but others were "bewildered." Wolf Blitzer of CNN said he thought Colbert was funny and "a little on the edge."
Earlier, the president had addressed the crowd with a Bush impersonator alongside, with the faux-Bush speaking precisely and the real Bush deliberately mispronouncing words, such as the inevitable "nuclear." At the close, Bush called the imposter "a fine talent. In fact, he did all my debates with Senator Kerry." The routine went over well with this particular crowd -- better than did Colbert's, in fact, for whatever reason.
Among attendees at the black tie event: Morgan Fairchild, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, Justice Antonin Scalia, George Clooney, and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter of the Doobie Brothers -- in a kilt.
Man This is great stuff..
Many video sources here...
http://www.chris-floyd.com/index.php?optio...ask=view&id=621
What b*lls this guy has...
I read the transcripts of Colbert's performance. I agree with what Bush supposedly said; Brilliant! 
The difference between Colbert's performance and Bush's "Double Dubya Act" was substance. Bush's performance (or rather the impersonator's) was mildly funny but had no substance. It focused on Bush's language gaffs primarily. Colbert's performance was not funny because it was ruthlessly true and substantive about subjects of governance, truth, and about the abject cowardice of the media in standing up and doing their jobs. Colbert had to do it for them. Then they quickly covered it up, underlining their failure as journalists.
surprisingly, the re-airs I've seen on C-Span have not shown the Colbert part.
And Chris Matthews was trashing Colbert's performance.
lenal
And Chris Matthews was trashing Colbert's performance.
lenal
QUOTE(lenal @ May 1 2006, 06:22 PM)
surprisingly, the re-airs I've seen on C-Span have not shown the Colbert part.
And Chris Matthews was trashing Colbert's performance.
lenal
And Chris Matthews was trashing Colbert's performance.
lenal
FYI - here it is in all it's glory -
part 1 -
http://video.freevideoblog.com/video/AAC7F...D6CBD83E27F.htm
part 2 -
http://video.freevideoblog.com/video/C91DD...22BC77DF696.htm
QUOTE(wundermaus @ May 1 2006, 08:37 PM)
FYI - here it is in all it's glory -
part 1 -
http://video.freevideoblog.com/video/AAC7F...D6CBD83E27F.htm
part 2 -
http://video.freevideoblog.com/video/C91DD...22BC77DF696.htm
part 1 -
http://video.freevideoblog.com/video/AAC7F...D6CBD83E27F.htm
part 2 -
http://video.freevideoblog.com/video/C91DD...22BC77DF696.htm
Colbert is standing just feet away from Bush, and turns to him, and says thing like this to his face...
QUOTE
So don't pay attention to the approval ratings that say 68% of Americans disapprove of the job this man is doing. I ask you this, does that not also logically mean that 68% approve of the job he's not doing? Think about it. I haven’t. I stand by this man. I stand by this man because he stands for things. Not only for things, he stands on things. Things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently flooded city squares. And that sends a strong message, that no matter what happens to America, she will always rebound with the most powerfully staged photo ops in the world
QUOTE
The greatest thing about this man is he's steady. You know where he stands. He believes the same thing Wednesday, that he believed on Monday, no matter what happened Tuesday. Events can change, this man's beliefs never will.
His res vid here (394Meg)
http://aliberaldose.blogspot.com/2006/04/v...rs-bush-at.html
Part1 on youtube...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcIRXur61II...colbert%20roast
Part2 on youtube...(best part)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HN0INDOkFuo...colbert%20roast
Part3 on you tube(pre-recorded bit-funny)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJvar7BKwvQ...colbert%20roast
This is amazing , a monument to watching people squirm. And the media ignored it. The NYT did not even mention it.
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