Saturday, April 29, 2006
Live-blogging the White House correspondents' dinner
1. The video of the guests arriving was hilarious, and its highlight was the arrival of Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame. If I work up the energy I'll put up a picture of that travesty later in the evening.
Mark Smith gave the opening remarks, and notwithstanding his pleas it was obvious that he simply could not get the crowd to be quiet. A room full of reporters, Washington heavy-hitters and, *cough*, Hollywood celebrities, simply won't shut up. And why should they?
2. The highlight reels are pretty funny. Chevy Chase's crack to Gerald Ford -- "I'll hope you'll pardon me" -- was hilarious, as was Dana Carvey's riff on Bush 41. The press conference footage with JFK is also interesting, reminding us as it does of his unbelievable charisma.
3. Bush stands up, and in comes an actor make up to look like Bush, speaking as if he were Bush's mind. Bush speaking the canned lines, and the double speaking what Bush really has on his mind. It is going to go down as the funniest presidential speech in history, and some enterprising blogger should get the video up pronto. [UPDATE: Here's a link to the AP story, which gives you some flavor for the dialogue between Bush and, er, his brain.]
4. Stephen Colbert, on the other hand, is dying. He's going to kill the ratings of his show if this doesn't pick up.
5. Colbert continues to suck, and the laughter, such as it is, is almost as embarrassing as it is embarrassed.
UPDATE: Video, commentary and links galore over at Hot Air. CWCID: Joe's Dartblog.
10 Comments:
By 
Dylan, at
Sat Apr 29, 11:14:00 PM:
I couldn't believe how painful Colbert was, nor how hard he tried to hit Bush.
By Doug, at
Sun Apr 30, 04:52:00 AM:
If anyone finds them, would appreciate any links to web video for us non-TV enabled.
...maybe post them at Belmont too?
By Doug, at
Sun Apr 30, 04:57:00 AM:
Princeton Students Pass the Academic Bill of Rights
A thumbs up for academic freedom and intellectual diversity. LINK
By Admin, at
Sun Apr 30, 07:36:00 PM:
i thought colbert was brilliant, roasting bush and the pandering press corps.
i am surprised they asked him to come; you'd think that whoever was in charge of that dinner understood his type of satire and wit.
btw, the colbert report is one of the hottest comedy shows on television, and colbert's character is a neocon.
i think someone wasnt paying close attention to the humor when they invited him.
i thought it was great, it was a true roasting, one which the present president is richly deserving.
tiger, you didn't see him interview bill kristol?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgYZ11pIGU4
By The Mechanical Eye, at
Sun Apr 30, 08:44:00 PM:
btw, the colbert report is one of the hottest comedy shows on television, and colbert's character is a neocon.
What's this? The Colbert Report is a show? and it's a kind of mockery of Bill O'Reilly?
On the television set?
What channel is this on? Which network? I hope I can get it with the poor reception my antenna gets.
DU
By Gordon Smith, at
Sun Apr 30, 11:34:00 PM:
Colbert was darkly ironic and hilariously ballsy.
Irony isn't the conservatives' strong suit I guess.
Trust us, it was funny, even if you didn't get it.
By TigerHawk, at
Mon May 01, 06:33:00 AM:
Perhaps, but the difference in audience reaction was striking. They laughed a lot harder for (at?) Bush's bit. And it was hardly an audience predisposed to liking the president.
By Admin, at
Mon May 01, 06:57:00 AM:
i think bush suffers from the unfunny clown syndrome.
that is to say, perhaps people were laughing at him rather than with him.
By Catchy Pseudonym, at
Tue May 02, 04:25:00 PM:
Just saw this thread. I have to say I thought Colbert was awesome. Watching the president watch Colbert was part of the fun and seeing the awkward uncomfortable faces of the press corp during his speech made it all the better. I don't equate applause with success, much like watching the crowd during the Oscars listening to Jon Stewart mock them. I feel I had a representative for me saying the things I wish I could say to the president who was a mere 5 feet away. I don't expect Bush to appreciate the humor, or perhaps learn from it, but watching him sit there with that shit-eating grin on his face was priceless.
By Lanky_Bastard, at
Tue May 02, 06:05:00 PM:
When you hold a kiss-up festival, it's a bad idea to have your keynote speaker be someone with nothing to gain or lose.
The real comedy would be to hear the explanation from whoever booked and vetted Colbert. If only we could see that. Here's betting they pre-screen routines next year.
