(Video) Stephen Colbert At The White House Correspondents Dinner - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Nomad · 04-30-2006, 01:33 AM

host · 04-30-2006, 02:52 AM

I'll add an "intro" to the OP.....

Two observations....

It was supposed to be "comedy" by Comedy Central's Steve Colbert, but there wasn't much laughter....or applause from the 2700 in attendance. At the end, Bush and Laura got right up to leave, with only a "nod" to Colbert, who delivered his keynote, "entertainment", from the other end of the table that they were also seated at.

At a recent annual Press Club dinner, Bush engaged in a skit where he pretended to search for the missing, infamous WMD, under his desk. Things aren't so funny anymore. Cobert's performance could be considered to be in "bad taste", but he has no control over the myriad of issues that are available to lampoon....Bush created those...and Bush "opened the door", with his own prior participation in the "find the WMD skit"

Colbert covered it all....the Plame leak, Bush's dismal approval ratings, Helen Thomas's recent "question" as to why Bush attacked Iraq in a war of choice that killed thousands, the climate of corruption in Washington, Katrina, the Jeff Gannon, gay escort posing as press corps member scandal, Fox news bias, the attempt to repackage this presidency via hiring Fox's Tony Snow, and Bush's reputation for aversion to recognizing and facing actual problems, global warming, etc. There's a lot there....Colbert touched on all of it with irony, humor, and sarcasm...but it wasn't "great fun". He seemed like the emcee at a funeral.

connyosis · 04-30-2006, 04:25 AM

Colbert keeps growing on me. I didn't like his show much in the beginning, but I find it getting better and better. And I can understand why Bush wasn't entertained by his speech. I was though.

samcol · 04-30-2006, 06:55 AM

That was pretty good. It's pretty sad that the only time you can call the president out to his face on what he's done wrong is when you do it sarcastically or in a joking manner. I almost wish he would of thrown the act away for a moment and got a stone cold serious look on his face and called for the president to resign (or somethintg to that effect). Since the average American could never have done that in such a public way, it was an opportunity for Colbert to do something really revolutionary.

Anyway, it still had to be one of the Worst moments in Bush's life.

Paq · 04-30-2006, 08:49 AM

i'm thinking bush thought stephen colbert was serious on his show...

hehe

I just wish he had jon stewart on..that would have been hilarious...or i wish colbert pulled a stewart and went all, "no, seriously, just stop this...you're hurting america' ala crossfire visit.

BAHAHA
rearranging the deck chairs on the hindenburgh...

but yeah, i didn't like the colbert report when it first started coming on, but it has seriously grown on me...

man, the audience just was not into it...

nezmot · 04-30-2006, 11:32 AM

That guy is funny - and he's got balls. And - this was the best PR Bush could ever hope for - just being in the same room as a guy willing to push the envelope this far speaks volumes about the nature of a free and democratic nation - if only this kind of thing were to happen more often.

trickyy · 04-30-2006, 02:17 PM

i watched this on cspan yesterday
i thought it was pretty funny, but like host said, no one was laughing too much. some of these issues are kind of serious...but perhaps they were having trouble with his humor, i don't know. i liked the line about mccain using a spoon to eat his salad and thought the beginning of the press conference audition tape was pretty funny.

was laura bush's "stand-up" act at the correspondents dinner last year? she told a few pretty funny stories.

right before colbert started, bush delivered a speech, alternating lines with an impersonator standing right next to him. that's probably worth watching too...i don't have a link for it, though.

ASU2003 · 04-30-2006, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trickyy

right before colbert started, bush delivered a speech, alternating lines with an impersonator standing right next to him. that's probably worth watching too...i don't have a link for it, though.

I tivo'ed it on c-span today after reading about it this morning. And, I'm new to this video compression stuff, but I uploaded the clip of Bush and the impersonator. It is well worth watching the 11 minute video (73 MB).

http://rapidshare.de/files/19316169/...s2006.zip.html

(Use the Free button, not the premium one)

Nomad · 04-30-2006, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ASU2003

I uploaded the clip of Bush and the impersonator. It is well worth watching the 11 minute video (73 MB).

I up-loaded that video also.

http://video.freevideoblog.com/video...50209C5EFA.htm

ASU2003 · 04-30-2006, 07:00 PM

I got the scoop then.

My site is also safe for work.

ratbastid · 04-30-2006, 07:17 PM

Here's one thing that's really cool--when lurkette and Quadro2000 and JustJess and Halx and I went to a taping of The Daily Show last Monday, they brough up Colbert on the satellite hookup, and he and Jon Stewart chatted a bit before they started rolling tape on the last segment. Stewart mentioned that Colbert was going on this gig, and Colbert asked if we wanted to hear one of his jokes, and he told the deck chairs on the Hindenberg joke. So we got a sneak preview about a week before the show!

trickyy · 04-30-2006, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ASU2003

I tivo'ed it on c-span today after reading about it this morning. And, I'm new to this video compression stuff, but I uploaded the clip of Bush and the impersonator. It is well worth watching the 11 minute video (73 MB).

http://rapidshare.de/files/19316169/...s2006.zip.html

(Use the Free button, not the premium one)

thanks, i only caught the end of it when it first aired.
did anything interesting happen before these two came on?

FoolThemAll · 04-30-2006, 08:09 PM

Mixed feelings. The speech portion was really excellent and lived up to his testicular proclamations. "This administration is not sinking, it's soaring! If anything, they're rearranging chairs on the Hindenburg!"

The press conference video, however, sucked horribly.

guy44 · 04-30-2006, 09:04 PM

Man, Colbert deserves props for that. Vicously scathing the scumbags in the press and (especially) the administration in a way nobody ever has to their face. He must have known nobody would laugh as he showed them to be without clothes. Funniest thing I've seen in a year.

analog · 04-30-2006, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by host

At the end, Bush and Laura got right up to leave, with only a "nod" to Colbert, who delivered his keynote, "entertainment", from the other end of the table that they were also seated at.

I don't know what video you watched, but that's not at all what happened.

The second he was done, Bush was on his feet and immediately engaged him in a handshake. Bush and his wife didn't leave until after the host said the event was over, which came within about a minute AFTER that.

Also, he didn't give his speech from "the other end of the table", he was one seat over from the President- it was the President, the host of the event, and Colbert at the podium, in that order in a row- and he was 2 seats from Laura, 4 from Bush at his normal seat. That's hardly "ther other end of the table", either.

Table order, starting with Colbert from left to right- hardly far away, especially while giving the speech:

Colbert - guy - Laura - guy - Bush - host - podium

Did you even watch the video?

Charlatan · 05-01-2006, 04:11 AM

Analog... you forgot Helen Thomas in there somewhere...

Jinn · 05-01-2006, 07:36 AM

I must admit that I started watching it, and it was quite funny.. but then my eyes wandered lower on the page it was hosted on.. "Teaser video for upcoming video."... yea.. needless to say I was distracted immediately and never returned to finish watching it..

fapfapfap

BigBen · 05-01-2006, 08:38 AM

Very difficult to do satire. One of the hardest forms of comedy (right after kicking yourself in the nuts).

Aren't the speeches Vetted? Doesn't the President know what he is walking into? Who let this happen?

I thought it was funny as hell, and I love Colbert. I don't think Stewart would have pushed the edge as much. Colbert is trying to make a name for himself, and Stewart is trying to keep the name that he has made.

What are the Uber-Conservatives thinking about this? If you side-swiped my captain like that, there would be an ass-kicking in the near future.

Did someone drop the ball, and will be fired? Or is this one of those "God Bless the First Ammendment" things that everyone can be proud of?

Would Junior have shown up if he knew the speech before hand? Was Colbert told not to go to certain topics? I am very interested in this back-story....

stevo · 05-01-2006, 09:02 AM

I was sitting in a hospital room next to my buddy, so I was pretty bored. I must say though I was holding back laughter to keep from waking him. I found it pretty damn funny. Some of the stuff I couldn't believe he was saying, but I enjoyed it and thought the outrageousness of it is exactly colbert. He's a zany guy and I wish more stuff like this filled the political news and not just comedy central. I thought the 2 bushes was funnier, but colbert was funny as well.

Gatorade Frost · 05-01-2006, 09:07 AM

I thought it was funny. I'm slightly conservative and saw the humor in it. Personally I thought Bush's skit with the double was hilarious. When he did the this is the church, this is the steeple part I was laughing out loud.

MojoRisin · 05-01-2006, 09:39 AM

Does anyone know where I can download Colbert at the press conference. I'm stuck at home with 56k and the video won't stream.

host · 05-01-2006, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by analog

I don't know what video you watched, but that's not at all what happened.

The second he was done, Bush was on his feet and immediately engaged him in a handshake. Bush and his wife didn't leave until after the host said the event was over, which came within about a minute AFTER that.

Also, he didn't give his speech from "the other end of the table", he was one seat over from the President- it was the President, the host of the event, and Colbert at the podium, in that order in a row- and he was 2 seats from Laura, 4 from Bush at his normal seat. That's hardly "ther other end of the table", either.

Table order, starting with Colbert from left to right- hardly far away, especially while giving the speech:

Colbert - guy - Laura - guy - Bush - host - podium

Did you even watch the video?

Yeah...I did....and I wasn't the only one who saw what I saw.....

I guess Helen Thomas, seated in the center of the head table, with a large floral centerpiece, just to her right, exaggerated the distance between Colbert and Bush, from my perspective....

Quote:

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/ea..._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 updated Sunday

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......

.....As Colbert walked from the podium, when it was over, the president and First Lady gave him quick nods, unsmiling. The president shook his hand and tapped his elbow, and left immediately.

Those seated near Bush told E&P's Joe Strupp, who was elsewhere in the room, that Bush had 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. “You could see he stopped smiling about halfway through Colbert,” he reported......

These folks get paid to write an account of what happened. My description doesn't seem lacking, compared to these:

Quote:

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/sto...p-349690c.html
Politically strange bedfellows

.....As for the after-dinner entertainment, the conventional wisdom was that Bush killed with his self-mocking routine — "The President was fantastic," gushed staunch Dem Patricia Duff — while the hired talent, Comedy Central star Stephen Colbert, bombed badly. "It was an insider crowd, as insider a crowd as you'll ever have, and he didn't do the insider jokes," said BET founder Bob Johnson....

Fox reported that Colbert was the one "diminished" by his performance

Quote:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,193775,00.html
White House Correspondents Dinner: Hobnobbing With the Stars
Monday, May 01, 2006
By Steve Doocy

......Sadly for Stephen Colbert, of the Comedy Central show "The Colbert Report," he'd been hired by the Correspondents Association to provide an amusing 15 minutes after the president's comedy routine. In the past the comic entertainers would take shots at both the president and the correspondents — instead this year it was one unflattering jab at the president followed by another. I was a few rows back, so I got a good look at Mr. Bush who was grinning a bit at the start, but when he realized he was nothing but a punching bag, he stopped smiling. Personally, I thought Mr. Colbert had gone over the line of what is appropriate when a sitting president is sitting four feet away. But keep in mind, I'm not an entertainment reviewer, I'm just a guy who put on a tuxedo and went to a dinner with his wife. That's all.........

This is the NY Times only "in-house" report on the Correspondents' Dinner: (No Mention of Colbert !)

Quote:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/01/wa.../01letter.html
A New Set of Bush Twins Appear at Annual Correspondents' Dinner

It was love at first sight. When President Bush met Steve Bridges, a Bush impersonator, three years ago in the Oval Office, he immediately thought that he and his doppelganger could gang up at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner....

Where is that "liberal" MSM reporting, that many are convinced exists?

host · 05-01-2006, 10:24 AM

The press "got it wrong", two years ago....in reporting after the 2004 Annual Correspondents' Dinner:

Quote:

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1837
Beltway Humor:
Media React to Bush's Weapons Jokes

3/30/04

When presidents appear at the annual Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner, it's traditional for them to tell a few jokes. But when George W. Bush appeared last week (3/24/04), he made a series of "jokes" about the failure to find the weapons of mass destruction that had been the central justification of his invasion of Iraq. Part of Bush's routine included slides showing administration officials looking around the White House for something. "Those weapons of mass destruction must be somewhere," Bush explained while showing one of the images, which elicited laughter from the audience of politicians and media figures.

Interestingly, Bush's comments were hardly controversial to the Beltway press corps, which seemed to write it off as harmlessly "self-deprecating" humor. Many of the press accounts the next day did not raise questions about Bush's humorous reference to his administration's bogus rationale for a war that has cost thousands of lives-- American and Iraqi. For the media, such humor was expected. "Well, every night we hear people on TV telling jokes about President Bush, but last night it was the president's turn to tell jokes about the president," CBS anchor Julie Chen explained (3/25/04), adding that "at least someone's making jokes about it other than the late-night talk show hosts.".........

.........David Corn of The Nation magazine was one of the few journalists openly critical of Bush, writing on The Nation's website: "This was a callous and arrogant display. For Bush, the misinformation-- or disinformation-- he peddled before the war was no more than material for yucks. As the audience laughed along, he smiled. The false statements (or lies) that had launched a war had become merely another punchline in the nation's capital." MSNBC's Chris Matthews also seemed appalled by the media's reaction (3/25/04): "Well, there's four or five cases where the president told a yuck about the fact he couldn't find weapons of mass destruction, and the press being supportive in their laughter. Maybe sycophantic, but they laughed."

Perhaps it's no surprise that the conservative Fox News Channel would defend Bush's comments, but Fox's line of defense at times became arguably more offensive than the remarks themselves. Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace, after admitting that "I must say, I still think it's funny," introduced the subject (3/28/04) by saying that "the day after, some Democrats and the families of some American soldiers in Iraq, some who died in Iraq, said they were offended by this kidding about the missing weapons of mass destruction." Fox anchor (and weekend pundit) Brit Hume immediately segued from this into an attack on those who look for "a platform to seek victim status, and one of the qualifications for that is that you have these exquisitely tender feelings about things and sensibilities which are easily offended. And in America today, if your sensibilities are offended by something that has happened, you get an enormous amount of credibility and are taken very seriously." After seeming to thus refer to the families of dead and wounded soldiers as a bunch of crybabies, Hume concluded: "I thought it was a good-n atured performance, and it made him look good only in the sense that it showed he could poke fun at himself…. And you have to feel like saying to people, 'Just get over it.'"

Fellow Fox pundit Juan Williams agreed: "I was sitting there at a table where everybody was laughing. I think you were at the same table, Chris…. So I think people are petty in the situation. I just think it's evidence that it's a political season." Panelist Ceci Connolly of the Washington Post offered praise for Bush's comedic gifts: "You know, trying to be funny at these things is so difficult, and he is quite good at it. I mean, he really is very good at self-deprecating humor. The pictures were funny. I laughed at the photos. I mean, he looks goofy, and he's got that great deadpan delivery." Connolly added that "perhaps it was an insight into how seriously he takes the fact that we have yet to find weapons of mass destruction."

Fox News house liberal Alan Colmes, commenting on his own show (Hannity & Colmes, 3/25/04), wasn't offended by Bush either, since "the joke was on him because he hasn't found the WMDs."

But you didn't have to work for Fox News to go to bat for Bush. The Los Angeles Times penned an editorial in his defense (3/27/04) headlined "Commander in Comedy." The paper noted that "presidents have always used self-deprecation to deflect criticism," then lamented the fact that "Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe and other Democrats are acting like laughs should be banned from serious politics." The paper also made this odd comparison: "Democrats saying that Bush can't joke about it without insulting soldiers is like the GOP claiming that Democrats can't oppose the war and be patriotic."

The problem is not that someone told a joke about WMD. It's that as the chief purveyor of the WMD falsehood, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Americans and thousands of Iraqis, it is beyond bad taste for George W. Bush to joke about WMD. It's the difference between a comedian making a joke about O.J. Simpson looking for Nicole Brown Simpson's "real killer," and O.J. Simpson making the same joke.

I think that it's "different this time", because the polls show that Bush's presidency is damaged beyond repair, and the press has not caught up with the peoples' growing disapproval of the Bush administration. Stephen Colbert has his finger on the pulse of current public opinion...the press has to catch up, and risk Bush's wrath by reporting in a more accurate and confrontational way. They're still throwing Bush mostly "softballs", while Helen Thomas implied that he was a murderer and a pre-meditated war criminal on live TV last month!

Colbert, in character with this parady of a "conservative talk show host", is working with what Bush gave him....and us, the American people.

abaya · 05-01-2006, 10:28 AM

I never linger long in Politics, but I saw the Colbert thread and had to take a look. The guy should run for president; he certainly has more balls to face reality than just about anyone else in that administration.

According to host's quote above, Fox did a pathetic job of trying to spin Colbert... jesus, they would have been better off ignoring it, like the rest of the media on Sunday and today. :P I've never seen such a bunch of pussy-whipped reporters.

But anyway, I was looking forward to seeing more conservatives up in arms here... I'm disappointed.

ASU2003 · 05-01-2006, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trickyy

thanks, i only caught the end of it when it first aired.
did anything interesting happen before these two came on?

They showed where the reporters work at in the white house, and how much it is like working in a small closet. And thanked the taxpayers for renovating the whole area in the next year.

Then they gave out some awards and schlorships, then the next Press Correspondants Association President gave a speech, after that, it was the President's turn.

You didn't miss much.

-------------------------
It is surprizing to see just how much the media spins what actually happen. Wait, no it isn't, that is what happens every day.
I thought the purpose of the media was to give out the facts of what happened, but that is too boring. They always have to give their interpretation of what happened.

I will agree with the 'insider' jokes that Colbert didn't know comment. He was playing to the home audience, not the one in front of him. He should have gone after the press a little more than he did though. And he didn't say anything that bad about the President. I wonder if Clinton's dinner had anything about Monica...

Gatorade Frost · 05-01-2006, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abaya

But anyway, I was looking forward to seeing more conservatives up in arms here... I'm disappointed.

Don't worry, some of us Republicans have a sense of humor. You don't have to be a liberal to see the faults in the Bush white house and laugh about them.

Sometimes it's a good reminded to the president where things are going poorly. Humor is, at least.

loganmule · 05-01-2006, 05:50 PM

Colbert is hilarious, and on his own justifies my DVR investment. You can tell Stewart groomed him, although Colbert has his own schtick. As for the context and its reception, you can expect only so much at that venue, and under the existing circumstances.

ObieX · 05-01-2006, 06:11 PM

Gotta give it to colbert, he's got quite the pair.

Ustwo · 05-01-2006, 06:12 PM

host sometimes a red wagon is just a red wagon.

Funny stuff.

abaya · 05-01-2006, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gatorade Frost

Don't worry, some of us Republicans have a sense of humor. You don't have to be a liberal to see the faults in the Bush white house and laugh about them.

Ahh, that's fine and good. So if even the Repubs can see that the emperor is naked, does that mean I can depend on them for a change-up this fall?

Quote:

Sometimes it's a good reminded to the president where things are going poorly. Humor is, at least.

Yeah... unfortunately, I don't think "reminders" will bring back those thousands of dead from Iraq.

But hey! Let's use Shrub's double and make a joke about not finding those WMDs! Hardy har har, those military families can't help but love the man's humor.

I guess.

rlbond86 · 05-01-2006, 10:15 PM

Wow. That takes ganas.

I thought he was hilarious, but some of that probably came because it was just so outrageous!

Gatorade Frost · 05-01-2006, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abaya

Ahh, that's fine and good. So if even the Repubs can see that the emperor is naked, does that mean I can depend on them for a change-up this fall?

Well, I'm voting independent in the Texas governor election. For congress, no, wouldn't vote for a change-up. Maybe if things change in the democratic party I might be more interested, but as it stands no, I'd still vote Republican.

Quote:

Yeah... unfortunately, I don't think "reminders" will bring back those thousands of dead from Iraq.

But hey! Let's use Shrub's double and make a joke about not finding those WMDs! Hardy har har, those military families can't help but love the man's humor.

I guess.

Personally I was and am for the war in Iraq for reasons beyond finding WMDs. That would get us into a whole conversation in an entirely different direction than this thread is intended, though. It's a shame that men and women have to die for a cause, but unfortunately it's inevitable and personally I find what's happening in Iraq to be worth it, or at least twenty years from now it will be.

I don't recall Bush making any WMD jokes a few nights ago. He did last year, but not a few nights ago. I personally find it a shame that people throw out Bush joking about looking for the WMD's under the table as a negative point when people were all at the dinner to joke around about e verything that was going on. I guess it just bothers me that people are using a joke against him. But like I said, I didn't find the WMD argument to be that important in the grand scheme of things, so I guess that's a personal stance.

Nomad · 05-01-2006, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MojoRisin

Does anyone know where I can download Colbert at the press conference. I'm stuck at home with 56k and the video won't stream.

Give this RapidShare link a try Mojo, It's 80MB In size.

RapidShare
Click the "Free" button at the bottom of the page, you then need to wait about 60 seconds to see the download page.

Enter the three digit code, then click the download button.

host · 05-02-2006, 12:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gatorade Frost

Well, I'm voting independent in the Texas governor election. For congress, no, wouldn't vote for a change-up.......

Personally I was and am for the war in Iraq for reasons beyond finding WMDs. That would get us into a whole conversation in an entirely different direction than this thread is intended, though. It's a shame that men and women have to die for a cause, but unfortunately it's inevitable and personally I find what's happening in Iraq to be worth it, or at least twenty years from now it will be......

......But like I said, I didn't find the WMD argument to be that important in the grand scheme of things, so I guess that's a personal stance.

Gatorade Frost, please take a look at the stuff I've posted at the first two links,

http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthread.php?t=104074

http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthread.php?t=103028

Then, consider what is contained at the following link,
http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showpos...5&postcount=46

and post your reply, (if you got that far..... ) there.
I'm wondering why you are so adament...... in view of Bush's record of decisions, deficits, penchant for secrecy, resistance to all oversight and accountability, and appointments of a group of people who formulate and execute foreign, and military policy who are almost exclusively aligned with goals that benefit Israel, first and foremost, to an unprecedented extreme......about not wanting to restore even the check & balance of one legislative branch of congress to the opposition party ?

I cannot....for the life of me....and I've looked for answers everywhere..... identify what it is that "democrats" have done...that makes you willing to leave Bush and his group in control of our entire government....instead of using the democrats as a small "check" on all of this. There is no subpoena or investigative power...the way it is now...the way you say you want to keep it.....in the hands of anyone other than Bush and his rubber stamp congress. Why do you want that to continue? Are deficits now, smaller than they would be, or pork spending lower, or accountability to the people, respect for the law, open government, less than they would be, if a democratic controlled house or senate, took over next January?

What on earth is it? Is it about the Bush/Cheney premise that we will be "hit" if they aren't in total control of all three branches of government? Is it really necessary to have an administration that is unaccountable, and indistinguishable from the government in Telaviv (at least from the standpoint of anyone who resides anywhere in the middle east...outside of Israel) for "us" to avoid getting "hit"?

stevo · 05-02-2006, 05:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abaya

Ahh, that's fine and good. So if even the Repubs can see that the emperor is naked, does that mean I can depend on them for a change-up this fall?

Well I won't be voting for bush again, ever!

ubertuber · 05-02-2006, 06:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevo

Well I won't be voting for bush again, ever!

What about Jeb?

stevo · 05-02-2006, 06:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ubertuber

What about Jeb?

well, his term's coming to an end in florida. I doubt he would run for pres, but if he did I guess I'd have to look over the field and weigh my options. no, he doesn't automatically have my vote, nor am I going to discount him entirely.

Ustwo · 05-02-2006, 06:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abaya

Ahh, that's fine and good. So if even the Repubs can see that the emperor is naked, does that mean I can depend on them for a change-up this fall?

I pledge I will never vote for GWB again ever!

Quote:

Yeah... unfortunately, I don't think "reminders" will bring back those thousands of dead from Iraq.

But hey! Let's use Shrub's double and make a joke about not finding those WMDs! Hardy har har, those military families can't help but love the man's humor.

I guess.

Rush Limbaugh once said that liberals have no sense of humor, and I've found that to be far more true than not. The most important skill in life is being able to laugh at yourself. If you can't do that and see your own follies, you are just a self important ass.

host · 05-02-2006, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ustwo

I pledge I will never vote for GWB again ever!

Rush Limbaugh once said that liberals have no sense of humor, and I've found that to be far more true than not. The most important skill in life is being able to laugh at yourself. If you can't do that and see your own follies, you are just a self important ass.

How high was Rush when he said that? He's accused of a <a href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/orl-bk-rush042806,0,5687499.story?coll=orl-news-headlines">30 painkiller per day</a> drug addiction of long duration. As a professed medical practitioner, yourself, why would you quote the incoherent rantings of an intoxicated drug addict and prescription fraudster?
Rush also said:

Quote:

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/1011-02.htm
“[He’s] another dead drug addict.”
- Rush Limbaugh on Jerry Garcia, 8/11/95

“There’s nothing good about drug use. We know it. It destroys individuals. It destroys families. Drug use destroys societies. Drug use, some might say, is destroying this country. And we have laws against selling drugs, pushing drugs, using drugs, importing drugs. And the laws are good because we know what happens to people in societies and neighborhoods which become consumed by them. And so if people are violating the law by doing drugs, they ought to be accused and they ought to be convicted and they ought to be sent up. What this says to me is that too many whites are getting away with drug use. Too many whites are getting away with drug sales. Too many whites are getting away with trafficking in this stuff. The answer to this disparity is not to start letting people out of jail because we’re not putting others in jail who are breaking the law. The answer is to go out and find the ones who are getting away with it, convict them and send them up the river, too.”
- Rush Limbaugh show, Oct. 5, 1995

“I want to let you read along with me a quote from Jerry Colangelo about substance abuse, and I think you’ll find that he’s very much right…‘I know every expert in the world will disagree with me, but I don’t buy into the disease part of it. The first time you reach for a substance you are making a choice. Every time you go back, you are making a personal choice. I feel very strongly about that.’... What he’s saying is that if there’s a line of cocaine here, I have to make the choice to go down and sniff it….And his point is that we are rationalizing all this irresponsibility and all the choices people are making and we’re blaming not them, but society for it. All these Hollywood celebrities say the reason they’re weird and bizarre is because they were abused by their parents. So we’re going to pay for that kind of rehab, too, and we shouldn’t. It’s not our responsibility. It’s up to the people who are doing it. And Colangelo is right. We’ve got more - right after this.”
- Rush Limbaugh, 9/23/93

There was nothing funny, on March 21, about HelenThomas's question, and the only thing "funny" about Bush's answer, was the lack of truth or accuracy.

Quote:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/relea...0060321-4.html

Helen. After that brilliant performance at the Grid Iron, I am -- (laughter.)

Q You're going to be sorry. (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT: Well, then, let me take it back. (Laughter.)

Q I'd like to ask you, Mr. President, your decision to invade Iraq has caused the deaths of thousands of Americans and Iraqis, wounds of Americans and Iraqis for a lifetime. Every reason given, publicly at least, has turned out not to be true. My question is, why did you really want to go to war? From the moment you stepped into the White House, from your Cabinet -- your Cabinet officers, intelligence people, and so forth -- what was your real reason? You have said it wasn't oil -- quest for oil, it hasn't been Israel, or anything else. What was it?

THE PRESIDENT: I think your premise -- in all due respect to your question and to you as a lifelong journalist -- is that -- I didn't want war. To assume I wanted war is just flat wrong, Helen, in all due respect --

Q Everything --

THE PRESIDENT: Hold on for a second, please.

Q -- everything I've heard --

THE PRESIDENT: Excuse me, excuse me. No President wants war. Everything you may have heard is that, but it's just simply not true. My attitude about the defense of this country changed on September the 11th. We -- when we got attacked, I vowed then and there to use every asset at my disposal to protect the American people. Our foreign policy changed on that day, Helen. You know, we used to think we were secure because of oceans and previous diplomacy. But we realized on September the 11th, 2001, that killers could destroy innocent life. And I'm never going to forget it. And I'm never going to forget the vow I made to the American people that we will do everything in our power to protect our people.

Part of that meant to make sure that we didn't allow people to provide safe haven to an enemy. And that's why I went into Iraq -- hold on for a second --

Q They didn't do anything to you, or to our country.

THE PRESIDENT: Look -- excuse me for a second, please. Excuse me for a second. They did. The Taliban provided safe haven for al Qaeda. That's where al Qaeda trained --

Q I'm talking about Iraq --

THE PRESIDENT: Helen, excuse me. That's where -- Afghanistan provided safe haven for al Qaeda. That's where they trained. That's where they plotted. That's where they planned the attacks that killed thousands of innocent Americans.

I also saw a threat in Iraq. I was hoping to solve this problem diplomatically. That's why I went to the Security Council; that's why it was important to pass 1441, which was unanimously passed. And the world said, disarm, disclose, or face serious consequences --

Q -- go to war --

THE PRESIDENT: -- and therefore, we worked with the world, we worked to make sure that Saddam Hussein heard the message of the world. And when he chose to deny inspectors, when he chose not to disclose, then I had the difficult decision to make to remove him. And we did, and the world is safer for it.

Q Thank you, sir. Secretary Rumsfeld -- (laughter.)

Q Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT: You're welcome. (Laughter.) I didn't really regret it. I kind of semi-regretted it. (Laughter.)

Q -- have a debate.

THE PRESIDENT: That's right. Anyway, your performance at the Grid Iron was just brilliant -- unlike Holland's, was a little weak, but -- (laughter.)

Sorry.

abaya · 05-02-2006, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ustwo

Rush Limbaugh once said that liberals have no sense of humor, and I've found that to be far more true than not. The most important skill in life is being able to laugh at yourself. If you can't do that and see your own follies, you are just a self important ass.

I do agree, Ustwo. I think it's valuable to see one's follies and laugh at them. However, to go on making the same follies or supporting the ones in the past, after seeing them for what they are... that's being even more of a self-important ass, I'd say. Having the ability to laugh at oneself is fine, but it is worthless if it doesn't push you to change those faults.

If I had to choose, I'd rather be a liberal with ethics than a conservative with a sense of humor. But that's just me.

Meanwhile, from host's transcript of the Helen Thomas inquisition:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bush

I also saw a threat in Iraq.

If you read along up to that point, he justifies the war using 9/11 and going into Afghanistan. He keeps talking about Afghanistan, the Taliban, etc. Helen Thomas reminds him that's not what she's asking about. So then all of a sudden: "I also saw a threat in Iraq." There is no real connection between Afghanistan and Iraq... he makes this total jump. The threat he saw had nothing to do with 9/11 or Afghanistan. What logic.

/lingers in Politics... this is kinda fun.

04-30-2006, 01:33 AM	#1 (permalink)
Nomad Heathen Location: California	(Video) Stephen Colbert At The White House Correspondents Dinner Video - Part 1 Video - Part 2

04-30-2006, 04:25 AM	#3 (permalink)
connyosis Psycho Location: Sweden - Land of the sodomite damned	Colbert keeps growing on me. I didn't like his show much in the beginning, but I find it getting better and better. And I can understand why Bush wasn't entertained by his speech. I was though. __________________ If atheism is a religion, then not collecting stamps is a hobby.

04-30-2006, 08:49 AM	#5 (permalink)
Paq Junkie Location: South Carolina	i'm thinking bush thought stephen colbert was serious on his show... hehe I just wish he had jon stewart on..that would have been hilarious...or i wish colbert pulled a stewart and went all, "no, seriously, just stop this...you're hurting america' ala crossfire visit. BAHAHA rearranging the deck chairs on the hindenburgh... but yeah, i didn't like the colbert report when it first started coming on, but it has seriously grown on me... man, the audience just was not into it... __________________ Live. Chris

04-30-2006, 08:09 PM	#13 (permalink)
FoolThemAll Walking is Still Honest Location: Seattle, WA	Mixed feelings. The speech portion was really excellent and lived up to his testicular proclamations. "This administration is not sinking, it's soaring! If anything, they're rearranging chairs on the Hindenburg!" The press conference video, however, sucked horribly. __________________ I wonder if we're stuck in Rome.

04-30-2006, 09:04 PM	#14 (permalink)
guy44 Somnabulist Location: corner of No and Where	Man, Colbert deserves props for that. Vicously scathing the scumbags in the press and (especially) the administration in a way nobody ever has to their face. He must have known nobody would laugh as he showed them to be without clothes. Funniest thing I've seen in a year. __________________ "You have reached Ritual Sacrifice. For goats press one, or say 'goats.'"

04-30-2006, 02:52 AM	#2 (permalink)
host Banned	I'll add an "intro" to the OP..... Two observations.... It was supposed to be "comedy" by Comedy Central's Steve Colbert, but there wasn't much laughter....or applause from the 2700 in attendance. At the end, Bush and Laura got right up to leave, with only a "nod" to Colbert, who delivered his keynote, "entertainment", from the other end of the table that they were also seated at. At a recent annual Press Club dinner, Bush engaged in a skit where he pretended to search for the missing, infamous WMD, under his desk. Things aren't so funny anymore. Cobert's performance could be considered to be in "bad taste", but he has no control over the myriad of issues that are available to lampoon....Bush created those...and Bush "opened the door", with his own prior participation in the "find the WMD skit" Colbert covered it all....the Plame leak, Bush's dismal approval ratings, Helen Thomas's recent "question" as to why Bush attacked Iraq in a war of choice that killed thousands, the climate of corruption in Washington, Katrina, the Jeff Gannon, gay escort posing as press corps member scandal, Fox news bias, the attempt to repackage this presidency via hiring Fox's Tony Snow, and Bush's reputation for aversion to recognizing and facing actual problems, global warming, etc. There's a lot there....Colbert touched on all of it with irony, humor, and sarcasm...but it wasn't "great fun". He seemed like the emcee at a funeral.

04-30-2006, 06:55 AM	#4 (permalink)
samcol Junkie Location: Indiana	That was pretty good. It's pretty sad that the only time you can call the president out to his face on what he's done wrong is when you do it sarcastically or in a joking manner. I almost wish he would of thrown the act away for a moment and got a stone cold serious look on his face and called for the president to resign (or somethintg to that effect). Since the average American could never have done that in such a public way, it was an opportunity for Colbert to do something really revolutionary. Anyway, it still had to be one of the Worst moments in Bush's life.

04-30-2006, 11:32 AM	#6 (permalink)
nezmot Registered User	That guy is funny - and he's got balls. And - this was the best PR Bush could ever hope for - just being in the same room as a guy willing to push the envelope this far speaks volumes about the nature of a free and democratic nation - if only this kind of thing were to happen more often.

04-30-2006, 02:17 PM	#7 (permalink)
trickyy ►	i watched this on cspan yesterday i thought it was pretty funny, but like host said, no one was laughing too much. some of these issues are kind of serious...but perhaps they were having trouble with his humor, i don't know. i liked the line about mccain using a spoon to eat his salad and thought the beginning of the press conference audition tape was pretty funny. was laura bush's "stand-up" act at the correspondents dinner last year? she told a few pretty funny stories. right before colbert started, bush delivered a speech, alternating lines with an impersonator standing right next to him. that's probably worth watching too...i don't have a link for it, though.

04-30-2006, 07:00 PM	#10 (permalink)
ASU2003 immoral minority Location: Back in Ohio	I got the scoop then. My site is also safe for work.

04-30-2006, 07:17 PM	#11 (permalink)
ratbastid Darth Papa Location: Yonder	Here's one thing that's really cool--when lurkette and Quadro2000 and JustJess and Halx and I went to a taping of The Daily Show last Monday, they brough up Colbert on the satellite hookup, and he and Jon Stewart chatted a bit before they started rolling tape on the last segment. Stewart mentioned that Colbert was going on this gig, and Colbert asked if we wanted to hear one of his jokes, and he told the deck chairs on the Hindenberg joke. So we got a sneak preview about a week before the show!

05-01-2006, 04:11 AM	#16 (permalink)
Charlatan Getting it. Super Moderator Location: Lion City	Analog... you forgot Helen Thomas in there somewhere... __________________ "My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars." - Old Man Luedecke

05-01-2006, 07:36 AM	#17 (permalink)
Jinn Lover - Protector - Teacher Location: Seattle, WA	I must admit that I started watching it, and it was quite funny.. but then my eyes wandered lower on the page it was hosted on.. "Teaser video for upcoming video."... yea.. needless to say I was distracted immediately and never returned to finish watching it.. fapfapfap __________________ "I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel

05-01-2006, 08:38 AM	#18 (permalink)
BigBen Comedian Location: Use the search button	Very difficult to do satire. One of the hardest forms of comedy (right after kicking yourself in the nuts). Aren't the speeches Vetted? Doesn't the President know what he is walking into? Who let this happen? I thought it was funny as hell, and I love Colbert. I don't think Stewart would have pushed the edge as much. Colbert is trying to make a name for himself, and Stewart is trying to keep the name that he has made. What are the Uber-Conservatives thinking about this? If you side-swiped my captain like that, there would be an ass-kicking in the near future. Did someone drop the ball, and will be fired? Or is this one of those "God Bless the First Ammendment" things that everyone can be proud of? Would Junior have shown up if he knew the speech before hand? Was Colbert told not to go to certain topics? I am very interested in this back-story.... __________________ 3.141592654 Hey, if you are impressed with my memorizing pi to 10 digits, you should see the size of my penis.

05-01-2006, 09:02 AM	#19 (permalink)
stevo Rail Baron Location: Tallyfla	I was sitting in a hospital room next to my buddy, so I was pretty bored. I must say though I was holding back laughter to keep from waking him. I found it pretty damn funny. Some of the stuff I couldn't believe he was saying, but I enjoyed it and thought the outrageousness of it is exactly colbert. He's a zany guy and I wish more stuff like this filled the political news and not just comedy central. I thought the 2 bushes was funnier, but colbert was funny as well. __________________ "If I am such a genius why am I drunk, lost in the desert, with a bullet in my ass?" -Otto Mannkusser

05-01-2006, 09:07 AM	#20 (permalink)
Gatorade Frost Rookie	I thought it was funny. I'm slightly conservative and saw the humor in it. Personally I thought Bush's skit with the double was hilarious. When he did the this is the church, this is the steeple part I was laughing out loud. __________________ I got in a fight one time with a really big guy, and he said, "I'm going to mop the floor with your face." I said, "You'll be sorry." He said, "Oh, yeah? Why?" I said, "Well, you won't be able to get into the corners very well." Emo Philips

05-01-2006, 09:39 AM	#21 (permalink)
MojoRisin Crazy Location: Just got into town about an hour ago.	Does anyone know where I can download Colbert at the press conference. I'm stuck at home with 56k and the video won't stream. __________________ Dropping a barbell he points to the sky and says "The suns not yellow, It's chicken!"

05-01-2006, 10:28 AM	#24 (permalink)
abaya Location: Iceland	I never linger long in Politics, but I saw the Colbert thread and had to take a look. The guy should run for president; he certainly has more balls to face reality than just about anyone else in that administration. According to host's quote above, Fox did a pathetic job of trying to spin Colbert... jesus, they would have been better off ignoring it, like the rest of the media on Sunday and today. :P I've never seen such a bunch of pussy-whipped reporters. But anyway, I was looking forward to seeing more conservatives up in arms here... I'm disappointed. __________________ And think not you can direct the course of Love; for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course. --Khalil Gibran

05-01-2006, 05:50 PM	#27 (permalink)
loganmule Junkie Location: midwest	Colbert is hilarious, and on his own justifies my DVR investment. You can tell Stewart groomed him, although Colbert has his own schtick. As for the context and its reception, you can expect only so much at that venue, and under the existing circumstances.

05-01-2006, 06:11 PM	#28 (permalink)
ObieX Pickles Location: Shirt and Pants (NJ)	Gotta give it to colbert, he's got quite the pair. __________________ We Must Dissent.

05-01-2006, 06:12 PM	#29 (permalink)
Ustwo Pissing in the cornflakes	host sometimes a red wagon is just a red wagon. Funny stuff. __________________ Agents of the enemies who hold office in our own government, who attempt to eliminate our "freedoms" and our "right to know" are posting among us, I fear.....on this very forum. - host Obama - Know a Man by the friends he keeps.

05-01-2006, 10:15 PM	#31 (permalink)
rlbond86 Insane	Wow. That takes ganas. I thought he was hilarious, but some of that probably came because it was just so outrageous!