real journalism

Stephen Colbert: Hero of Truthiness

Having watched the Crooks and Liars webcast of the Annual White House Correspondents' Dinner held last Saturday night, I was interested in the mainstream press's reaction, or--as was the case--lack of reaction.

Still, there were a few entries on Huffington Post that I found interesting. As usual, the response in blogovia was generally dependent on whether you like Bush (for god-knows-what reason) or don't like him.

So there was this writer name Nathan Gardels who said that Bush "outironicized" Colbert because he was able to make fun of himself.

Ahh...such a clown our Shrub is. And really, doesn't everyone love a clown?

Unable to keep myself from answering my own question, I wrote this:

Stephen Colbert--in the guise of almost every right-wing talking mouth on radio and TV--was relentless in his courage to stand up and blast so many of the Washington power players in politics and the mainstream media.

cvcobb01 was right on the money. We, the dissident majority, were really the intended audience that night. When else have we, the powerless in America, ever gotten to witness the expression of these kinds of widely-held criticisms of politicians and the press before...with them as a captured audience?

And the reaction of those attending is a perfect example of why it was evidently dangerous to one's career to show dissent even by laughing at such witty and biting satire.

Mr Gardels, it's always easy to laugh at a clown. That doesn't take any great talent or intelligence. But to appreciate the art of great satire as it has been used for provocation throughout the ages takes a mind that is evidently more facile than yours.

Thank you Stephen Colbert for giving voice to 5 long years of our having to put up with a clown rather than a true leader.

And Helen Thomas, you've got more balls than anyone in the White House Press Corps...bar none!

I've been a big fan of Colbert since his new show began last fall. I'm constantly amazed at how he (and his writers) are able to say in such a succinct and funny manner what so many bloggers (including myself) can only say with a kind of seething disdain simmering below the surface.

One of the things I always notice about totalitarian states is the lack of public humor. We should all be thankful, then, for people like Bill Maher, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Will Durst and many others who somehow manage to channel much of our righteous anger into laughter. Doesn't mean that we don't feel the same emotions about the issues that bug us. Just means that our frustration doesn't do more harm to ourselves than to those who are doing us harm.

posted by mauiloa @ 4:34 PM