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May 8, 2006


Smashing Big Media's Cozy Terrarium

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.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 8th, 2006 at 3:02 pm (utc+8) and is filed under Personal.

No Responses to “Smashing Big Media's Cozy Terrarium”

  1. " id="comment-1210"> camabron said:
    May 8th, 2006 at 9:24 pm

    Colbert Rules: Colbert, who spoke in the guise of his talk-show character, who ostensibly supports the president strongly, urged Bush to ignore his low approval ratings, saying they were based on reality, “and reality has a well-known liberal bias.”

    Turning to the war, he declared, “I believe that the government that governs best is a government that governs least, and by these standards we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq.”

    ROFLMAO!!

  2. " id="comment-1211"> scoot said:
    May 8th, 2006 at 9:26 pm

    it was a beautiful thing :) . i watched it a couple times.

  3. " id="comment-1212"> 2cents said:
    May 9th, 2006 at 4:04 am

    I’ve been reading clever snippets from ultimately irrelevant but “trendy consensus” publications for more decades than I care to say. I always wonder how they would have handled World War Two.

  4. " id="comment-1213"> Tom said:
    May 9th, 2006 at 6:17 am

    Oh there are some really uncomfortable moments in that speech but it was exactly what was needed.

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