[Mb-civic] READ THIS!!..Colbert Lampoons Bush at White House Correspondents Dinner-- President Not Amused?

[Mike Blaxill]

this is just sooooo satisfying!!

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002425363

Colbert Lampoons Bush at White House
Correspondents Dinner-- President Not Amused?

By E&P Staff

Published: April 29, 2006 11:40 PM ET

WASHINGTON A blistering comedy “tribute” to
President Bush by Comedy Central’s faux talk show
host Stephen Colbert at the White House
Correspondent Dinner Saturday night left George
and Laura Bush unsmiling at its close.

Earlier, the president had delivered his talk to
the 2700 attendees, including many celebrities
and top officials, with the help of a Bush
impersonator.

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

He attacked those in the press who claim that the
shake-up at the White House was merely
re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
“This administration is soaring, not sinking,” he
said. “If anything, they are re-arranging the
deck chairs on the Hindenburg.”

Colbert told Bush he could end the problem of
protests by retired generals by refusing to let
them retire. He compared Bush to Rocky Balboa in
the “Rocky” movies, always getting punched in the
face—“and Apollo Creed is everything else in the
world.”

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."

He noted former Ambassador Joseph Wilson in the
crowd, just three tables away from Karl Rove, and
that he had brought " Valerie Plame." Then,
worried that he had named her, he corrected
himself, as Bush aides might do, "Uh, I mean...
he brought Joseph Wilson's wife." He might have
"dodged the bullet," he said, as prosecutor
Patrick Fitzgerald wasn't there.

Colbert also made biting cracks about missing
WMDs, “photo ops” on aircraft carriers and at
hurricane disasters, melting glaciers and Vice
President Cheney shooting people in the face. He
advised the crowd, "if anybody needs anything at
their tables, speak slowly and clearly on into
your table numbers and somebody from the N.S.A.
will be right over with a cocktail. "

Observing that Bush sticks to his principles, he
said, "When the president decides something on
Monday, he still believes it on Wednesday - no
matter what happened Tuesday."

Also lampooning the press, Colbert complained
that he was “surrounded by the liberal media who
are destroying this country, except for Fox News.
Fox believes in presenting both sides of the
story — the president’s side and the vice
president’s side." He also reflected on the
alleged good old days, when the media was still
swallowing the WMD story.

Addressing the reporters, he said, "Let's review
the rules. Here's how it works. The president
makes decisions, he’s the decider. The press
secretary announces those decisions, and you
people of the press type those decisions down.
Make, announce, type. Put them through a spell
check and go home. Get to know your family again.
Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got
kicking around in your head. You know, the one
about the intrepid Washington reporter with the
courage to stand up to the administration. You
know--fiction."

He claimed that the Secret Service name for
Bush's new press secretary is "Snow Job."

Colbert closed his routine with a video fantasy
where he gets to be White House Press Secretary,
complete with a special “Gannon” button on his
podium. By the end, he had to run from Helen
Thomas and her questions about why the U.S.
really invaded Iraq and killed all those people.

As Colbert walked from the podium, when it was
over, the president and First Lady gave him quick
nods, unsmiling, and handshakes, and left
immediately.

Those seated near Bush told E&P's Joe Strupp, who
was elsewhere in the room, that Bush quickly
turned from an amused guest to an obviously
offended target as Colbert’s comments brought up
his low approval ratings and problems in Iraq.

Several veterans of past dinners, who requested
anonymity, said the presentation was more
directed at attacking the president than in the
past. Several said previous hosts, like Jay Leno,
equally slammed both the White House and the
press corps.

“This was anti-Bush,” said one attendee. “Usually
they go back and forth between us and him.”
Another noted that Bush quickly turned unhappy,
and left the dais shortly after while most seated
near him, including Colbert and Snow, glad-handed
the crowd. “You could see he stopped smiling
about halfway through Colbert,” he reported.

After the gathering, Snow, while nursing a
Heineken outside the Chicago Tribune reception,
declined to comment on Colbert. “I’m not doing
entertainment reviews,” he said. “I thought the
president was great, though.”

Strupp, in the crowd during the Colbert routine,
had observed that quite a few sitting near him
looked a little uncomfortable at times, perhaps
feeling the material was a little too biting--or
too much speaking "truthiness" to power.

Asked by E&P after it was over if he thought he'd
been too harsh, Colbert said, "Not at all." Was
he trying to make a point politically or just get
laughs? "Just for laughs," he said. He said he
did not pull any material for being too strong,
just for time reasons. (He later said the
president told him "good job" when he walked
off.)

Helen Thomas told Strupp her segment with Colbert
was "just for fun."

In its report on the affair, USA Today asserted
that some in the crowd cracked up over Colbert
but others were "bewildered." Wolf Blitzer of CNN
said he thought Colbert was funny and "a little
on the edge."

Earlier, the president had addrssed the crowd
with a Bush impersonator alongside, with the
faux-Bush speaking precisely and the real Bush
deliberately mispronouncing words, such as the
inevitable "nuclear." At the close, Bush called
the imposter "a fine talent. In fact, he did all
my debates with Senator Kerry."

Among attendees at the black tie event: Morgan
Fairchild, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger,
Justice Antonin Scalia, George Clooney, and Jeff
"Skunk" Baxter of the Doobie Brothers--in a kilt.