Stephen, how can you walk?
Stephen Colbert.... Wow.
I guess I'm not surprised that "The Mainstream NewsMedia" has completely ignored Stephen Colbert's lambasting of the Bush Administration and the White House Press Corps on Saturday, April 29th.
I did not see it live. Now, I have an excuse. I don't watch TV. Fortunately, there's Slashdot. Their pointer to more detailed coverage did the trick. I read a transcript. I saw an edited video.
It was good stuff. His delivery was a bit slow... as though pedantic.... perhaps, for the benefit of the President.
Clearly, the bulk of his remarks were not really for the benefit of the audience present. Laughs from those in attendance were sparse. I suspect this is because most of the folks in attendance realized they were the butts of Colbert's cutting jokes. They were funny for his Comedy Central audience... and any other not-fast-asleep Americans out there.
He had plenty to go around. Rumsfeld, Cheney, Bush, McCain, McClellan, Snow, Rove... all got jabs from Colbert... and some non-government figures got a poke... Jessie Jackson, for one. When commenting on his interview with Jackson, Colbert said, "[it was] like boxing a glacier. Enjoy that metaphor because you grandchildren will have no idea what a glacier is." That to me is brilliant. Using a metaphoric jab at an irrelevant, washed-up windbag as a segue to a HHOS remark about a global issue that would otherwise have not gotten coverage, and, in doing so, take another jab at the Bush administration. Sweet. It was like Neo fighting off a hundred Smiths, using one of them to pummel fifty others.
...but I digress.
I first became aware of Stephen Colbert in the book, "America: The Book (Democracy Inaction)", which I thoroughly enjoyed, but, since I was unaware of Colbert's TV Pundit personna, ... well.. let's just say there was something lost in translation.
My next exposure came with the DVD release of The Daily Show's 2004 election coverage. There, Colbert shined through. His commentary on the first night of the RNC convention was brilliant. Stewart asked, "Aren't all conventions manipulative?" To which, Colbert replied, "No, Jon. To call this convention manipulative is to call Marcell Marceau a little quitet. These people are artists, operating at the peak of their abilities. Take Thursday night's theme: 'Fuck you! What're you ganna do about it?'" It was beautiful. I cried. He had me at Marcel Marceau.
While Colbert did not get the laughs he paused for in the room, I'm confident he got them at home. He can still take a dismal and frightening situation (the Bush administration) and find deep, rich, dark nuggets of black comedy in it. He is one of my heroes.
Thank you Stephen Colbert. Thank you, for the love.
I guess I'm not surprised that "The Mainstream NewsMedia" has completely ignored Stephen Colbert's lambasting of the Bush Administration and the White House Press Corps on Saturday, April 29th.
I did not see it live. Now, I have an excuse. I don't watch TV. Fortunately, there's Slashdot. Their pointer to more detailed coverage did the trick. I read a transcript. I saw an edited video.
It was good stuff. His delivery was a bit slow... as though pedantic.... perhaps, for the benefit of the President.
Clearly, the bulk of his remarks were not really for the benefit of the audience present. Laughs from those in attendance were sparse. I suspect this is because most of the folks in attendance realized they were the butts of Colbert's cutting jokes. They were funny for his Comedy Central audience... and any other not-fast-asleep Americans out there.
He had plenty to go around. Rumsfeld, Cheney, Bush, McCain, McClellan, Snow, Rove... all got jabs from Colbert... and some non-government figures got a poke... Jessie Jackson, for one. When commenting on his interview with Jackson, Colbert said, "[it was] like boxing a glacier. Enjoy that metaphor because you grandchildren will have no idea what a glacier is." That to me is brilliant. Using a metaphoric jab at an irrelevant, washed-up windbag as a segue to a HHOS remark about a global issue that would otherwise have not gotten coverage, and, in doing so, take another jab at the Bush administration. Sweet. It was like Neo fighting off a hundred Smiths, using one of them to pummel fifty others.
...but I digress.
I first became aware of Stephen Colbert in the book, "America: The Book (Democracy Inaction)", which I thoroughly enjoyed, but, since I was unaware of Colbert's TV Pundit personna, ... well.. let's just say there was something lost in translation.
My next exposure came with the DVD release of The Daily Show's 2004 election coverage. There, Colbert shined through. His commentary on the first night of the RNC convention was brilliant. Stewart asked, "Aren't all conventions manipulative?" To which, Colbert replied, "No, Jon. To call this convention manipulative is to call Marcell Marceau a little quitet. These people are artists, operating at the peak of their abilities. Take Thursday night's theme: 'Fuck you! What're you ganna do about it?'" It was beautiful. I cried. He had me at Marcel Marceau.
While Colbert did not get the laughs he paused for in the room, I'm confident he got them at home. He can still take a dismal and frightening situation (the Bush administration) and find deep, rich, dark nuggets of black comedy in it. He is one of my heroes.
Thank you Stephen Colbert. Thank you, for the love.
posted by UrsusPacificus at 5:46 AM
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