Who Is The Real Stephen Colbert
My man-crush on Colbert is no secret. But this study comes as a huge surprise. (H/t: Benen). First, a request: anyone with lexis willing to e-mail me the full article? If you're too lazy to read the abstract, the nickel version is that conservatives don't realize that Colbert's a satire. They think he's pretending to joke but is offering serious political commentary. [insert puzzled look here].
Second, my immediate thought on the matter: this would certainly explain why someone at the White House thought it wise to ask Colbert to deliver the keynote address at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in 2006 (Benen quotes someone with a related observation). I still think that speech will go down in history as the beginning of the end of the modern GOP. Today's big news about Sen. Specter crystallizes this.
Second, my immediate thought on the matter: this would certainly explain why someone at the White House thought it wise to ask Colbert to deliver the keynote address at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in 2006 (Benen quotes someone with a related observation). I still think that speech will go down in history as the beginning of the end of the modern GOP. Today's big news about Sen. Specter crystallizes this.
Labels: Rabid Conservatives
posted by Armen Adzhemyan at 1:21 PM
2 Comments:
Still zero comments huh? I'll chime in.
These results don't surprise me too much. I have observed this strange phenomenon in person. As for the Correspondents' dinner, I don't think those in charge believe the Colbert character was real. I think they just expected any comedian asked to perform before a sitting president would do so respectfully, regardless of his political views.
Don't get me wrong. Colbert's speech is probably my favorite memory of the Bush admin and one of the best moments in the history of political comedy. I don't fault him for it; I applaud him.
But if you look at the history of this thing, a number of clearly left-leaning comics have performed (are there any right-leaning comics? Ok sure, but are there any funny right-leaning comics? In related news, Jeff Dunham should die) and most of them have reigned it in. I think Lewis Black was the guy before Colbert, and that event went off without a hitch.
Anyway, there's my four cents. Interesting study!
Off topic here, but any idea on what's going on with Prof. Frickey? Apparently he is taking a leave for health reasons.
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