Posted on 06/08/2009 5:41:43 AM PDT by GQuagmire
BAGHDAD — It’s official. Stephen Colbert has declared victory in the war in Iraq. But the top U.S. commander in the country says not so fast.
Colbert, wearing a camouflage suit and tie, brought "The Colbert Report" — Comedy Central’s political satire in which he plays a conservative TV pundit — to hundreds of U.S. troops at Camp Victory, the U.S. military headquarters on the western edge of Baghdad.
He drew rousing applause from the uniformed audience when he poked fun at the fact that many of them have been deployed to Iraq multiple times and could end up in Afghanistan as soon as the U.S. effort there accelerates.
(Excerpt) Read more at bostonherald.com ...
“But the loudest roars came when his first guest, Gen. Ray Odierno, accepted a videotaped order from President Barack Obama to shave Colbert’s head.”
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Great. How much time out of Zero’s ‘day’ did that take to shoot? *rolls eyes*
Colbert is a bit of a lefty, but I certainly appreciate anyone who goes over to boost the morale of the troops. His charitable work is noteworthy as well.
Thank you Stephen Colbert.
Agreed. I like the Churchill quote in your tagline. With the election of Obama, I’ve grown quite fond of this one from Churchill...
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.
Good for him. The camo suit and tie is a nice touch.
From what I hear, the audience was screened very carefully because a lot of troops don’t think too fondly of this jerk. Just like Michael Moore, he says he supports the troops, but then makes a joke out of Bush’s attempt to find WMD and liberate the Iraqis. I’ll never forget when Colbert spoke at the White House Press Dinner and totally flopped.
Good to see the troops laughing and enjoying themselves.
Colbert has raised a lot of money for the Yellow Ribbon Fund (^), which assists injured Service Members.
Colbert is only slightly left of center. He seems to be an overall nice guy.
A lot of people were and are ignorant of the intel behind the Iraq war. Ignorance makes a joke unfunny but it’s not the most serious character flaw. From what I’ve seen so far, Colbert doesn’t attack innocent people or America’s most cherished principles unlike some pundits.
Curious where you heard that.
That's funny right there, I don't care who you are...
Got an authoritative link for the claim that the audience was “screened very carefully?”
I ask because I’d be very surprised if that were true.
And - regarding joking about WMDs - you are aware that President Bush himself joked about it (rather tastelessly, in my view) in a little skit where he looked around his office and under his desk? It was way back in early 2004.
You can read about it here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3570845.stm
No link, just what I heard directly from my friends serving in the Middle East. I hate to be politically incorrect, but since Colbert’s whole shtick is to mock Conservative values, I don’t respect the guy.
I watched most of it.
It was very tastefully done. Even the Obama “appearance” was well done.
There was nothing offensive in any part of the show, the humor was geared to amuse the troops, the humor was mostly self-deprecating, and Colbert emphasized the good that the troops have done for Iraq.
I came away thinking that the show was actually beneficial...confused lefties who are fans of Colbert will have to re-evaluate what they think of the Iraq effort.
However, listening to the reaction by the audience to the appearance by Obama, I think that there may be some merit to the idea that the audience was screened.
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