Rearranging Hindenburg Deck Chairs
Not a gumbo night; instead we tested new recipes for roast chicken a la Naked Chef, with lemon peel, prosciutto, garlic, thyme, p&s, and butter tucked under the little one's skin. Roasted baby artichokes with olive oil and Provence herbs. Yum, as long as you have a tolerance for some (choke leaf) bitter!
All because we'd had to decline our invite to the White House Correspondent's Dinner since there were no airline tickets in the envelope.
Wish we could have been there, as is the case every year. I'm gradually coming around to the idea that this blog is unlikely to make it happen.
But in case any of you were also left out, I'm here to let you know that Stephen Colbert was one of those invited to the podium. I'm guessing that might not happen next year. I'm proceeding here on basis that if you are not a fully-doddering idiot, a sworn idiot-box agnostic (you go!), or one in a rural setting where you have an ISP (well duhh!) but no cable (actually sounds pretty attractive, Dave!), you either do watch the Colbert Report or have been shamed for not doing so to the point where extended intro is unnecessary. The eagle-man does a good send-up, I must say.
And he reportedly did so in full measure tonight, even to the point of transcending his normal on-screen shrub-phantic schtick. (In the spirit of full disclosure, if you've read this far you are likely already a subject of NSA eavesdropping - be careful what you think):
WASHINGTON A blistering comedy “tribute” to President Bush by Comedy Central’s faux talk show host Stephen Colbert at the White House Correspondent Dinner Saturday night left George and Laura Bush unsmiling at its close.
Earlier, the president had delivered his talk to the 2700 attendees, including many celebrities and top officials, with the help of a Bush impersonator.
Colbert, who spoke in the guise of his talk show character, who ostensibly supports the president strongly, urged the Bush to ignore his low approval ratings, saying they were based on reality, “and reality has a well-known liberal bias.”
Noting those low ratings, Colbert advised, "The glass isn't half empty - it's 68% empty. There's still some fluid in there, but I wouldn't drink it."
He attacked those in the press who claim that the shake-up at the White House was merely re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. “This administration is soaring, not sinking,” he said. “They are re-arranging the deck chairs--on the Hindenburg.”
Colbert told Bush he could end the problem of protests by retired generals by refusing to let them retire. He compared Bush to Rocky Balboa in the “Rocky” movies, always getting punched in the face—“and Apollo Creed is everything else in the world.”
Turning to the war, he declared, "I believe that the government that governs best is a government that governs least, and by these standards we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq."
[clip]
Also lampooning the press, Colbert complained that he was “surrounded by the liberal media who are destroying this country, except for Fox News. Fox believes in presenting both sides—the president’s side and the vice president’s side." He also reflected on the good old days, when the media was still swallowing the WMD story.
Addressing the reporters, he said, "You should spend more time with your families, write that novel you've always wanted to write. You know, the one about the fearless reporter who stands up to the administration. You know-- fiction."
He claimed that the Secret Service name for Bush's new press secretary is "Snow Job." Colbert closed his routine with a video fantasy where he gets to be White House Press Secretary, complete with a special “Gannon” button on his podium. By the end, he runs fleeing from Helen Thomas and her questions about why the U.S. really invaded Iraq and killed all those people.
As he walked from the podium, the president and First Lady gave Colbert quick nods, unsmiling, and left immediately. E&P's Joe Strupp, in the crowd, observed that quite a few sitting hear him felt the material was, perhaps, uncomfortably biting.
[clip]
All because we'd had to decline our invite to the White House Correspondent's Dinner since there were no airline tickets in the envelope.
Wish we could have been there, as is the case every year. I'm gradually coming around to the idea that this blog is unlikely to make it happen.
But in case any of you were also left out, I'm here to let you know that Stephen Colbert was one of those invited to the podium. I'm guessing that might not happen next year. I'm proceeding here on basis that if you are not a fully-doddering idiot, a sworn idiot-box agnostic (you go!), or one in a rural setting where you have an ISP (well duhh!) but no cable (actually sounds pretty attractive, Dave!), you either do watch the Colbert Report or have been shamed for not doing so to the point where extended intro is unnecessary. The eagle-man does a good send-up, I must say.
And he reportedly did so in full measure tonight, even to the point of transcending his normal on-screen shrub-phantic schtick. (In the spirit of full disclosure, if you've read this far you are likely already a subject of NSA eavesdropping - be careful what you think):
WASHINGTON A blistering comedy “tribute” to President Bush by Comedy Central’s faux talk show host Stephen Colbert at the White House Correspondent Dinner Saturday night left George and Laura Bush unsmiling at its close.
Earlier, the president had delivered his talk to the 2700 attendees, including many celebrities and top officials, with the help of a Bush impersonator.
Colbert, who spoke in the guise of his talk show character, who ostensibly supports the president strongly, urged the Bush to ignore his low approval ratings, saying they were based on reality, “and reality has a well-known liberal bias.”
Noting those low ratings, Colbert advised, "The glass isn't half empty - it's 68% empty. There's still some fluid in there, but I wouldn't drink it."
He attacked those in the press who claim that the shake-up at the White House was merely re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. “This administration is soaring, not sinking,” he said. “They are re-arranging the deck chairs--on the Hindenburg.”
Colbert told Bush he could end the problem of protests by retired generals by refusing to let them retire. He compared Bush to Rocky Balboa in the “Rocky” movies, always getting punched in the face—“and Apollo Creed is everything else in the world.”
Turning to the war, he declared, "I believe that the government that governs best is a government that governs least, and by these standards we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq."
[clip]
Also lampooning the press, Colbert complained that he was “surrounded by the liberal media who are destroying this country, except for Fox News. Fox believes in presenting both sides—the president’s side and the vice president’s side." He also reflected on the good old days, when the media was still swallowing the WMD story.
Addressing the reporters, he said, "You should spend more time with your families, write that novel you've always wanted to write. You know, the one about the fearless reporter who stands up to the administration. You know-- fiction."
He claimed that the Secret Service name for Bush's new press secretary is "Snow Job." Colbert closed his routine with a video fantasy where he gets to be White House Press Secretary, complete with a special “Gannon” button on his podium. By the end, he runs fleeing from Helen Thomas and her questions about why the U.S. really invaded Iraq and killed all those people.
As he walked from the podium, the president and First Lady gave Colbert quick nods, unsmiling, and left immediately. E&P's Joe Strupp, in the crowd, observed that quite a few sitting hear him felt the material was, perhaps, uncomfortably biting.
[clip]
posted by Sir Gumbo at 10:45 PM
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