Stephen Colbert harkens a latter-day Mark Twain

[Zomby Woof]

Mark Twain had his iconic cigar and white suit. Stephen Colbert has his eagle and The Word. Both share the gift of occupying the world of mass entertainment and social criticism with great deftness and subtle power.

Sure, Twain was primarily a novelist, arguably the greatest America ever produced. But novelists were entertainers first, and in an era before television, film, or computers, only theater rivalled books as the most popular form of mass entertainment. In this post-literate digital age, Colbert, in all truthiness, inherits the mantle of a modern day Samuel Clemens, as evidenced by the brutal and subversive precision of his satire at the White House Correspondents Dinner.

Like Twain, people expect him to say funny things, which makes the seriousness under wit's veneer all the more devastating in its effect.

Read Twain's essays on the American occupation of the Phillipines circa 1900, which with a grand undercurrent of anger and irony, critique the slaughter and mayhem this nation conducted in the name of empire; then consider the comparison to Colbert's relentless mockery of Bush and Iraq, and the similarites are stark, indeed.

If only Twain had an audience with William McKinley (who is, incidentally, Karl Rove's favorite president). One wonders what he would have made of the opportunity. Well, wonder no more.

[BigBearJohn]

1. Colbert is bypassing Jon Stewart

[Mira]

2. Brutal and subversive precision - priceless description !

The first go-around I was speechless and hyperventilating.
The second time I marvelled at the detailed semi hidden digs underlying larger more obvious and less offensive ones, and the mastery of the writing.
The man missed little, maybe nothing, and has balls of steel.
We must support him openly in great numbers, he has new and powerful enemies now.

I felt, as I watched it, that it was a historic event.
He had that crowd utterly disoriented, they could not believe what was happening, and self preserved by remaining pretty "unmoved" - they were thinking a loud and appreciative laugh could cost them their job.
We are not accustomed to such a display of raw undeterred courage,though I wish we had more of it, and sooner.
Go Stephen Colbert!!!!

[Ms. Clio]

3. very astute and apt parallels

Although I don't think McKinley was one-tenth as vicious and deranged and dangerous as our Chimperor.

And Twain didn't have to worry about the IRS and the NSA and the FBI armed with "national security letters."

[WindRavenX]

4. Is Colbert the only one in the past 6 years who has confronted *?

I have not seen *anyone* do *anything* like what Colbert did.

[Zomby Woof]

5. Not that I am immediately aware of

The irony is that most liberal icons play nice and kiss Bush's ass when they are up there at this event. Colbert was the Trojan Horse... plays the obsequious right-wing shill, and uses that for the surprise attack.

Proof that conservatives have a primitive and underdeveloped sense of humor (or none at all), is that many think Colbert is for real and one of them. :rofl:

[Iniquitous Bunny]

9. The only thing that has come close is Helen Thomas.

She's asked the tough questions and basically been silenced. This was something else all together. I hope it gives other reporters (of the non-satirical variety who should have been asking the tough questions all along) the courage to do so.

[NightOwwl]

6. Best.Sig.Line.Ever.

:toast:

[zippy890]

7. excellent comparison

[bmbmd]

8. Reminds me more of Andy Kauffman.

Brutal, unrelenting-almost real. Makes you squirm in your seat.

[deutsey]

10. Twain, incidentally, was a hugely successful lecturer

If he never wrote any of his classics he would have left his mark as a lecturer.

Ron Power in his new bio likens his popularity on the lecture circuit to a modern rock star.

[Zomby Woof]

11. Very true!

When Twain bankrupted himself on some ill-advised investments (more than once), he recouped his losses with a global tour. He was loved abroad, maybe even more than in America in some places.

[jokerman93]

12. Who would Colbert bomb?

Gawd that man is sooo angry! He obviously has personal issues! :sarcasm:

Reality sucks, huh Georgie boy?
My wife and I just finished watching the video of Stephen Colbert's presentation to the press associates. :wow: Anyone who didn't think that was hilarious and brilliant is either a zombie kool-aide drinker, or needs to be taken off life support immediately!

We laughed our asses off all the way through it. Almost exactly like this: :rofl:

Stephen Colbert has brass balls the size of Montana! What grace and skill! They didn't even see it coming did they? Who invited him to speak at that dinner anyway? Someone who's unemployed at the moment I'd guess. The idiot neo-putzes must have cleared Colbert because he "looks" like one of them - maybe it was his bow-tie that got him the gig. LOL.

It's obvious Colbert risked everything to deliver that speech - to speak truth to power. He simply doesn't give a shit what anyone thinks. Or he does, but he knows what's more important - and that makes him a hero. This country matters enough for Stephen Colbert to risk everything to speak the truth. In my eyes what he did represents a kind of coup. Colbert managed what no one else has been able to: He got past the syndicate's defenses and lobbed one devastating truth-bomb after another. And the dunce-n-chief had to just sit there and take it! They couldn't do a frigging thing about it! LOL.

(Schadenfreud? definitely!)

Man, they can spin and spin this all they want, but the assholes in power have played their hand. They're out there flapping in the wind now. It's over.

This one is going to fire around the planet on the net for sure. I'd just bet on it. :popcorn:

To the press and media - take notes people! THAT's what you call shining a light on the truth! It takes courage to do that. Any cockroach can mouth the party line. Now if all those self-serving bush-bots in the press corp would just take a vacation. Maybe just get on a slow leaky boat to somewhere else - and not come back - that would be an excellent choice.

Maybe we can get back to honoring the truth in media and placing the real responsibility where it belongs - with the incompetent "leadership" who engineered this whole disaster in the first place.

The tide's turned. Maybe it turned a long time ago, who knows? But the real truth will out. Truth always wins. And truth is undeniably on our side. Mark Twain would be proud.

Stephen Colbert You-da-man!

:patriot: :woohoo: :applause:

[leftchick]

13. Absolutely!

Just perfect! And Like Twain, Colbert is fearless!

[BrklynLiberal]

14. Is there an email address to which we can write a note of undying

admiration?