Fascinating!
While the MSM is busy telling Stephen Colbert “we’re just not that into you,” dismissing his performance at the White House Correspondents dinner as “not funny,” the blogisphere just can’t get enough. There is now a website where you can leave a thank you for Mr. Colbert, Democracy Now has posted the full performance (thanks for the tip geocrackr), and Crooks & Liars has put up a video of Bush watching the video taped portion of Colbert’s routine. It’s much like the tape of Bush in the classroom reading My Pet Goat to the schoolchildren on 9/11, but this time with less blank staring and more jaw clenching. It’s fascinating to watch him sitting there so clearing stewing, and I couldn’t help but try to imagine what was running through his mind. Whatever it was, I’m sure it wasn’t G rated.
posted by The (liberal)Girl Next Door @ 10:20 PM
3 Comments:
Bush would have already sat through the worst of the embarrassment by the time Colbert's admittedly long video came on. In all truthiness Bush kept his composure better than I probably would have having to sit there through it.
Meanwhile what may be even more interesting is the fact the thankyoustephencolbert.org site seems to be down. A DOS attack? Wouldn't be surprised.
Democracy Now has posted the full performance; I just watched it yet again, because the routine and its aftermath is just fascinating me to no end. Every time I see it I get that stomach-clenching beta-wave rush, as if I were the one up at the podium -- Stephen Colbert as me in a kind of psychological displacement, telling the establishment everything I've wanted to tell them since the Reagan debacle; or as if my "gut" recognizes I'm watching a historical moment.
What I noticed this time is that the audience seemed to think he was pretty funny for the first 8 minutes or so: for example, making fun of those christian fundamentalist rubes ("And though I am a committed Christian, I believe that everyone has the right to their own religion, be you Hindu, Jewish or Muslim. I believe there are infinite paths to accepting Jesus Christ as your personal savior.") got a big laugh. It was when he started homing in on AWOL's 32% approval rating that the room got quiet. And that's when you really recognize "Holy shit! He's standing there giving the finger to the preznit and the beltway media!"
No wonder they didn't think it was funny. He stood up in front of all of them saying "I may be the joke-teller -- but all of you have become the joke." We all think it's funny because it's true; they don't think it's funny for the same reason. He's holding a mirror up telling them it's a fun-house mirror, ha-ha, but they're recognizing that the bloated distorted image is what they've become. Coincidentally, that same WP "White House Briefing" page that C&L links to has another link a little ways down, to Eric Boehlert's excerpt from his new book Lapdogs: How the Press Rolled Over for Bush.
Daniel--It looked like it took all of his strength to stay in his seat. He did take it like a man, at least in public, I'll give him that.
GeoCrackr--Thanks for the tip about the full clip. I had the same reaction the second time I watched it, it was amazing to see the room turn silent when he really honed in on just how sad this President is, and just how much the press is propping him up. I think you're right, it might be a historical moment.
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