Quote of the Day

Billmon:

Colbert used satire the way it's used in more openly authoritarian societies: as a political weapon, a device for raising issues that can't be addressed directly. He dragged out all the unmentionables -- the Iraq lies, the secret prisons, the illegal spying, the neutered stupidity of the lapdog press -- and made it pretty clear that he wasn't really laughing at them, much less with them. It may have been comedy, but it also sounded like a bill of indictment, and everybody understood the charges.

You know, the only question I have about Colbert’s performance is whether I’d have had the guts to do the same thing. I keep trying to picture him writing it. Maybe he had to keep hesitating, considering whether he was going too far. Maybe he read a few jokes to other people who told him, “You can’t say that, Stephen! You’re going to be standing three fucking feet from the president!” Maybe that made him nervous, or maybe it solidified his resolve—this was his one chance and, by god, he was going to make the most of it.

I’d love to know what his thoughts were as he wrote it, as he walked up to the podium, as he delivered his searing indictment, but considering there’s a near-total MSM blackout on it, I doubt we will anytime soon.

What is clear is how he felt afterwards. The only member of the media who earned the right to do so—Helen Thomas—embraced him proudly, and he grinned. Bush and the First Lady stormed away in a huff, and Colbert stood around signing autographs, still grinning.