Even MSNBC’s in-house-liberal, Keith Olbermann admitted that Stephen Colbert had a tough act to follow, after George Bush was joined by Bush impersonator Steve Bridges at the annual White House Correspondents Association Dinner, as his inner monologue (Link). The silence after so many of his one-liners is almost embarrassing and brings back memories of the Don Imus debacle, when he tried roasting Bill Clinton at the same dinner. Don Imus expressed the same disappointment the next morning, about Colbert’s performance. Both of these entertainers shine in the interview format, but stand-up is not their forte, no matter how clever the material may be. But, see for yourself. Followed by Part 2. And Part3. The unintended consequence of this brilliant edgy satire from the new media’s news is pointed out in why John Stewart isn’t funny.
In their greed for higher ratings the old media News have drifted into entertainment arena and now it has come back to bite them. The Daily Show & Colbert Report have distilled the news sound-bite into laughs. This is how the short-attention-span, video-generation watch their on-demand news over the Internet. There is no time for reasoned-discourse and analysis in the WWF world of gotcha journalism. See how Colbert warms up for the Correspondents dinner with Bill Kristol as the appetizer. At least, there is C-span to fall back on.