As Stephen Colbert himself created and defined the word
truthiness: it's not necessarily what is true, but rather what feels true. Well, the truth right now is that it feels like Colbert is the most important person in the media. His roasting of the president last Saturday night at The White House Correspondents Dinner was a watershed moment in American politics. And, for those in the public who have seen it, it was one that 68% of those who don't approve of this president have been waiting for, and that's why they've been cheering it on for the past week.
The 32%, the backwash if you will, might not have gotten it, but who cares. They are the butt of the jokes along with the president and all those fools in the main stream media who also got roasted by a man who has the balls not to sell out to these media-whores.
The main stream media has tried their best to ignore Colbert, and/or to spin his performance as a failure or as tasteless and disrespectful. However, this is one of those moments where the truth is so obvious that it just can't be spun any other way.
Just watch for yourself.
What Colbert did was the equivalent of playing a sporting match against the president, but he played it straight up and he played to win. He did his thing, and he didn't hold back. And, it's not that his thing (his act, his character) is the funniest or most unique character that an entertainer has ever created - not at all. But, he's the only person that's had a chance to play the president face-to-face and who didn't throw the game. Everyone else in the media when they get the chance to go at the president they hold back, they let him win. Not Colbert. He stole the ball from Bush, dribbled between his legs, pulled out his best crossover move, drove the lane and dunked it right in the president's grill. It's not that it was the Michael Jordan of dunks; it's that to this date nobody else has played to win vs. this president. Even those that don't like him act like the employee at the company picnic who holds back and lets his boss win. And those others who don't hold back like Michael Moore or Bill Maher haven't had the chance to do their thing right to the president’s face.
Colbert got his chance and he didn't waste it, and he didn't worry about what it would do to his career if he beat the president. That's what the public is responding to. That is why those who disapprove of the Bush regime want to hoist Colbert on their shoulders and carry him off the field. Thanks to the internet they've been doing that in a metaphorical manner (
here's one example). This has been the biggest story on the internet for the last week, and it's been going on in spite of the main stream media’s attempts to ignore it, for they too were also the targets of Colbert last Saturday.
Along with the president he openly ridiculed them for not doing their job during The Bush Administration, and his criticisms were so dead on accurate that if there's any brains left in any of them they had to feel the sting of his truthiness. And, we know now they did feel it which is why many of them have chosen to ignore or desperately tried to diminish his performance. But, seeing is believing folks, and only a fool could deny that Colbert stole the show.
For Christ's sake the man stood on stage in front of the president, his wife, and 3,000 Washington insiders and pointed out in no uncertain terms that all the president has been good for in response to a crisis is a well staged photo opportunity - whether in response to 9/11, The Iraq War or Katrina the president was there to stand on things - be it rubble, aircraft carriers, or flooded cities. This resonates with the public because it’s completely true, and at the same time it’s so completely sad and ridiculous that it is the truth. Colbert captured that feeling.
Everyone knows this and we've been yearning for someone to say it, to call the president on these meaningless photo-ops because it’s almost a crime that he’s been able to get away with it thus far. The more appropriate manner would've been for a reporter to call the president out on this to his face during a press conference. However, they haven't done that when it would've counted; so instead we have a comedian who did it at what was supposed to be a light-hearted social event. And, some people have tried to criticize him for crossing some sort of imaginary line. Fortunately, those criticisms won’t hold up because what most of us know is that this line should’ve been crossed long ago. The Bush Administration has been a sad joke on all of us, and now we’re supposed to feel bad that someone pointed this out right to his face.
So Colbert made this point along with many other scathing criticisms; and to add insult to injury he did it right in front of the people who should've been making these points all along, and he mocked them for this. He didn’t play to the audience as a comedian is supposed to do. He ridiculed them and the guest of honor; and he didn’t get discouraged by the uncomfortable lack of laughter once everyone realized what was actually happening. Lesser men would have. Most people do. Most people are sellouts like most of Colbert’s audience that night. But, not this man. That is why this will not be forgotten, because people know that this president lives in a bubble; and it’s about time that someone burst that bubble and made him face the realities of his failed presidency – even if it was only for 20 minutes.
