Ah, there it is

I've heard a lot over the last few days about Steven Colbert's performance for the White House Press Correspondants' Dinner -- how Bush gritted his teeth, the awkward lack of laughter at the unfunny truthtelling, what is humor and what is rudeness, why the press took so long to admit that it all took place. But I think that this post by georgia10 best captures my own feeling about the event and the kerfluffle both: where were these same critics when President Bush was disparaging the voters, the Constitution, and our national reputation, all in service of short-term political (and financial) self-interest?

Yes, Cohen is right. Colbert, obviously, is the bully. A man who leaks info to discredit his critics? A man who launches a war to feel tough and be a War President? A man who uses the the press as a punching bag? Nope, not a bully.
. . .
Cohen refuses to see the truth in Colbert's jokes, because to acknowledge that truth would be to acknowledge his own failure as a member of an incompetent fourth estate.

Watching Colbert slam the President when he was only a few feet away wasn't always fun. But it was a rare chance to pop the info-bubble in which Washington insiders seem to operate, and I applaud him for saying what he felt needed saying. Sadly, those things haven't been funny to most of us for a long long time.


Update: here are the video links, with the whole performance captured in three parts, 1, 2, 3.
(thanks to BagNewsNotes)