Making Colbert go away, by Joan Walsh

Colbert’s deadly performance did more than reveal, with devastating clarity, how Bush’s well-oiled myth machine works. It exposed the mainstream press’ pathetic collusion with an administration that has treated it — and the truth — with contempt from the moment it took office. Intimidated, coddled, fearful of violating propriety, the press corps that for years dutifully repeated Bush talking points was stunned and horrified when someone dared to reveal that the media emperor had no clothes. Colbert refused to play his dutiful, toothless part in the White House correspondents dinner — an incestuous, backslapping ritual that should be retired. For that, he had to be marginalized.

Watch Colbert’s speech

UPDATE: Comedian’s Bush spoof stays on iTunes Top 10

An audio version of the roast of President George W. Bush by Stephen Colbert of the Comedy Central cable channel rose to the rank of No. 1 album at Apple’s iTunes store Saturday, three weeks from the night of the White House correspondents’ dinner at which it was delivered.

C-Span said it had ordered the clips removed from iFilm and YouTube.com to assert its copyright on recordings of the performance, and shortly thereafter it allowed Google Video to stream it free of charge. In the two weeks since, it has been at or near the top of Google’s list of most popular videos. Over the weekend, it was still No. 4 there.