In the film "Galaxy Quest", when the program’s stars are about to do something particularly stupid, the extra crewman said "Did you guys even WATCH the show"?

I have to ask the same question of whoever booked Stephen at the Corrospondent’s Dinner. Like the best satire, one must be "in on the joke" to recognize the humour on the Repor. I can only believe that the Bush White House took The Colbert Repor at face value, laying themselves open to Stephen’s brilliant and savage satire as the last speaker.

Also, while watching Stephen's routine and listening to the decreasing amount of laughter as those in attendance finally realized they were the butt of the joke, I couldn't help but remember the old canard, "feminists have no sense of humour". Probably because they, like the politicians and MSMies at the dinner, knew they were being skewered. At last - a meeting ground for neocons and feminists!

In today's WaPo, columnist Richard Cohen first proclaims himself a "funny guy," then goes on to say why Stephen Colbert wasn't funny. According to Cohen, Colbert wasn't funny because he was "rude" and a "bully"--to George W. Bush! Talk about irony!

Bush is a bully, period. He has been bullying this country ever since his appointment to office by the U.S. Supreme Court. One might hope that someone who didn't actually get elected might be a little humble, a little conciliatory, a little decent toward those he's supposed to govern. You know, that "uniter, not a divider" thing. But no, Bush has done nothing but bully and demonstrate his considerable disrespect for everyone in this country who is unlike him--rich, privileged, arrogant, cruel and clueless.

Cohen actually says that what Colbert does on his TV show is OK because he "appeals to a self-selected audience that reminds him often of his greatness." Funny, that sounds more like GWB than Colbert.

Bush lives, isolated from regular people, exposed only to fanatical supporters, protected in his little bubble that allows him to think he's a great guy whom people like. He knows this, for Karl Rove tells him so! And along comes Stephen Colbert who, for 20 blessed minutes, lets the Bubble Boy in on what the rest of the country thinks of him. How dare he? It's rude to tell the truth! It's bullying! Waaaaaaaah! Mommy, make the Bad Man stop!

Maybe now he knows how the rest of us feel.

The difference between Colbert and Bush is, Colbert being reminded of his own greatness will harm nobody. Bush's flock of toadies reminding him of his own greatness and insulating him from even mild criticism has been disastrous for this country, its service personnel, its relations with other nations and its reputation. Nobody died because of Stephen Colbert. Sorry if that's not funny, but we don't live in particularly amusing times.

I have to wonder whether it isn't Colbert's characterization of the lapdog media that really rankles Cohen. I guess it's not too funny to be characterized as a stenographer instead of as an intrepid journalist keeping the administration honest. Nonetheless, I see far more stenography than journalism in today's "reportage."

Thank you, Stephen Colbert, for having the nerve to speak the unspeakable, and lay bare the hypocrisy of this morally bankrupt administration.

How can you expect them to cover such fluff when they had their hands full with Anna Nicole Smith's inheritance lawsuit? Don't you librul blogger types have ANY sense of perspective?

The only thing more powerful that outrage is ridicule. The outrage-meisters can't stand Colbert because he ridicules them.

Its amazing to me that people are even questioning whether or not he was funny. I honestly dont think he was trying to be "haha" funny. I think he was attempting to call out the hypocrisy and bullshit of the whole situation. This wasnt a comedy roast of an old chum. Its a president that he obivously despises. Why in the world is anyone bothering to rate his comedy routine? What about what he said??? Was there truth in it? Is it not what the majority of americans who dissaprove of his presidency (and hopefully, some reporters) have going thru their mind

I dont think he went up there to "change the world" or anything like that, but he was using his status as a well-known tv persona as a way to say things NO ONE ELSE HAS SAID directly to the president, first lady and mainstream media.

I can only imagine how uncomfortable it was to be him and look out at the many faces with scowls and grave expressions. And to still continue is just a sign of how badly he felt he needed to get this off his chest.

I dislike what the presidents actions have done to this country so obviously Im going to love it.

To me, if the "mainstream media" didnt at least agree with some of the things he was saying, then we really are in trouble.

What's most ridiculous about the MSM labelling of Colbert as " not funny" is the fact that no one seems to understand that Colbert was offering a masterful example of satire. Satire isn't supposed to be laugh-out-loud, rolling-in-the-aisles funny. It is designed to provoke, to make uncomfortable, to point out flaws in the hope of effecting change. Satire requires its audience to understand the distance between the "narrator's" or "speaker's" voice and that of the author behind those voices. This is a relatively simple act of interpretation, one the college freshman I teach seem to grasp without any difficulty. That's more than I can say about the MSM.

Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" is perhaps the greatest example of satire in English literature. Nobody accuses Swift of being "not funny." Although, I can imagine the British reaction to "A Modest Proposal": "Hey, I like Swift as well as the next guy. But that thing he wrote about the Irish poor just wasn't funny!"

I've watched The Colbert Report on and off since it debuted, having been a fan of his character on The Daily Show. I cannot say that I find his show consistently funny. Satire does wear thin after awhile. But I think what made his performance at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner so inspiring for people like me is that he said what he said in earshot of the president while a roomful of MSM lapdogs looked on uncomfortably. It was like one of Andy Kaufman’s more outrageous performances. Not funny, perhaps, but damn good theatre!