Truthiness, is a real word. Mom said so.

Stephen Colbert, perhaps the funniest commentator on TV, tackled the administration and the Whitehouse Press Corps at their annual dinner. He always presents biting satire but despite the high quality of his material you can hear the crickets chirp and sense the unease from the crowd as he zips through his shtick. (see links below) This guy is so good he has surpassed his mentor Jon Stewart, in little than a year. But the Press Corps were too shocked to laugh. I’m left thinking they must take themselves a little too seriously. Here are my highlights:

“I believe the government that governs best is the government that governs least. And by these standards, we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq.”

“I am a committed Christian, I believe that everyone has the right to their own religion, be you Hindu, Jewish or Muslim. I believe there are infinite paths to accepting Jesus Christ as your personal savior.”

“By the way, before I get started, if anybody needs anything else at their tables, just speak slowly and clearly into your table numbers. Somebody from the NSA will be right over with a cocktail.”

“I believe in democracy. I believe democracy is our greatest export. At least until China figures out a way to stamp it out of plastic for three cents a unit.”

“Now, there may be an energy crisis. This president has a very forward-thinking energy policy. Why do you think he's down on the ranch cutting that brush all the time? He's trying to create an alternative energy source. By 2008 we will have a mesquite-powered car!”

“As excited as I am to be here with the president, I am appalled to be surrounded by the liberal media that is destroying America, with the exception of Fox News. Fox News gives you both sides of every story: the president's side, and the vice president's side.”

“See who we've got here tonight. General Moseley, Air Force Chief of Staff. General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They still support Rumsfeld. Right, you guys aren't retired yet, right? Right, they still support Rumsfeld.”

“Look, by the way, I've got a theory about how to handle these retired generals causing all this trouble: don't let them retire! Come on, we've got a stop-loss program; let's use it on these guys. I've seen Zinni and that crowd on Wolf Blitzer. If you're strong enough to go on one of those pundit shows, you can stand on a bank of computers and order men into battle. Come on.”

“Mayor Nagin! Mayor Nagin is here from New Orleans, the chocolate city! Yeah, give it up. Mayor Nagin, I'd like to welcome you to Washington, D.C., the chocolate city with a marshmallow center.”

http://movies.crooksandliars.com/WH-Dinner-Colbert.wmv -LoRES

http://movies.crooksandliars.com/WH-Dinner-Colber.mov
-HiRES (huge file)