Posted on 05/03/2006 8:59:06 PM PDT by West Coast Conservative
First, let me state my credentials: I am a funny guy. This is well known in certain circles, which is why, even back in elementary school, I was sometimes asked by the teacher to "say something funny" -- as if the deed could be done on demand. This, anyway, is my standing for stating that Stephen Colbert was not funny at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. All the rest is commentary.
The commentary, though, is also what I do, and it will make the point that Colbert was not just a failure as a comedian but rude. Rude is not the same as brash. It is not the same as brassy. It is not the same as gutsy or thinking outside the box. Rudeness means taking advantage of the other person's sense of decorum or tradition or civility that keeps that other person from striking back or, worse, rising in a huff and leaving. The other night, that person was George W. Bush.
Colbert made jokes about Bush's approval rating, which hovers in the middle 30s. He made jokes about Bush's intelligence, mockingly comparing it to his own. "We're not some brainiacs on nerd patrol," he said. Boy, that's funny.
Colbert took a swipe at Bush's Iraq policy, at domestic eavesdropping, and he took a shot at the news corps for purportedly being nothing more than stenographers recording what the Bush White House said. He referred to the recent staff changes at the White House, chiding the media for supposedly repeating the cliche "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic" when he would have put it differently: "This administration is not sinking. This administration is soaring. If anything, they are rearranging the deck chairs on the Hindenburg." A mixed metaphor, and lame as can be.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
ping
Never thought I'd agree with Cohen on anything.
Somewhere along the line Richard Cohen saw the light. Or at least saw some light. He used to be as bad as any other whacko leftist. This column is spot on, and his description of the rudeness -- taking advantage of the President's own sense of fair play -- is perfectly stated.
ping
They're starting to embarrass each other -- when they recognize themselves trying to be outdone.
Let the gnashing of teeth begin! May they encounter themselves a thousand times before they realize they are dead.
I am not only surprised Cohen wrote this but how well he described the rudeness of Colbert.
They're causing their own revulsion -- seeing themselves as others see them. It's not a pretty sight.
Colbert was not only rude, he was painfully boring. I heard his screed on a replay on C-SPAN, and was cringing through the whole thing. There was almost no laughter and very little applause. When he sat down, the woman beside him rubbed his back - as if consoling him for being such a failure. It was just embarassing.
There were many at the dinner that saw themselves as others see them from the silence of the crowd.
I saw it and you're right, saying it was embarrassing is right on.
Is Richard Cohen known for something other than his columns? I've never heard of the guy.
Dang...Richard Cohen just spoke "truth to power"...LOL
well Cohen may be a RINO, but he puts the R first at least and is at least a believer in Reagan's 11th Commandment..
typical smirky cynical "intellectual" humor machine...
i can still remember Jon Stewart nearly crying about the twin towers but months later exhibiting the same liberal "we made them do it" mentality of all the typical eastern elite b#tches that are safe thanks to the bravery of much better men.
amen
I've watched the dust ups over these events for the past several years and it is ALWAYS an embarrassment...both to the Presidency and the country. If the White House had any sense they would cancel the event...PERIOD.
No more dinners. It is a disgrace and should not continue. This is not a Lib. v. Con. issue this is an American issue. Stop, stop, stop the insanity.
dung.
Colbert wasn't even trying to be funny. He was just being caustically sarcastic. Sarcasm, in and of itself, is not humor. It was, in this case, merely a way to feign superiority.
I totally agree, the President of our country should not be put in that light, ever.
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