Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Laughter is the best medicine
I've been a fan of Stephen Colbert (pictured left) ever since I first saw him on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. I was aware that he had been given his own TV show, The Colbert Report, due to his impressive performances on the show but I'd no idea that he had caused a big storm over in the States over comments he made about George W. Bush.Colbert was the featured entertainer for the 2006 White House Correspondent's Association Dinner and he gave a satirical speech whilst portraying his conservative character from The Colbert Report. Several of Bush's aides and supporters walked out during Colbert's speech, and one former aide said that the President had "that look that he's ready to blow."
Here's a snippet from Colbert's speech that has tongues wagging:
"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."
You can watch the speech for yourself on Google Video here.
I've watched the speech and I thought it was funny. Not hilarious...but funny enough. Some critics have claimed he "bombed" and that the crowd was dead. I thought Time magazine's TV critic James Poniewozik put it best though when she said:
"Colbert wasn't playing to the room, I suspect, but to the wide audience of people who would later watch on the Internet. If anything, he was playing against the room."
I agree. The speech made strong points and rattled feathers. Maybe that's why the Republicans didn't laugh. Did he touch on some uncomfortable home truths?
I liked Jon Stewart's response to suggestions that Colbert may have gone over the line:
"apparently he was under the impression that they'd hired him to do what he does every night on television."
Just in case I'm being too harsh on oul' Dubya though I also came across the hilarious speech he gave with the impersonator Steve Bridges. I think he's the guy who does skits with Jay Leno now and again. Anyway, this is a must-see. Who knew Bush could be so funny? Intentionally funny I mean. I loved Bush's comments on Cheney. Excellent delivery too. You can watch it all below:
# posted by United Irelander @ 12:07 AM 
© 2008 United Irelander.
