Have you noticed that the Colbert critics...

[ClusterFreak]

...are ripping him for "going too far", or for "not being funny", but NOT because his ironic tongue-lashing of the powers-that-be was, for instance, distorted or just plain wrong. They bad-mouth him because what he was saying WAS true, ALL of it. And they didn't want to hear the truth.

[NanceGreggs]

1. Good observation.

Not word one from anyone about a lack of 'truthiness' in his remarks.

But then, when you're busy re-arranging the deck chairs on the Hindenburg, you have other priorities ...

[ClusterFreak]

2. LOL....I love that line!

:spray:

[The_Casual_Observer]

3. I'm ripping him because the whole thing was bogus.

What did he criticize? Nothing. And it made jr look even more like a buffoon. Do we really need to be reminded?

[ClusterFreak]

5. I'm not sure if you're for or against what Colbert did...

...which is it?

[The_Casual_Observer]

6. That's because I'm not sure what Colbert did.

Did he really criticize bush in any meaningful way? I don't think so. It was pure harmless "roast" material carefully vetted by jr's handlers. Did the whole thing serve the purpose of humanizing bush & making the last 5 years "laughable"? I think they tried their best, but I'm not buying.

[ClusterFreak]

7. Go back and re-watch Colbert's performance...it's all over the net.

Consider that the guy is all about irony, he says the exact opposite of what he means, all the time, that's his gig: being a faux neo-con. Forgive me if I'm explaining the obvious to you. Anyway...if you can come away from watching him with this in mind, and still feel the way you do, then I guess that's the way you feel. Not my view, and I doubt it's the view of the White House today. Or the MSM outlets, print and TV alike. For different reasons than mine, obviously enough.

[The_Casual_Observer]

8. So, jr went out on a limb with a wild card guy who did whatever he wanted?

Not very likely, and nothing that I saw harmed jr in the least, except that the whole thing was so obviously contrived to look "over the top" or "on the edge" that is was a total embarrassment to everybody involved.

[havocmom]

46. jr didn't invite Colbert. jr was a captive audience

The fact that Colbert did his job to perfection was written all over jrs very red face. That man is no poker player. If he got it, well, it just wasn't that hard to get. Colbert did hammer bush and bush knew it.

Colbert hammered the 'press' too, and they noticed.

[Nostradammit]

9. I disagree completely

"The president is Rocky and Apollo Creed is everything else in the world."


That's vicious.


"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."

Colbert completely rips him here for turning tragedies into photo-ops and that isn't meaningful criticism to you?

What, pray tell, would constitute "meaningful criticism" in your view?

[The_Casual_Observer]

11. "that isn't meaningful criticism to you"

No. Stating the obvious and making light of it isn't criticism. It's an insidious attempt to make the shit acceptable by making a joke out of it. People seem in awe of the fact that some guy had the nerve to "confront" bush about this stuff. bush didn't get confronted by anything. It's all out in the open and humorous now.

[ConsAreLiars]

12. Sure -- very insightful -- that's exactly why Chimpy looked so happy.

Oh, wait, he didn't. Maybe you should send Chimpy a reassuring emsil telling him that it made him look like a hero, at least as you saw it.

[The_Casual_Observer]

14. bush didn't look like anything. He was the straight man.

Colbert played the "stupid bush" for laffs. I have no idea where you get the idea that I am saying that bush is a hero. The only laughs are the laughs on us, because apparently the last five years of shit were just for fun, according to that stupid performance.

[ConsAreLiars]

17. The only way I can make any sense out of your remarks

is to assume that you saw the Steve Bridges suck-up skit and confused it with Colbert. If so, you are living in a very confused version of reality. If not, well, that is even more troubling.

[greyl]

21. I think you've been observing much too casually.

Your comments aren't related to Colbert at all.

[Nostradammit]

13. He wasn't making light of it.

He was making them look like idiots.

You should start observing a little less casually.

You'll catch more that way.

:)

[The_Casual_Observer]

15. Well, then we disagree don't we?

To think that Colbert "got away" with something is to be mislead.

[Nostradammit]

16. I guess we do

But I still love you.

[The_Casual_Observer]

18. Me too.

[Justice]

26. Rocky, that was funny - I had forgotten that bit, ah, er

oh, Rocky lost in that one. Funny.

[question everything]

20. This was the reporters evening and he mostly criticized them

for not investigating and reporting the whole story.

One problem, of course, is that reporters are dependent on the goodwill of the White House and if they will report the truth, their access to sources will vanish.

Which is why there was more silence than laugh during his presentation.

Or, as he said earlier this evening: "a respectful silence."

[rman]

22. your perception of what Colbert did is quite odd to me

[linazelle]

64. Me too. They can't hold back their true identities at times like these.

Here's a hint: "The glass is 2/3 empty...and the remainder is backwash."

[Rhiannon12866]

40. I don't think it was "harmless," or it would have made the mainstream news

Nothing that he said was laughable, because it hit on the real truth of the horror show of the last five years. That's the reason that it wasn't "funny" to the Bushes or their supporters. But my friend and I thought it was hysterical. It was biting criticism of what Bush* has done to this country, something that was long overdue, but presented in such a subtle and clever way that the audience wasn't sure how to react. We thought it was brilliant...:woohoo:

Look again. Complete text and video, courtesy of DUers. I understand that this made Air America!:yourock:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1062760&mesg_id=1062760

[tridim]

54. Telling Scalia to "F*ck off" is not harmless "roast" material

It's telling Scalia to F*ck off.

[madokie]

24. I don't but one of my friends sure does

[stanwyck]

59. Here's a list

He criticized generals sending young people to war on false intelligence. He criticized a president who acts not from reality and facts...but from "his gut". He criticized a media too cowardly to ask questions. And a press secretary too cowardly to answer.
He criticized an administration that "outed" an undercover CIA agent for political payback.
He criticized Fox news for giving "both sides"..Bush's and Cheney's.
He criticized Bush for stubbornness and anti-intellectualism.
He criticized the administration for their environmental policies.
And that's just five minutes. He talked for twenty.
If you didn't hear the criticism, you didn't watch.

[fishwax]

4. you're not supposed to tell the emperor he has no clothes

and you're not supposed to tell the press they should have mentioned that years ago.

Neither of those things is funny :rofl:

[LaPera]

10. I love Colbert's quote afterwards...

"Best of all, I got to meet my main man, President Bush," he said, and even had a chance to shake his hand. "He has very soft hands," Colbert revealed, "which was surprising. He must wear gloves when he is clearing brush."

Those infamous bullshit Crawford, TX photo-ops.

[madokie]

25. Thats why a handshake is so important, the hands don't lie

the mouth do.

[Justice]

28. When did Colbert say that?

[Narraback]

48. On his show last night... Replayed today on Comedy Central...

nt

[spooky3]

31. that is priceless!

[katinmn]

51. and he said he must wear hand lotion!

:rofl:

[anitar1]

19. Watching Dana Millbank on Olbermann tonight

was bery telling IMHO. He looked strained , his smile was a mere baring of teeth ect, as he critizied Colbert. Really tried to put him down, I thought. Couldn't take the fire.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

23. Milbanks said...very haltingly ,,, that Colbert didn't cross the line but

he wasn't very funny. And then the subjhect quickly changed, didn't it? Cucumber Martinis..what the heck?
He tried to ignore the whole point of what Colbert did, as all of his critics have.

Keith made his position very clear. Truthiness to Power.

[Rhiannon12866]

36. I don't know why Keith continues to have Milbanks on, after his attack on

John Conyers. That craven act made Milbanks lose all credibility with me.:grr:

And, of course, he said that SC wasn't funny. What else could he say?! That he hit the nail on the head, over and over and over?! We thought he was just hysterical. A brilliant performance, and one that took some courage, to stare down George Bush* without flinching.
:scared:

And Keith has always made his position very clear. That Stephen Colbert has made this persona a parody of Bill O'Reilly, Keith's "worst person in the world," should make his position obvious to anyone here.:shrug:

What said it for me was the amount of time that he devoted to showing clips of Colbert's performance. The other news shows have pretty much only showed clips of the evil Bush* twins... I mean the other Bush* twins...:eyes:

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

43. Do not forget..Keith opened the segment with Truthiness To Power

right on the screen and then he started to show those great clips. I think in those couple of minutes, Keith made his position known.

[Rhiannon12866]

45. Oh, absolutely! I know where Keith stands, so don't get why others don't.

My friend told me that he was being bashed on DU last night for this segment. Keith is the one journalist in the mainstream news who isn't afraid to look truth in the eye or to speak out when others won't. I thought that he was a hero on DU because of this. I guess some people don't get him like the Bush* supporters didn't get Colbert...:shrug:

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

49. This is my take on it.

I don't want to appear paranoid but I think lately there has been a very strong effort on the part of some to start a full court press against Progressive values on DU, which leads me to believe that we've been successfully infiltrated. There is no way on earth that a true Progressive DUer would attack Keith for last night's segment or in the case of Colbert, asserting and trying to make us believe that Colbert was tasteless and not funny. I am not referring to posts that point out that it wasn't meant to be funny, but the ones trying to plant the seed that he really wasn't and that his courageous speech was uncalled for. They remind me of Tweety saying yesterday..why was he (Colbert) so bad.

Meanwhile, did you see the Colbert Report last night? His fans gave him the loudest applause ever for his
"performance" at the WHCD!!!! You could feel that the energy was directly from their hearts!!!! I loved it!

[Rhiannon12866]

56. I think that you are right.

When my friend told me that Keith was under attack on DU, I expressed my puzzlement to my SO (both belong to DU), since I thought that Keith was one of our few heroes. He reminded me that DU is heavily freeped (my words), which I certainly knew, but often forget, since I tend to think of disruptors as drive-bys, and not in the mold of CubanLiberal and Seventh Son. So you are probably right on the mark. And what a shame. But then, I belong to FR, have for years, though I can't remember the last time I even looked at anything there.:D

As for Tweety, I have never really gotten him. I wanted to slap him, when he insisted on finding Bush* supporters in any crowd, in the lead up to the election. I know that he worked for my president, Jimmy Carter, and practically genuflects anytime he's fortunate enough to have him as a guest.:shrug:

And I made it a point to catch both "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report," last night, just to see what they had to say about Colbert's speech. The coverage was incredibly well received by both audiences which made me feel good again about the whole thing, and very good for Stephen Colbert, who deserves kudos unequaled!:woohoo:

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

66. I can only surmise that Tweety is

being paid very well by wrongwing organizations.

Have a great night! :)"

[katinmn]

53. Millbank is part of the beltway media

He can never go too far or he'll not be invited to cocktail parties with Butch's cronies.

[Rhiannon12866]

57. I see. Thanks for the explanation. And he's not the only one like that.

But, if that's the case, I don't get why Keith continues to put up with him. His attack on John Conyers was unwarranted and unforgivable, IMHO.:-(

[katinmn]

60. I don't know why.

KO's high ratings are presumably because he is perceived to be one of the fair pundits.

[Rhiannon12866]

61. Keith's high ratings are because he is about the only one in the MSM who

is willing to tell the truth. DUers and liberals listen to him. Bill O'Reilly launches a counterattack against him. MoveOn encourages its members to listen and give them their feedback. Keith is an anomaly in mainstream news. He says what he thinks. He's been a DU hero for a long time. KOEB is his group.:-)

That's the only reason that I questioned his acquiescence of Dana Milbank. He has been skewered by DU and then some, after he attacked a true DU hero, Rep. John Conyers. I'm not giving up on Keith, not by a long shot, but I just questioned his choice of guests, which may not have been his choice, at all.:shrug:

[YOY]

27. He wasn't funny

He was absolutely right and the truth hurts.

[spooky3]

30. I guess I laugh at nothing, then.

It's not often that I laugh out loud when watching TV alone. But I did, when watching that speech.

He was absolutely right, the truth does hurt, AND he was brilliantly funny.

[YOY]

32. Oh I laughed too, don't get me wrong

but the whole 'He wasn't funny' crowd was afraid to laugh. They know it's true. All of it is true, but if it wasn't true wouldn't it be funnier to them?

[spooky3]

33. Good; I guess I think many of the "he wasn't funny" crowd

are simply trying to discredit Colbert. And I don't think we have to choose between what's funny and what's true (as in the tradition of Richard Pryor and many other great comics).

Maybe for some of these "he wasn't funny" folks, their idea of humor is The Family Circus, or making fun of Monica Lewinsky.

[YOY]

34. Family Circus freeper style! Mayhaps they'll enjoy this more!

[Rhiannon12866]

37. OMG! Amazing!!! LOL!

:woohoo:

[spooky3]

47. LOLOLOLOL!!!!! Thanks!

[xchrom]

29. if he wasn't funny to these guys

it's because his{colbert's} pointed out there own culpability.

if colbert ripped bush -- by extension he ripped the media that has propped up an administration that has been lawless.

[Justice]

35. They say he wasn't funny because they don't want people to watch

if people thought Colbert was funny or outrageous they would seek out the video clip. By saying he is not funny, they want people think it is not worth watching.

It is the republican way - let's not talk about the substance, let's diss the concept/the event. Let's make people think Colbert is not funny, so they will not watch Colbert.

[Neil Lisst]

38. "It just wasn't the place to knee the president in the nuts!"

That's the essence of the criticism I've heard.

God forbid anyone confronts him with his bullshit.

[sofa king]

39. Somewhere, Aristophanes is laughing.

Sometimes, when a nation carries itself off to war, comedy and art become important ways of telling the truth.

Pablo Picasso was down with Aristophanes. I'm pretty sure that if they were around today, both would want to thank Stephen Colbert.

[mmonk]

41. To those that

worship or submit to this administration's policies, it wasn't funny. It was either funny or truthful or both to people in the know.

[90-percent]

42. "It just wasn't the place to knee the president in the nuts!"

Like G. Gordon Liddy and street corners, just tell me where to go for this and I AM THERE!

-85% Jimmy

[lonestarnot]

44. What president? I didn't see a president and I watched it 15 times!

Can I get an award for the person who watched it the most? Can we get a following here, like the Rocky Horror Picture Show! I have a transcript. :donut:

[90-percent]

50. Rocky Horror?

I vote for elevating Colbert's WH Press Performance to RHPS stature!

Keep sharing the tapes, or what ever MST-3K said at the end if each show.

-85% Jimmy

[katinmn]

52. LOL! 15 times. You beat me.

I didn't see a president either. I saw a usurper to the thrown surrounded by ass-kissing glitterati except for Colbert, Thomas and Clooney.

[linazelle]

65. I'm with you lonestar...I didn't see no pwesident neither.

:rofl:

[cap]

55. they didnt want to talk about the content of the speech...

just wanted to criticize peripheral issues....
More of the last six years...

Talking about the speech itself is too much for the press.

[dogday]

58. You know what was the funniest of all?

The looks on the faces of the people in the audience... On the second time around watching the video, when I knew what Colbert was going to say, I watched the looks on the faces of the people and the president... Now that was priceless... The shock and awe of it. :rofl::rofl::rofl:

[zippy890]

62. Yes! The reaction of the crowd WAS priceless

they didn't know what to do, looking at each other, should they laugh or not.

I loved that part too, made me laugh all the more.

[rustydog]

63. Damn him for showing the entire Nation what weak lap dogs

the White House correspondants are.

Truth hurts like a bitch, huh?