Do you think someone attacking President Bush would be newsworthy? What if this attack occurred in a very public place? Wouldn’t that warrant an article or two? Now, what if this attack was carried out by a celebrity. Front page news, right?
Nope, not in America.
At Saturday night’s White House Press Corps Dinner, comedian Steven Colbert launched a fierce, fearless, and vicious “surprise attack” on the president. During his stint at the podium, Colbert, best known for playing a fawning, “forget the facts” character based on Fox News commentator Bill O’Riley, pulled no punches, using scathing satire to skewer Bush again and again.
Colbert’s routine is so pointed and so dangerously over-the-top, it’s almost uncomfortable to watch. (But don’t take my word for it: even though the media won’t touch the story, you can see the C-Span video of the event on YouTube.com. Here are links to Part 1 and Part 2.)
The President offered a few initial laughs … but as the spectacle continued (and as the barbs became sharper and sharper), he adopts a tight-lipped, somber expression. After Colbert’s performance, the unsmiling President briefly shook Colbert’s hand (his wife, Laura, neither smiled nor spoke) and then departed.
In short: for the first time in recent memory, our President — whose “public” appearances are so carefully orchestrated that the audience members must sign statements of loyalty before being allowed in the event — was forced, in a public setting, to hear his own performance discussed in a negative light.
Again and again, one after another, Colbert’s jokes hit home hard — jokes about the President’s penchant for staged photo ops, about the ineffective government in Iraq, about the Valerie Plume scandal, about the Vice President’s “hunting accident,” and more.
The tension in the room — even as recorded on video — was palpable. The audience’s occasional laughter was muted and wary. You’ve never seen a White House Press Corps Dinner event go this horribly wrong.
And, if Big Media has its way, you never will.
This morning’s New York Times, the AP and Reuters newsfeeds, the USA TODAY story, NBC news coverage, CBS news coverage, FOX news coverage, and ABC News coverage of the event today focused on President Bush’s comedy routine, performed with the help of a Presidential look alike. Each of these news sources trumpets the same story: that President Bush participated in a good-natured skit featuring a stunt double.
Colbert’s routine, when mentioned at all, is relegated to a footnote at the end of the story. Curious, I polled friends who get their news exclusively from television, radio, and newspaper — and not one of them knew about Colbert’s performance. As far as the mainstream media is concerned … Colbert’s presentation simply didn’t happen.
I’ve never seen creepier evidence of apparent media manipulation of an event in my life.
By contrast, Internet sites are abuzz with the Colbert story.
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