Stephen Colbert's Performance at Correspondents' Dinner is Must See Video

Stephen Colbert's amazing performance as the featured speaker at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Dinner has become the talk of the blogosphere this week, and has caught the attention of millions of people.

The appearance, which is still available (you can stream it here from Democracy Now, or here from AOL/ABC) is a blistering takedown of the administration, right wing media, the GOP, and the nation's largely uncritical traditional media outlets with biting humor.

The audience didn't find all of Stephen Colbert's jokes to be very funny, but Colbert no doubt expected that. Anyone who watches the Colbert Report on Comedy Central should have known what to expect.

To watch Stpehen Colbert on the podium at the dinner, speaking right in front of Bush, lampooning the hapless president with zinger after zinger was, well....deliciously satisying.

According to Dan Froomkin at the Washington Post, Colbert's remarks apparently caught the President off guard:

"Colbert crossed the line," said one top Bush aide, who rushed out of the hotel as soon as Colbert finished. Another said that the president was visibly angered by the sharp lines that kept coming.

" I've been there before, and I can see that he is [angry]," said a former top aide. "He's got that look that he's ready to blow."

What? Surely these people aren't suggesting that Mr. Tough Guy from Texas, the Decider, the Resolute President, got steamed because of a short comedy routinue? How can they possibly whine about Colbert "crossing the line"?

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer bemusingly inserted himself into the debate this week when he said he didn't like Colbert's performance, and thought many of the jokes "were in bad taste". Well, which ones? Because everybody at NPI - and we're definitely not alone - thought that everything Stpehen Colbert said was brilliant.

America Online did an unscientific poll on its news site, and as of yesterday, most respondents were voting overwhelmingly in agreement that Colbert's jokes were funny:

How funny was Colbert?
Very 50%
Not at all 27%
Somewhat 23%
Total Votes: 122,040

Were his jokes appropriate?
Yes 65%
No 35%
Total Votes: 121,114

The numbers get even better when specific jokes are quoted:

''But guys like us [Colbert and Bush], we don't pay attention to the polls. We know that polls are just a collection of statistics that reflect what people are thinking 'in reality.' And reality has a well-known liberal bias.''
How would you rate this joke?
Hit 67%
Miss 33%
Total Votes: 127,982

''Sir, pay no attention to the people who say the glass is half-empty. Because 32 percent means it's two-thirds empty. There's still some liquid in that glass, is my point. But I wouldn't drink it ... The last third is usually backwash.''
How would you rate this joke?
Hit 68%
Miss 32%
Total Votes: 86,785

''Mr. President ... guys like us, we're not some brainiacs on the 'nerd-patrol.' We're not members of the 'factonista.' We go straight from the gut, right sir? That's where the truth lies.''
How would you rate this joke?
Hit 66%
Miss 34%

''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.''
How would you rate this joke?
Hit 81%
Miss 19%
Total Votes: 81,272
Note on Poll Results

''By the way ... if anybody needs anything else at their tables, just speak slowly and clearly into your table numbers. Someone from the NSA will be right over with a cocktail.''
How would you rate this joke?
Hit 80%
Miss 20%
Total Votes: 78,840

Stephen made excellent points while staying in character, and without using any kind of language that might be considered obscene. Too bad if the critics expected something different. Disrespect the Presidency? Sorry, but Dubya has already done that (and not just the office, either - he has shown a profound lack of respect for the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights).

Jon Stewart called Colbert's performance "balls-alicious", and for good reason. Here's a look at some of the sharp zingers Stephen tossed while he was at the podium:

• "I stand by this man. I stand by this man because he stands for things. Not only for things, 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."
• "I give people the truth, unfiltered by rational argument. I call it the 'No Fact Zone'. Fox News, I hold a copyright on that term."
• "I believe the government that governs best is the government that governs least. And by these standards, we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq."
• "I know there are some polls out there saying this man has a 32% approval rating. But guys like us, we don't pay attention to the polls. We know that polls are just a collection of statistics that reflect what people are thinking in "reality." And reality has a well-known liberal bias."
• "It's like boxing a glacier. Enjoy that metaphor, by the way, because your grandchildren will have no idea what a glacier is."
• "Sir, pay no attention to the people who say the glass is half empty, because 32% means it's 2/3 empty. There's still some liquid in that glass is my point, but I wouldn't drink it. The last third is usually backwash."
• After denying that the administration was rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, "this administration is not sinking, this administration is soaring! If anything, they are rearranging the deck chairs on the Hindenburg!"
• "The greatest thing about this man is he's steady. You know where he stands. He believes the same thing Wednesday that he believed on Monday -- no matter what happened Tuesday."
• "And though I am a committed Christian, I believe everyone has the right to their own religion - be you Hindu, Jewish, or Muslim, I believe there are infinite paths to accepting Jesus Christ as your personal saviour."

If you haven't seen the video yet, you owe it to yourself to watch it now - and see what everybody else is talking about.