Ignoring Colbert: A Small Taste of the Media's Power to Choose the News

[Keseys Ghost]

The White House Correspondents' Association Dinner was televised on C-Span Saturday evening. Featured entertainer Stephen Colbert delivered a biting rebuke of George W. Bush and the lily-livered press corps. He did it to Bush's face, unflinching and unbowed by the audience's muted, humorless response. Democratic Underground members commented in real time (here, here, and here). TMV posted a wrap-up.

On Colbert's gutsy delivery, watertiger writes, "Stephen Colbert displayed more guts in ten minute of performance at the White House Correspondents Dinner than the entire Bush family. He, along with the ever-feisty Helen Thomas, deftly exposed the "truthiness" to the world (or at least those who were watching) that Bush AND the D.C. press corps are indeed a naked emperor and his gutless courtiers...."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/20060430/cm_huffpost/020092;_ylt=A86.I2aOX1VEBVIByRv9wxIF;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA--

[leveymg]

1. What's really alarming was the "muted, humorless response" from the press.

Most of the audience were shown to be a bunch of Kool-aid drinking zombies.

No wonder they're no longer "America's trusted source for news".

[Old and In the Way]

5. He dropped a big, smelly turd in their Kool-aid punchbowl.

That toast told me all I needed to know about the Washington Press. How can you toast a guy that ought to be in the Hague, explaining his war crimes?

[ShortnFiery]

14. I'm ashamed of our American Press ...

Even the Washington Post has seemingly drank the BushBotBorg Koolaid. :(

[EFerrari]

2. The interesting thing though, KG,is that the press booked him.

The bookers knew exactly what they'd get. They have to be or they find themselves unemployed.

Their public response is belied by choosing to have him there at all. :)

[Old and In the Way]

6. I was wondering what that guy was thinking during Colbert's performance.

I suspect that he was seeing his professional life ending before his eyes. Personally, I don't know why Colbert's performance was a surprise to anyone...he's been fearless in exposing the hypocrisy and criminal incompetence of this administration night afetr night on his show.

[Occulus]

8. I tend to look at it this way:

Whomever invited Colbert to speak at that dinner either a) never watches Comedy Central or b) wanted 'something' to happen. As to what that might have been.... well, we all saw it, didn't we?

I can't accept that the person booking Colbert had never seen Colbert's own show, a spinoff from a critically-acclaimed newsious (!) show, both broadcast on a major cable network. No, the person who accepted him as a guest knew exactly what was going to happen.... and I think, even when (not if, with this administration) they get transferred or outright fired, they will never have one single regret.

This was the work of someone in the right place, at the right time, to flick out a finger of power and inflict massive, public, devastating damage to the architects of and collaborators with the entire game being played out on the world stage at this moment. Colbert 'gave it' to the most powerful people in the world during that performance, with the most important of them literally feet away. It reaffirmed his genius, and at the same time sent a message:

Yes, Mr. Bush. We can get a job in a spot to do things like this. We are the way of sunshine, chasing shadows and illuminating truth. Sorry if that bothers you.

[leveymg]

11. This will get replayed in 50 years to show that resistance was still alive

in Washington in 2006. Despite all the heavyhanded threats and firings -- rather, because of them.

Some polemical shots are being fired back, right in the face of the CIC.

Long live Democratic America! Thank you Stephen Colbert!

[leveymg]

9. Bush looked like he knew exactly what was coming.

I'm sure his domestic political intelligence system is still working well enough to get a copy of the script.

Didn't his father do that prior to the debate with Carter?

Dubya was shrinking away from moment one, even before Colbert opened up with the big guns about Plame, Iraq, NOLA, 32 percent, etc.

[EFerrari]

13. I seriously doubt it. I work with corporate bookers all the time.

They know exactly what they're paying for, down to your clothes and hair.

[PretzelWarrior]

10. Associated PRess much different than CORP media AOL/DISNEY/GE

get it? If GE was in charge this year, Jay Leno would be up there making jokes about Bush saying Nu-kyu-ler.

[EFerrari]

12. Authorized propaganda is the entity that called us dissidents

when we raised questions about Ohio. Their managing editor is from ES&S country.

Not that different, no.

[Brigid]

3. Makes no difference.

Thanks to the internet, it's all over the place anyway.

[MrScorpio]

4. Yahoo went all chickshit on us

The discussion doesn't work

[Keseys Ghost]

7. 2740 "thank yous" so far says it's out there

What a man, what a man, what a man....

[Lydia Leftcoast]

15. Never mind Colbert, where's the coverage of the ways

Bush has violated the Constitution?