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

Editor & Publisher ^ | April 29, 2006 | E&P Staff

[alnick]

Don't look now, but not many people in the room were amused, by the reception his routine got.

[oceanview]

my advice to the President if he was not amused:

STOP GOING TO THIS EVENT

[psjones]

I wasn't amused either, I thought Colbert's act was really lame. I've seen a few of these events, and I thought Colbert had to be one of the worse comedian at these events i've seen.

[Thebaddog]

How about the loon exercise instructor in LA who trashed Bush while one his daughters was in attendance? It's way too fashionable to trash the president personally, IMHO. Who on earth do these people think they are? Have they no respect at all?

[Explorer24]

Terrible. I wanted to turn it off b/c it was so boring, but I didn't want to miss anything. I didn't.

It was dull, one-sided, over the top, and not funny, at all. It was a bunch of political attacks, not jokes.

[miele man]

I thought Colbert's "comedy" was vicious and vindictive. Judging by the reactions shown by the TV camera, perhaps many others thought so too.

Pres. Bush and Steve Bridges' routine was truly funny.

[TomGuy]

Colbert's trying to be funny turned out to be a struggle in futility. Grope and grasp as he did, his 'program' sank faster and lower than the Poseidon. It wasn't pretty. It wasn't funny. Colbert should be embarrassed at his woeful performance.

[jackieaxe]

It's really pathetic that press access to our government is limited to the same people and organizations. I don't like the MSM, but even if they were pro-conservative, it's not right the same people have this exclusive access. Remember that presidential press conference where every question was "What went wrong, would you like to admit mistakes?", asked 50 ways. If a random citizen were in the room we would have gotten a better question. Instead, the status quo is an oligarchy that reports the same base stories caring nothing for national interest and only for selling ads. You get these "Correspondent's Dinners", where our elected officials got to go kiss these peoples asses to go along and get along.

[thegreatbeast]

The president wasn't amused because Colbert is not particularly amusing.

[jazusamo]

Colbert laid a huge egg. From the lack of laughter, I believe most in attendance felt the same.

[FlingWingFlyer]

Is it true Colbert was wearing kneepads because somebody told him Bill Clinton was going to be there?

[yuta250]

Colbert was way out of line with his comments imo. These events are understood to consist of good-natured ribbing, not mean-spirited partsan attacks. Cheap shot by Colbert to make a name for himself and become a hero to his liberal buddies. No class.

[manwiththehands]

This president simply refuses to fight back. That's his prerogative. However, again I ask: why does President Bush willingly subject himself to these juvenile events? Doesn't he get enough of this treatment during the week? The man is a gluten for punishment, and it's starting to look bad.

[kenth]

What did anyone expect with Colbert? He'll play to the expectations of the left as to how they view republicans. As always, those expectations are wildly exaggerated. He did start out on John Stewart's show after all.

[Echo Talon]

President Not Amused?

I wouldn't be either he(Colbert) wasn't funny. Colbert is usually funny but last night he stunk, guess he needs an editor to be funny, pretty sad.

[Explorer24]

Bottom line, the left can claim it was brilliant all they want, but no one was laughing. If it was supposed to be funny, it failed, miserably. Even the Bush hating press corp. didn't find it funny, or thought it was too over the top to laugh.

[onedoug]

How anyone, including the Bush's, could stand this thing is anyone's guess. Never again for me.

[sauropod]

I agree. Not funny.

[singfreedom]

The short answer: no. I was afraid something like this would happen. It was with absolute dismay that I heard the President was planning to attend this idiotic display of arrogant disdain, of all things American, by the lame MSM.

[Explorer24]

Great questions. Clinton never did. Did you see the Clinton clips? He ragged on everyone else and took the opportunities to gloat about how the predictions about him were wrong, about all he accomplished, etc. I think it says something about the left, they laugh along when really the joke is on them.