Reuters--- Colbert down the memory hole

[TexasLawyer]

Stephen who? You would never know that BushCo had been systematically eviscerated last night by Colbert if you read the Reuters article, which will probably be reprinted in newspapers across America.

Discussion of Colbert's performance was a postscript to the article. In fact, there's no mention of Colbert until one hits the "next page" link and goes on to read Page 2.

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2006-04-30T063244Z_01_N30391840_RTRUKOC_0_US-BUSH-CORRESPONDENTS.xml


Bush skewers self at correspondents' dinner
Sun Apr 30, 2006 2:32am ET6

By Lisa Lambert

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush shared the stage at the White House Correspondents Association dinner on Saturday night with someone else: himself.

Bush impersonator Steve Bridges stood at an identical podium as the president and spoke the private thoughts Bush was supposedly having as he addressed the gathering of A-list journalists, movie stars and politicians.

In the routine, Bridges addressed the president's low approval ratings. As Bush looked out at the audience, Bridges spoke, saying, "How come I can't have dinner with the 36 percent of the people who like me?" The gag received chuckles from a room of about 2,600 people, most of whom spend their time writing about Washington.

<snip-- four paragraphs>

Continued...


PAGE TWO

Stephen Colbert, of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report," wrapped up the evening delivering a routine as the bombastic pundit character of his satiric talk show.

No one was safe from his sarcastic barbs. "Fox News gives you both sides of the story -- the president's side and the vice president's side," he said to muted laughs.

The link to page 2
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-04-30T063244Z_01_N30391840_RTRUKOC_0_US-BUSH-CORRESPONDENTS.xml&pageNumber=1&imageid=&cap=&sz=13

[OldLeftieLawyer]

1. Un-

fucking-believable.

More of the same, more of the same.

HOW DOES FUCKFACE GET AWAY WITH THIS?

[converted_democrat]

6. Well, Colbert did do a full on attack of the press.. I would assume

that pissing them of is probably not the way to get favorable in depth coverage.. I'm not saying that it's right, don't get me wrong, I'm just stating why it's probably happening.. I doubt they'll rush to report a story that shows them as the fools that they are..

[rucky]

2. That's Option C - ignore it & it will go away.

that's what the do to the REAL threats

- antiwar protests
- Wes Clark (in the primary)

Option A is distort
Option B is attack

[glitch]

11. Yep - looks like they are moving directly to C. Too bad, the interplay

between them and Colbert would have been fantastic. But it is their best move to forfeit, match to Colbert.

[bobbieinok]

29. there's a German word for what's happening "totschweigen"=silence

to death, ie never ever mention it

or "totgeschwiegen"=silenced to death

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

3. "...wrapped up the evening ..."

Also known as headlining.

:banghead:

[Junkdrawer]

4. Yep. And I heard a few thousand marched in NYC the other day...

Predictable...

[WiseButAngrySara]

8. 350,000. ....n/t

[Junkdrawer]

9. OK. Tens of thousands...

:P

[WiseButAngrySara]

19. Hey, the M$M probably refers to hundreds, if they mention it at all! n/t

[rodeodance]

5. This almost completely wiping out of Colbert is almost spooky!

[WiseButAngrySara]

12. Precisely! It's like an alternative universe; if it's not reported it

must not have happened.

I'm really upset by all of this!

[TexasLawyer]

7. ABC-- Boy that impersonator was FUNNY!

Bush Lampoons Self at Press Corp Dinner
President Bush Invites Lookalike Sidekick to Poke Fun at Self During Correspondents Dinner



By ELIZABETH WHITE

WASHINGTON Apr 29, 2006 (AP)— It was twice the fun for members of the White House Correspondents' Association and guests Saturday night when President Bush and a look-alike, sound-alike sidekick poked fun at the president and fellow politicians.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I feel chipper tonight. I survived the White House shake-up," the president said.

But impersonator Steve Bridges stole many of the best lines. Vice President Dick Cheney and his hunting accident was the target of his humor on a couple of occasions.

<snip-- skipping down six more paragraphs>

The featured entertainer was Stephen Colbert, whose Comedy Central show "The Colbert Report" often lampoons the Washington establishment. "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," Colbert said in a typical zinger.

He also paid mock tribute to Bush as a man who "believes Wednesday what he believed Monday, despite what happened Tuesday."

<snip>

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=1906072

[kurth]

10. Dictator charms fawning journalists with humility and humor

"A smashing success", says the White House...

[glitch]

13. Lol! Proving Colbert's point, yet again. nt

[TexasLawyer]

14. Right-- these articles kind of remind me

of the fawning drivel that the official North Korea newspaper prints about Kim Jong Il. Have we really come to that?!?

Seriously, the American press has turned into the North Korea Gazette.

[TankLV]

24. Or the USSR's "Pravda"

[pansypoo53219]

15. well, just as frankenstein protected his monster

the MSM must MUST protect their georgie. they are still trying to get his poll #s back.

[TexasLawyer]

16. USA Today-- Bush, celebrities attend press corps dinner

USA Today buries Colbert under the "look-alike" story, but actually does a decent job (relatively speaking) later in the article of conveying some of the content and impact of Colbert's performance.


Bush, celebrities attend press corps dinner

Updated 4/30/2006 7:16 PM ET


Pres. Bush and his inner monologue, played by Steve Bridges,
entertain guests at the White House Correspondents' Dinner
Saturday in Washington.

By Ann Oldenburg, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Not one, but two George Bushes showed up on Saturday night at the White House Correspondents'. Association annual dinner.

Guests in the packed Washington Hilton Hotel ballroom were definitely seeing double as the president poked fun of himself by inviting Bush impersonator Steve Bridges to be his alter-ego in a comedy speech that had the crowd of 2,600 journalists, Hollywood stars and politicos howling with laughter.

<big snip--over 10 paragraphs>

Then Colbert, host of The Colbert Report on Comedy Central, kept everyone laughing, poking fun at all sorts of topics, but with an overall theme of Bush. "Wow. George W. Bush. To be this close to the man. I feel as if I'm dreaming. Somebody pinch me. You know what? I'm a pretty sound sleeper. That may not be enough. Somebody shoot me in the face."

Colbert's humor was so satirical and silly that left some people bewildered and others tearing up with laughter.

In a sincere sounding voice, he said, "It is my privilege to celebrate this president. Because we're not so different, he and I. We both get it. Guys like us, we're not some brainiacs on the nerd patrol. We go straight from the gut. Right, sir? That's where the truth lies, right down here in the gut. Did you know you have more nerve endings in your gut than in your head? Now I know somebody will say I did look it up and that's not true. That's because you looked it up in a book. Next time look it up in your gut. My gut tells me that's how our nervous system works."

<snip>

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-04-30-bush-dinner_x.htm

[gatorboy]

23. Oh, Lord...Two Bush's

Now the world can be destroyed twice as fast...

[Monk06]

17. Well it's not like it should'nt have been expected............

Any dictator would admire the uniformity and obedience of the U.S. media.


Noam Chomsky

[OldLeftieLawyer]

18. Bingo, gbrooks,

and a hearty welcome to DU.

Thanks for this. Perfect.

[TexasLawyer]

20. Ignoring Colbert: A Small Taste of the Media's Power to Choose the News

Wow--here is an article on our very topic.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/20060430/cm_huffpost/020092;_ylt=A86.I2aOX1VEBVIByRv9wxIF;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA--
Peter Daou: Ignoring Colbert: A Small Taste of the Media's Power to Choose the News

Peter Daou Sun Apr 30, 3:42 PM ET

The White House Correspondents' Association Dinner was televised on C-Span Saturday evening. Featured entertainer Stephen Colbert delivered a biting rebuke of George W. Bush and the lily-livered press corps. He did it to Bush's face, unflinching and unbowed by the audience's muted, humorless response. Democratic Underground members commented in real time (here, here, and here). TMV posted a wrap-up.

On Colbert's gutsy delivery, watertiger writes, "Stephen Colbert displayed more guts in ten minute of performance at the White House Correspondents Dinner than the entire Bush family. He, along with the ever-feisty Helen Thomas, deftly exposed the "truthiness" to the world (or at least those who were watching) that Bush AND the D.C. press corps are indeed a naked emperor and his gutless courtiers."

Mash at dKos says, "Standing at the podium only a few feet from
President Bush, Colbert launched an all out assault on the policies of this Administration. It was remarkable, though painful at times, to watch. It may also have been the first time that anyone has been this blunt with this President. By the end of Colbert's routine, Bush was visibly uncomfortable. Colbert ended with a video featuring Helen Thomas repeatedly asking why we invaded
Iraq. That is a question President Bush has yet to answer to the American public. I am not sure what kind of review Stephen Colbert's performance will get in the press. One thing is however certain - his performance was important and will reverberate."

It appears Mash's misgivings about press coverage are well-placed. The AP's first stab at it and pieces from Reuters and the Chicago Tribune tell us everything we need to know: Colbert's performance is sidestepped and marginalized while Bush is treated as light-hearted, humble, and funny. Expect nothing less from the cowardly American media. The story could just as well have been Bush and Laura's discomfort and the crowd's semi-hostile reaction to Colbert's razor-sharp barbs. In fact, I would guess that from the perspective of newsworthiness and public interest, Bush-the-playful-president is far less compelling than a comedy sketch gone awry, a pissed-off prez, and a shell-shocked audience.

<snip>

[TexasLawyer]

26. Mainstream Media: Stephen? Stephen Who?

another variation on the theme.

Mainstream Media: Stephen? Stephen Who?

Reported by Marie Therese - April 30, 2006

Today, if you were an average American viewer of any one of the three major cable news stations and you had seen news reports about last night's White House Correspondents Dinner, the name "Stephen Colbert" is not one that would immediately leap into your mind.

That's because there is an ongoing, concerted, deliberate media blackout of any coverage of Colbert's politically charged comedic appearance at that dinner. If Colbert is mentioned at all, it is merely to state that he was there. Colbert finds himself trapped inside the media "Cone of Silence."

The videos on CNN.com, FOXNews.com and other outlets feature only the Presidential skit, but no clips of Colbert's scathingly funny expose of the current administration's foibles and failures.

One wonders if the word has gone out from the White House: Stifle references to Colbert or suffer the consequences. Or is this deafening silence the result of the collective guilty conscience of the MSM media?

<snip>

http://www.newshounds.us/2006/04/30/mainstream_media_stephen_stephen_who.php

[TexasLawyer]

21. BBC-- 'Double-You' Bush delights media

'Double-You' Bush delights media

Mr Bush played on his reputation for muddling his words


US President George W Bush was twice the man at the
White House Correspondents' Association annual dinner
on Saturday.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4959380.stm

Playing up to his public persona, Mr Bush sent himself up alongside impersonator, Steve Bridges.

"Let's things going," said Mr Bridges imitating Mr Bush, "or I'll never get to bed".

<snip The last three paragraphs of the article:>

Comedian Stephen Colbert - well-known for his jibes at the Washington establishment in his show The Colbert Report - was the evening's featured entertainer.

He paid a mock tribute to the president as a man who, "believes Wednesday what he believed Monday, despite what happened Tuesday".

"I believe that the government that governs best is a government that governs least," he told the audience, "and by these standards we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq".

[Cha]

22. Right! The "laughs were muted"

because it was the truth..and they can't handle the truth.

[TexasLawyer]

25. A room full of journalists called out

'cause they all, well almost all, have been asleep at the switch.

You bet there was some big time squirming going on!

[TexasLawyer]

27. Whoa-- The New York Times

doesn't even MENTION Stephen Colbert! So much for the "liberal media".

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/01/washington/01letter.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

[TexasLawyer]

28. My LTTE--

I encourage everyone to write to their newspapers and at least try to fill folks in on what was left out of most articles on the Press Corps dinner. Here's one I just sent to the NYT.

Get cracking everyone!


Re: A New Set of Bush Twins Appear at Annual Correspondents' Dinner, Elizabeth Bumiller, NYT, May 1, 2006

Elizabeth Bumiller obviously got the RNC memo to ignore the astonishing and richly deserved posterior-kicking that George Bush and his complicit media scribes received at the hands of Stephen Colbert, the evening's headline speaker. In a new reporting low, the name "Stephen Colbert" is not even uttered in the article. Ironies abound, since the New York Times has, once again, proved up Mr. Colbert's very point-- that the main stream media has let this president literally get away with murder.