A friend of mine told me that the Colbert speech last night had no

[dorktv]

laughter at the event, is that true?

[Oversea Visitor]

1. Yup

Those guy got bubble strip of by Colbert.
They dont like to see their true self.
Damn ugly me think.

[dogman]

2. Not at all true.

There were some uncomfortable moments for Bushco and the lapdog media who were present however.

[BrklynLiberal]

3. There was laughter. Those who were the targets were laughing very

uncomfortably. Those who were not, were hysterical.

[dorktv]

5. so the audience at home were crying with hysteria?

[BrklynLiberal]

9. I would think so.

[robbedvoter]

4. In the beginning, loud laughter, shots of laughing people

As his hits became more and more pointed at W, the laughter's volume button was lowered - just like in his little audition tape. By the time he started attacking the media, laughing slowed down.
heck for yourself!

http://video.freevideoblog.com/video/AAC7FA18-2DDC-4D3E-B1BB-9D6CBD83E27F.htm

[dorktv]

12. darn dial up.

[babylonsister]

18. Do you have CSPAN? It's on now, 12:23pmCT. Steven hasn't

done his schtick yet.

[dorktv]

25. No cable either!

:cry: I would ask my friend to tape it for me but he is not on anymore.

Oh well, I can probably get it the next time the Daily Show puts out some DVDs. Or get it off of ebay or something.

[saracat]

28. I tivoed it. I can get it to you somehow! But the video is online!

[dorktv]

30. Well Saracat, it is okay...I will ask Tony if he can get a copy made.

Someone in the AZDem party should be able to rip a copy off from somewhere.

I hear things are going well with Herb, Jesse told me he got 82 sigs before he ripped open his knee.

[NYC]

35. Try Crooks and Liars.

Even on dial up, their videos tend to download well.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/04/29.html#a8104

It's worth a try. Good luck.

[saracat]

55. Maybe for all the candidates combined.

Poor Jesse took a dive just before he came in. He took one for the party!

[dorktv]

68. I know, he told me all about it. But he was a good sport about it.

Too bad he missed Balbir's food though!

[progressivebydesign]

6. Why do people do that? YES there was laughter - but it was CSPAN

I watched it.. there was plenty of laughter. CSPAN is NOT mic'd the way a Comedy Central show might be, or any other regular show might be. They are NOT an entertainment channel. They are a documentary/news channel. There was laughter, but it was not mic'd to really capture it. I think your friend is feeding you bullshit.

[rucky]

13. Same thing happened at the Wellstone funeral and the Dean Scream

The sound got re-tooled when the MSM got ahold of it. fun with audio - courtesy of the Mighty Wurlitzer

[dorktv]

16. No, he loves Colbert. He just does not understand these dinners.

All last night he was "wait why is X person there? how did THAT person get in?"

I kept telling him that it is one of those stupid events that everyone shows up at.

[Nitrogenica]

7. Yes...just shock and awe. He took the reality of Bush and his

policies and threw it at the audience. The reality is not funny, not funny at all.

The state of mind of the Right Wing and their behavior over the past few years is obsene.

With that in mind, Colbert was a complete success. It was the greatest act of political courage I have ever seen.

He wounded Bush and poured salt on that wound. I'm sure Bush left feeling completely humiliated.

[tnlefty]

33. The Mafia Wife sure looked pissed as she was exiting!

oops, I meant the first lady.

[caligirl]

38. she needed a smoke after seeing her husband humiliated

[grasswire]

8. even General Pace was laughing

And he was sitting with Hadley and the other criminals.

[Stinky The Clown]

10. It is difficult to laugh when one has one's jaw on the floor as one is

exposed to the truth in such a shocking way.

My sense is Colbert was not out for laughs last night.

He was deadly serious and I love him for it.

[Sal Minella]

32. Bingo.

[rucky]

11. Nervous snickers, mostly. Lots of head-nodding (in agreement).

no uproarious laughter to speak of.

But I'm sure the MSM will try to spin it as a flop, seeing as so many nellies here at the DU are already floating that talking point.

[Jane Austin]

23. And lots of broad smiles.

Don't forget, those were the White House correspondents, not the whole spectrum of the news media.

Their bosses (bureau chiefs and presidents) were at the same tables with the reporters. Wouldn't have been prudent to laugh out loud. :)

[ldf]

40. nellies?

how progressive of you.

:sarcasm:

[emulatorloo]

43. "nervous nellie"

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/nervous+Nelly

nervous Nel·lie or nervous Nel·ly (nl)
n. pl. nervous Nel·lies Informal
An unduly timid or anxious person.

[rucky]

62. ???

Nervous nellies. That's about as non-insulting of an insult as I could hurl.

[ClintonTyree]

14. No there was a lot......

especially at the beginning but as the speech went on people were more in shock. They couldn't believe Bush was getting roasted so harshly. :eyes: In my opinion, most people were SCARED to find it too humorous. I'm sure the Bush spies were watching and that Bush would want to know WHO was and HOW MUCH. There is a climate of fear around Bush. Everyone knows what a petulant, spoiled asshole he is and they walk around on eggshells when near him.

Some people were wetting their pants, especially Joe Wilson and "Joe Wilson's wife". :rofl:

[dorktv]

17. Yeah, I bet Joe was falling over with laughter.

[kansasblue]

15. when you joke about lies, global heating, war,

Gannon, shooting someone in the face. Tuff to get laughs. It was powerful, brave, cutting, and a list of admin fuck ups.

Wasn't all that funny. Couldn't be. I think the most powerful thing might be that it shows someone standing up to president.

I thought is was very cool that Ambassador Wilson and his wife were there.

[enki23]

19. what's up with the sudden rash of selective deafness?

Did you hear?! Did you hear!!!!!!??2!1 A friend of my friend's mother says Steven Colbert is gay! And my buddy, who was on the radio once, heard through his media contacts that Steven Colbert used to be a member of NAMBLA, and that he's good friends with ecoterrorists. And nobody laughs at his jokes, or watches his show, so he's a BIG FLOP anyway. That sure sucks, doen't it? I want the communists to win too!!!!!!11 And I'm GAY, so I should know. Plus I don't believe in Jesus. I've heard Mr. Colbert doesn't believe in Jesus either, and that when he's beating his wife he actually PRAYS TO ALLAH and smokes MARIJAJANA!!!!!11 He's so LIBERAL!!!!!! How could he be so unpopular???

etc.

[dorktv]

27. Calm down. My friend just had a different opinion that I could not

verify since I have not seen it.

[CJCRANE]

20. Just listen to the hubbub afterwards...

you can tell the audience was almost holding its breath. When it was all over I bet there were some very animated conversations.

[dorktv]

41. I imagine it went like this:

Bush: GOD DAMN MUTHA FUCKING ASSHOLE!!! HOW DARE HE?!
Pickles: How could anyone be so cruel? That was not funny that was horrible!
Bush aides (muffled from hiding under furniture): he was wrong sir. You are the best sir, the most wonderful president ever. Please do not kill us.

[TAPat]

21. I laughed my ass off

watching it this morning (at the link provided upthread) - but I have to admit I have a tendency to laugh at things that are NOT funny...
Guess that's what great satire is for! :party:
I'm not the biggest Colbert fan in the world, but man, that ROCKED!

[peacetalksforall]

22. There was some laugher, but the look on some of the faces of those

in the audience showed plenty of something ... a little shock? a little disgust? Or a lot?

There were some very grim and vbarely tolerant looks on their faces.

We have to remind ourselves how heavily involved they are in propaganda for PNAC and the WH.

They roared at jokes made by George including jokes that were demeaning to citizens.

Back to Colbert -

There are two many reasons for their reactions.

One is that most comedians deliver stright from themselves.
Colbert pretends to be someone else. People have to be constantly thinking.

Most of all, they just may not want George to be beat up that much, especially when they work so hard to protect him and help with the smoke and mirrors.

I kept thinking that he might have been better received if he had appeared next year. People just aren't ready for him.

[CJCRANE]

24. Colbert's ahead of the curve...

just like DU.

We're the people in the know, waiting for the rest to catch up.

(And they will, give 'em time).

[dorktv]

26. He may have been thinking "This is my chance to tear into these

assholes who have hurt a wonderful country."

[Frank Cannon]

36. I agree. He knew had this one shot, and he took it.

And man, did he the target square on.

[TheFarseer]

29. The reaction was a bit tepid

People were laughing, but to say he was killing them would be wrong. Most of it was "polite" laughter. Some of his jokes were obvious and not all that funny. Some were more pointed comments than jokes. Some of it was genuinely very funny and had me laughing. From a pure comedic standpoint, it was pretty average. As a satirical commentary it was a little rough, but overall his normal genius.

[dorktv]

31. More coherent then our fake Right Winger?

[C_U_L8R]

34. listen

there were plenty of laughs... the house sound wasn't up real high
but your could hear the roars and the guffaws. It seemed that they
turned the house sound off when they ran the video (which was a
good amount of the show).

Frankly I don't care if the press found it funny or damning...
but I betcha anything they are all talking about it.

Colbert rules !!

[blm]

37. That's the corporate media spin - like Kerry had no plans and Dean has

no plans and Democrats don't stand for anything.

[dorktv]

39. My friend is not media. Reread the OP and then post a better response

[blm]

54. There was laughter - the media is saying there wasn't. I heard it, even

when it was uncomfortable laughter.

What other response is there, when I KNOW I heard laughter, while many in the broadcast media and your friend is saying otherwise?

What better response is there than the truth of what I heard watching the event twice?

[dorktv]

67. He watched the event and then told me this.

[graywarrior]

42. Most didn't get it, or if they did, they were too scared to respond

[zann725]

58. It's called "Shock and Awe"....that's the kind of humor Colbert used.

The TRUE "Shock and Awe." Colbert was SO 'speaking Truthiness to Authority" it WAS shocking and awing. Most present probably WANTED to laugh more, but in the presence of the Big Guy, no doubt were aware at every moment of their every reaction being taped from every angele. And as Colbert joked, their every subtle comment recorded in the centerpieces on their tables.

[trof]

44. I saw many "Holy Sh*T!" expressions.

About the only group in the audience who didn't suffer a drubbing were the 'celebrities', sports figures and actors. All I saw were laughing their asses off.

[dorktv]

45. well Al Franken says it is like a trade show convention...so the

fact that Colbert was a little um...tough? on people in charge was a bit shocking.

[Duer 157099]

46. I don't think laughter is the right barometer to gauge Colbert

I have thought much about this after examining Colbert's performance and the reaction of the audience.

And then I realized: when I watch The Daily Show, I laugh, out loud. A lot.

However, when I watch Colbert's show, I find that I don't. It's a different kind of humor, so biting and sharp that laughter isn't always the indicator of it's success.

I think that's more why there wasn't so much "laughter" last night. Not that it wasn't "funny" or wasn't appreciated, or that there was reluctance for people to express how they receieved his "comedy."

I just think it wasn't "hah hah" funny for the most part.

[dorktv]

48. Well if he is acting like a Right Winger, that would not be all that

funny in hahah but you enjoy the satire (what the Daily Show is not really satire by the classic definition.)

[Duer 157099]

50. Right. It's funny in a "sad" kind of way

Not traditional humor by any stretch.

Maybe, because it's not "good natured ribbing" -- it's way beyond that.

[dorktv]

52. It was A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift

[leftofthedial]

47. my impression was that people laughed at the beginning

then, as they realized that he was basically telling the truth

and was ripping them all for their hypocrisy, smugness, lies and evil, the laughter diminished

once in awhile, for example, the Jesse Jackson glacier joke, they laughed big, relieved I think that he let them all off the hook for a few seconds.

[Duer 157099]

49. Yeah, I found that bizarre how they laughed so hard

at the concept of global warming!

Twisted fucks.

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

51. Heard more laughter on 2nd viewing than I remembered from 1st

There were crickets after some of Colbert's lines but most lines got some kind of response, usually mixed with laughter.

2nd viewing a good thing. E&P should have watched twice before reporting that Bush didn't shake hands with Colbert at the end. He did, though Laura did not.

[dorktv]

53. Her majesty did not deign to shake his hand? Shocking!

[juajen]

59. Not exactly true.

Colbert did not offer his hand. He snubbed Laura. It was funny. Maybe he was just correctly reading her; she was obviously angry.

[dorktv]

60. hahaha, I should eat.

[sandnsea]

56. Ridiculing someone else is always funny

The press wasn't quite so impressed when the jokes were turned on them. That was my take. But there was definitely laughter and yes, Scalia did belly-laugh, no hesitation. It was too funny not to.

[sojourner]

57. no...not true. I played video, heard and saw laughter.

uncomfortable laughter. Colbert hit them hard. Some were laughing though they appeared embarrassed/afraid to be be seen doing so. Some didn't laugh - just sat stone cold glaring. Bush, for example. Serves them all right to hear the truth for once.

[dorktv]

61. The boy in the bubble had an owie?

[sojourner]

74. yes...poor king georgie found out his "new suit" was made of thin air.

[Jacobin]

63. That is true, because the brunt of his jokes was the audience

The target of his flamethrowing humor was the media, almost as an afterthought the idiot in chief.

They don't like facing the fact that they are simply part of the propaganda ministry and are not journalists.

[dorktv]

69. Hey, Fiction is important!

[cassiepriam]

64. There was not a lot of laughing in the clip I saw, some, but not

as much as a normal comedy routine would have garnered...

I myself didn't think it was funny at all.....
Sad to hear it actually. To think that the president of the US
is such a laughing stock and such an evil idiot....
not funny to me.

[dorktv]

71. After all he has done, someone should mock him to his face.

Molly Ivins says "we have to laugh, otherwise we would cry or throw up and neither are good for you."

[cassiepriam]

75. Yes I agree, it is high time he gets a dose of reality, nt

[renate]

65. was there much thigh-slapping when Imus talked about Monica?

(If there was, then never mind about the rest of this paragraph.) Maybe it was just too awkward to roll in the aisles when the guy being slammed is right there in the room. :shrug: A roast is one thing, telling the ugly truth is another.

In this case, they're also probably just plain afraid to be seen laughing. This White House has a long enemies list and it retaliates.

[dorktv]

70. well outside of harming the babies, what could they do to the Wilsons?

[Spirochete]

66. There was some laughter.

Valerie Plame was laughing hard. Scalia, surprisingly, was laughing hard as well. Celebrities, such as Lawrence Fishburne, etc. were enjoying themselves, too.

[zulchzulu]

72. Um, there was laughter...and many jaws dropping too

Watching and listening to Colbert's performance was almost like watching someone shooting fish in a bucket. He was merciless, cunning and hell-bent on sending out an extra crispy bucket of Kickass.

If those that portend that there was no laughter have proof, perhaps they can supply the link to the video they watched. Perhaps their volume control skills are challenged. I'm detecting "operator error".

[leesa]

73. It's so funny that the conservative herd mentality can't judge something's

worth without the rest of the herd mooing.

[Disturbed]

76. Is this funny?

“I stand by this man because he stands for things. Not only for things, has he stood on things. Things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently flooded city squares. And that sends a strong message, that no matter what happens to America, she will always rebound with the most powerfully staged photo ops in the world.” Steven Colbert

[dorktv]

78. It is satire, it is not suppose to be funny. It is suppose to be cruel.

[Dr Fate]

81. Yes. At least it makes me laugh...

File under: Funny cuz its true

[0007]

77. Folks like Joe Wilson & Valarie Plame got a big kick out

of Stephen Colbert.

[ProudDad]

79. No, it's not true

There was plenty of laughter. I watched the whole thing and didn't expect as much as there was.

CSPAN microphones don't pick it up well.

Of course, bush and rove and the right-wing press wasn't laughing but most were.

This was just like the event with the infamous Dean Scream -- where the background noise level was evidently deafening but the mics just picked up Dean's yell.

[Dr Fate]

80. Most people would find it funny- its a hoot.

n/t