Saturday, April 29, 2006
Don't they know who Colbert is? Didn't they realize that he runs one of the most subversive shows on television? And that he practices a form of politically-aggressive performance art that is unlike anything else in the mainstream media?
Maybe they thought that, with President Bush sitting only a few feet away, he would tone things down. But he didn't. And it made for some pretty surreal television.
Some excerpts:
"I believe the government that governors best is the government that governs least, and by these standards we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq."* "[Mr. President], pay no attention to the people who believe the glass is half-empty, because 32% means it's two-thirds empty. There's still some liquid in that glass is my point. But I wouldn't drink it. The last third is usually backwash."* "I stand by this man [the President] because he stands for things. Not only for things, he stands on things. Things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently-flooded city squares. And that sends a strong message that no matter what happens to America, she will always rebound with the most powerfully-staged photo ops in the world."* "The greatest thing about this man is he's steady, he knows where he stands. He believes the same thing Wednesday that he believed on Monday--no matter what happened Tuesday."
The C-SPAN telecast didn't run too many reaction shots of the President, but he couldn't have been too pleased. And after a few minutes, Colbert seemed to lose at least part of the crowd, which slowly came to realize that his sarcastic assault on the administration was more a vicious, no-holds-barred skewering than a good-natured roast.
UPDATE: Crooks and Liars has video.
