Has Colbert eclipsed Stewart?

Stephen Colbert’s stock is soaring thanks to his comedic shishkebabery of George Bush at Saturday Night’s Washington Correspondent Dinner. No, really, his stock is soaring. Over at Colbert Nation, every last tee shirt and coffee cup are out of stock.

Oh — and tonight, Morley Safer profiled Colbert on 60 Minutes. Not bad for a weekend’s work.

Colbert didn’t pull any punches at the Washington Correspondent Dinner. You Tube has the video, and Kos has the full transcript. Read the whole thing, please, but for now let me give you a great appetizer:

“Sir, pay no attention to the people who say the glass is half empty, because 32% means it’s 2/3 empty. There’s still some liquid in that glass is my point, but I wouldn’t drink it. The last third is usually backwash.”

Yum!

Colbert gets enormous mileage from a twisty form of humor that has a lot in common with reverse psychology. Say one thing, mean the opposite, like when your Mom told you to eat all the chocolate chip cookies before dinner “because I want you to ruin your appetite.” And you did, too, and it was good, wasn’t it? Here’s Stephen in action, giving the President his cookies:

I stand by this man. I stand by this man because he stands for things. Not only for things, he stands on things. Things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently flooded city squares. And that sends a strong message, that no matter what happens to America, she will always rebound — with the most powerfully staged photo ops in the world.

How did Bush take it? Not well, according to Editor & Publisher:

As Colbert walked from the podium, when it was over, the president and First Lady gave him quick nods, unsmiling. The president shook his hand and tapped his elbow, and left immediately.

Those seated near Bush told E&P’s Joe Strupp, who was elsewhere in the room, that Bush had quickly turned from an amused guest to an obviously offended target as Colbert’s comments brought up his low approval ratings and problems in Iraq.

Back to the question of the hour. Has Colbert surpassed Jon Stewart? I think so. Routinely, Colbert torments his right wing guests by playing into their beliefs. He often gets them to agree to even more extreme positions than the ones they publicly espouse. In contrast, Jon Stewart seems to fawn over his powerful guests.

Remember Stewart’s interview with that former Iraqi general, the one who insists Saddam had WMDs and has written a book to prove it? Stewart gushed like the guy was his long lost grampa. And I’m getting tired of the way Stewart kisses John McCain’s ass.

If you look back at the transcript of Stewart’s famous appearance on Crossfire, it seems like he doesn’t think it’s his job to ask the tough questions. His job is to be funny; he wants the Carlsons and Begalas of the world to do their job and ask the tough questions.

Stephen Colbert knows it’s possible to reveal the painful truths (truthinesses?) and be funny. He proved it Saturday night, and he proves it regularly on his show. It’s not that Stewart fails altogether — the Daily Show nails its asshatted targets with fair regularity — but that he misses too many excellent opportunities to do more.

Perhaps Stewart should pay closer attention to Colbert.

D.

Walnut, April 30, 2006. Category: Political rants.

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