Stephen Colbert must've channelled Mark Twain with his Correspondent's Dinner speech since he left everyone squirming in that room. It was the essense of political parity. Since the fourth estate is completely coopted by the powers that be, both corporate and political, we need satirists like Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart and Bill Maher more than ever. I'm actually heartened by the fact that my neice's generation is choosing these people over the MSM for their primary news source. Their presentation is more accurate and objective since they have the freedom to thumb their noses at those same negative influences on independent journalism. It doesn't matter to me who steps into that crucial role for the overall health of our nation -- John Dean cheered the Daily Show in "Worse than Watergate" -- just as long as someone always does. America can't continue to exist, as we've known it, without patriots like these.

It's worth mentioning that a year or two ago a survey was done of cable news audiences, and Daily Show viewers were by far better informed about the news of the day than your average Fox viewer. That's because Daily Show viewers, myself included, get their news from a variety of sources and then turn to the Daily Show for the..."analysis."

For me, I love having my sense that the world has gone mad validated. News coverage doesn't reflect the sheer insanity, the "WTF???" of so many events. Thank god for Jon Stewart!

Neil Postman's brilliant Amusing Ourselves to Death, let alone Huxley's Brave New World, either of which would provide more insight into the current crop of sociopolitical satirists in the US and the role they play than is provided by either this article or the book about which it is supposedly a review and critique (let alone the scores of letters posted here.)

Yes, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Bill Maher, The Onion, South Park, The Family Guy, The Simpsons, and other satirical shows or publications can be hilarious, incisive, and caustic. But as others have pointed out, they have limited audiences and appeal, and they certainly preach to the choir. More important, however, is the fact that all of them are ENTERTAINMENT. They're showbiz, folks, no matter how cutting their commentary appears to be.

The Simpsons runs on FOX. Comedy Central is owned by Viacom. Viacom! Do you honestly think that any truly dangerous, truly meaningful, truly powerful satire that could actually make a difference in the way this country functions would air on networks owned by some of the world's biggest corporate media conglomerates?

These shows were created to be forms of safe, snarky satire to appeal to Gen Xers' deep well of cynicism and pessimism, and they serve to defuse the moral outrage felt by liberals and progressives by channeling it in acceptable, non-threatening ways, and to add yet another distraction to the media's full quiver (just look at the letters here to see how that works--e.g. debating the merits of South Park vs. The Family Guy). Progressives know they're being misled by the MSM and feel alienated from their own government and culture, but they tune in to TDS or TCR and feel vindicated--no, they're not crazy; yes, they're not alone in feeling the way they do; look, these slick, funny shows on a major cable network feel the same way, and aren't afraid to say it! These shows act as an outlet, and after the catharsis of watching them, the viewer can resume normal life, no more involved or politically active than s/he was before. And it works like a charm! How much political mobilization is there in this country (outside the toothless, corrupted, and meaningless forms provided by the Democratic Party) against the war, against torture and Gitmo, against warrantless wiretapping, against financial deregulation and the unfolding disaster it's brought us, against any number of other things? Very little. Most Americans continue to sleepwalk through life, ignorant of what is going on around them and why. And for those who aren't ignorant, their indignation is subverted and their activism is blunted by the uber-cynical, corporate-approved message they hear from these shows.

In fact, these shows have pushed to the boundaries of cynicism and are verging on nihilism. It's all so meaningless and pointless, everyone is corrupt, they all lie, they're all on the take, things are going to hell in a handbasket but the system is so invulnerable and the powers-that-be are so entrenched that one might as well just shrug one's shoulders, shake one's head, and laugh about it, right? It's the modern equivalent of fiddling while Rome burns. Things are bad, but Colbert can savagely parody those who are taking us right down the shitter, and his show is still on the air, so things can't be THAT bad, right? Right???!

Of course, the MSM news programs are little more than entertainment now, too. It's all showbiz, meant to neuter and distract us and keep us as passive and complacent as possible. And, as I said, it's been a smashing success in America!

Can Colbert, or others of his ilk, save American democracy? As if. Funny as they are, they're now part of the problem, by feeding the cynicism and disengagement of the populace that allows the government and political parties and corporations to do essentially whatever they damn well please. But hey, we can still laugh bitterly, right? Isn't that something?

Besides, honestly, what part of our democracy is there left to save?

If Postman and Huxley were still alive today, I'd give my right arm to have dinner and drinks with them and get their unvarnished take on the current state of American society, culture, and politics--starting with this article and the responses to it.

I think not. Politics is a live or die proposition for too many people world-wide - from the pollution choking the air and rivers in China to how many months American service men and women will serve in Iraq.

I loved the Smothers Brothers poking fun at our American politics back in the 60's. And before them, there was a little gem, That Was The Week That Was. I, too, find some of the material conconcted by the Colbert, Stewart, and Maher writers funny at times. But what bothers me is that these comics - and they are comics - have become the norm instead of the exception. And when something becomes the norm in entertainment, it's already passe'.

And here's the other big difference: That Was The Week That Was had a message, a perspective. So did the Smothers Brothers. These guys don't have a message or offer a point of view (sorry, cynicism is not a political point of view. In the interest of fairness, they just rant about everybody and everything which means then that nothing is right and everything is wrong.

And that's what's wrong with Colbert, Stewart, and Maher. It matters not who is President or what political direction our country takes. They need a joke and a sarcastic comment in order to pay the bills.