A sign of the times -- Jon Stewart's Rally to Restore Sanity

By R.K. Barry

I have a couple of friends who have made the trip to Washington, D.C. for the Stewart/Colbert rally.

I just want to go on record as supporting their sentiments, which they will be displaying with this sign. We live in strange times indeed when anyone could consider this a radical perspective.

Colbert on Capitol Hill

By Michael J.W. Stickings

In case you missed it...

It was brilliant.

Not everyone was amused, of course. As Politico noted, Stephen Colbert's appearance last Friday before a House Judiciary subcommittee looking into the plight of migrant farm workers was criticized from both the left and the right.

But, predictably, mostly from the right -- including the pro-Republican propagandists at Fox News, where right-wing Rep. Steve King of Iowa, a subcommittee member who surely was not amused when Colbert made a joke about how "corn packer" is "a derogatory term for a gay Iowan," called him a liar (without any evidence to back up the accusation).

Politico was also negative, with Jonathan Allen sarcastically dismissing Colbert's remarks as "a punch-lined discourse on his chief qualification as an expert on the issue: A 10-hour stint working the fields" and gleefully suggesting, citing but a single "Democratic strategist," that Colbert's testimony would hurt Democrats and was otherwise pointless.

Oh, these Beltway types do take themselves so seriously, don't they? You could see that in the room, where no one, least of all the full-of-it politicians on the subcommittee, seemed to know what to make of Colbert -- as if they'd never seen his show and really had no idea who he was.

Now, sure, his remarks were hilarious -- all the more so, perhaps, because there was no laughter and no one knew what to make of them. Well, surely some did, but you could tell that many in the room couldn't handle the truth, not when it masquerades as truthiness. As Digby put it: "It appears that Stephen Colbert offended the delicate sensibilities of the Beltway Quilting Bee and Ladies Pearl Clutching Society." (Even Steny Hoyer, the #2 Democrat in the House, was critical: "I think his testimony was not appropriate," he said yesterday on Fox News. "I think it was an embarrassment for Mr. Colbert more than the House." Nonsense.)

And while his remarks where full of great lines, his responses in the Q&A that followed showed him to be a genuinely thoughtful and compassionate man who actually cares about the plight of migrant farm workers -- far more than many (if not all) on that subcommittee, and certainly more than exploitationist conservatives do.

Consider, for example, his answer to the question of why he's "interested in this issue":

I like talking about people who don't have any power, and it seems like one of the least powerful people in the United States are migrant workers who come in and do our work, but don't have any rights as a result. And yet, we still ask them to come here, and at the same time, ask them to leave. And that's an interesting contradiction to me, and um... You know, "whatsoever you did for the least of my brothers," and these seemed like the least of my brothers, right now. A lot of people are "least brothers" right now, with the economy so hard, and I don't want to take anyone's hardship away from them or diminish it or anything like that. But migrant workers suffer, and have no rights.

That's Stephen Colbert speaking, not "Stephen Colbert," and it was a moment of exceptional clarity. He speaks the truth whether he's in character or out, just in different ways, but this was especially remarkable.

A site called Blue Wave News has the transcript of Colbert's opening remarks and his answer to that question.

Here, below, are clips of those remarks and his answer:

Quote of the Day: Robert Gibbs on Obama, Stewart, and Colbert

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Gibbs, quoted by Time's Michael Scherer:

I think the President would love to [do The Daily Show], just maybe not Colbert... I have yet to see a politician best Stephen Colbert in an interview on his show. I mean, he's really, really good.

Of course, they're very different, and Stewart is more than capable of doing a tough interview. With Colbert, it's not just about dealing with tough questions, it's about dealing with Colbert's brilliant act, and that's why no one has ever bested him.

Personally, I'd love to see Obama do both shows -- and regularly. In the meantime, at least Assistant Sports Psychologist Colbert has Shani Davis.

Anti anti-intellectualism

By LindaBeth

Satirical pundit Steven Colbert critiques right-wing anti-intellectualism:



(In Canada)

The comedic capacity of John Edwards

By Michael J.W. Stickings

So my old (i.e., pre-Obama) flame John Edwards was on Colbert just now, doing The Word.

Absolutely hilarious. Fantastic stuff.

I'll post the video when it's available. (If you find it, send me the link.)

**********

Clinton was on earlier and was okay.

And now... Obama! Wow. And pretty funny, too: "Manufactured political distractions, you are officially on notice!"

A sad day in Colbert Nation

By Michael J.W. Stickings

There is, it would seem, no room for comedic genius in America's political process:

Stephen Colbert has dropped his bid for the White House.

His announcement came after the South Carolina Democratic Executive Council voted last week to keep the host of "The Colbert Report" off the state's primary ballot. The vote was 13-3.

**********

And now he and Jon Stewart are off the air during the writers' strike. At least his book is hilarious. There's so much from which to choose, but how about the "Abstinence Bases" on p. 76?

• 1st Base: Polite Chatter


• 2nd Base: Eye Contact


• 3rd Base: A Randy Joke


• Home: Furious Dry Humping

Awesome.

(On a more serious note, it's probably for the best that he's not going to be on the ballot in South Carolina. You know, election integrity and all that.)

Election round-up

By Carl

I'm going to cherry pick some updated poll numbers from Rasmussen Reports:

1) Holy crap! The telling statistic?

For what it’s worth, the overall numbers show Hillary Clinton at 45%, Rudy Giuliani at 35%, and Colbert at 13%.

The other match-up shows Clinton at 46%, Thompson at 34% and Colbert at 12%.

Meaning, Colbert is eating away REPUBLICAN VOTERS more than Democrats! Could it be that people take his show seriously?

2) No surprise here that the former governor of the state next door would have a pretty big lead. It should be bigger, and probably speaks to Romney's flip flopping. In many ways, it's harder on Republican candidates when the showcase primary is in a Northeastern state which is split fairly evenly between conservative and liberal constituencies.

3) Mike Huckabee... MIKE HUCKABEE???!?!?!... is making a serious run. Eesh.

4) Assuming she survives a primary challenge, Liddy Dole should cruise to re-election. It's an odd contrast, Dole to Clinton, since both were elected at roughly the same time. Where Clinton has made herself an effective senator and legislator, Dole has, well, been a Dole.

5) Really, the only question regarding the Democratic presidential primaries is if Hillary can top 50%. I know there are an awful lot of deeply progressive people out there for whom voting for Hillary would be like voting for Bush. Again. Sorry.

STEPHEN COLBERT - LOSING IT 2003

AND WITH CHRIS "TRASHMAN" JORDAN 2007

Colbert and Russert

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Presidential candidate Stephen Colbert was on Meet the Press today and Crooks and Liars has the video here.

I'm generally not as critical of Russert as many others are, but he behaved like a typical Beltway tool throughout the interview, hardly a surprise and rather predictable, given how simultaneously self-important and clueless Washington insiders tend to be, not to mention how unable they seem to be to grasp the kind of complex, high-minded satire at which Colbert excels. They may be able to laugh at themselves, but only when the joke is made by one of their own, or when the intention is merely to poke fun, when there is no apparent threat, when they get it, when they're in on it, when the joke somehow makes them look good, giving them a rare opportunity to be wallow in false humility.

But Colbert is a threat, a serious one, and, even if the Beltway insiders who frequent Meet the Press and bipartisan Georgetown cocktail parties don't quite get him, they know it. Why is he such a threat? Because his intention is to expose Washington, and politics generally, for what it is, including the media establishment of which Russert is such a prominent member. He shows us, night after night, what a joke it is, and the joke is not just on conservatives like the "Stephen Colbert" character but on those in the media who take it all, and themselves, so seriously.

THE "TWO STEVES" REVIEW THE IRAQ WAR ! ! !

glumbert.com - Even Stepheven Reviews Iraq

COLBERT - NEW ATT- SAME OLD MONOPOLY !

STEPHEN COLBERT "SINGING IN KOREAN" ???

glumbert.com - Stephen Colbert is singin' in Korean

STEPHEN COLBERT DAY

By Michael J.W. Stickings




Yes, it's Stephen Colbert Day -- in Oshawa, Ontario (a small city east of Toronto).

CityNews has the story here.

Good times.

Americone Dream

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Colbert mentioned this last night, and then introduced Ben & Jerry themselves.

Ben & Jerry's is, according to my taste buds, the best ice cream in the world.

And we have it in Canada -- just not all the flavours available in the U.S. So -- an appeal:

To Ben & Jerry: Please, please, please make more flavours, including this one, available in Canada.

To my American friends: Please, please, please find a way to send me this one. Can you send ice cream across the border? Hmmm.

Other flavours that I require: Cinnamon Buns, Magic Brownies, Oatmeal Cookie Chunk, Black & Tan, American Pie, Mint Chocolate Chunk, and Chubby Hubby (maybe the best flavour ever).

For more, see here.