Stephen Colbert's speech last night was at least as critical of the Washington press corps as it was of George W. Bush. Take this section…
But the rest of you, what are you thinking, reporting on NSA wiretapping or secret prisons in eastern Europe? Those things are secret for a very important reason: they're super depressing. And if that's your goal, well, misery accomplished. Over the last five years, you people were so good over tax cuts, WMD intelligence, the effect of global warming. We Americans didn't want to know, and you had the courtesy not to try to find out. Those were good times, as far as we knew. But, listen, let's review the rules. Here's how it works: the president makes decisions. He's the decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Put them through a spell check and go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know…fiction.
This was a dinner for White House correspondents, let's remember. And if you were trying to tell them that you think they're a bunch of incompetents who have damaged the world by not doing their jobs, I'm not sure what you could have written that would convey that charge better than the above.
The more I think about it, the more I think Colbert made a conscious decision not to care if the audience laughed. I mean, if all you care about is making White House reporters guffaw, you do jokes about the cramped offices, the hate mail, the lack of respect they get from others, etc. Whatever you think of the guy, he didn't come out there and pander to the audience for laughs. He insulted the audience. Perhaps he totally misjudged the room but I think it's more likely he just plain said what he thought of them.