Colbert Report: Bush's Words

What is interesting about Colbert and his biting comedy is that he really is a modern day jester. He is probably as bold or bolder than anyone out there (see last year's Whitehouse correspondents dinner), yet you can't really pin him down. He is literally speaking truth to power but what's important is he is also selling it to the rest of us in a dazzling fashion. He can have even more fun than straight up adversaries of the adaministration, due to his yes-man nature.

He also reminds us of how comedy is a political force. Whether it is a political cartoon or a highly produced show, they can have a very real influence on our lives. Many criticized Colbert that his WH Correspondent's dinner material wasn't funny or only solicited nervous laughter, and there was definitely part of me that half expected Bush to call in the goon squad halfway through, but after a point, the laughter is secondary. You want him to continue, you wanted the President and his Press to squirm. It is a discomfort that needs to happen, on every level, in order to get any change in policy or coverage.

Colbert and The Daily Show treat their audience as though they are actually intelligent, something the main stream media avoids.