LOGO: Truthdig: Drilling Beneath the Headlines. A Progressive Journal of News and Opinion. Editor, Robert Scheer. Publisher, Zuade Kaufman.Best Political Blog Winner, 2007 Webby Awards, People's Voice and Jury.   Exclusive Truthdig Merchandise - Gore Vidal signed first editions - Signed Mr. Fish prints
 
July 24, 2008
Log in / Register

 Choose a size
Text Size

Reports
Obama on the Brink
No Easy Out for Obama
 * NEW! * Refighting the Vietnam War

Ear to the Ground

A/V Booth

Arts & Culture

Digs
Inside the Data Mine

Truthdig Bazaar
Hands Washing Water

Hands Washing Water

By Chris Abani
$11.70

more items

 
A/V Booth

Colbert Does ‘60 Minutes’

Email this item Email    Print this item Print   
Posted on May 1, 2006
Morley Colbert
From CBS via C & L

“60 Minutes” co-host Morley Safer profiles “The Colbert Report” host Stephen Colbert.

Morley Safer profiles Stephen Colbert in the wake of his take-no-prisoners roast of President Bush. Watch for the bit about the origins of “truthiness.”

Crooks and Liars:

Colbert defines his no-nonsense philosophy with a single word: “truthiness.” “Truthiness. Now I’m sure some of the word police—the wordinistas—over at Webster’s are going to say, ‘Hey, that’s not a word.’ Well, anybody who knows me knows that I’m no fan of dictionaries. Or reference books. They’re elitist,” Colbert jokes.

Asked to define “truthiness,” Colbert tells Safer, “Truthiness is what you want the facts to be as opposed to what the facts are. What feels like the right answer as opposed to what reality will support.”

Link

Email Newsletter

Get truth delivered to your inbox every week.

Previous item: Songs of Protest

Next item: A Tale of Two Bushes

Jump to Comments

Advertisement


Elsewhere: .

Comments

Are you a Truthdig member yet? Login now, or register with Truthdig.

By NYC Attorney, May 8, 2006 at 5:30 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

Hear, Hear… the “factinistas” get their 20 minutes in the public forum, channeled through the genius, Mr. Colbert himself. Despite their complete and obscene disregard of the U.S. Constitution, I feel like the Bush Administration has finally gotten a taste of at least one provision; the First Amendment—unadulterated, unvetted, and unscripted. Mr. Colbert’s performance, coupled with Mr. McGovern’s confrontation of Sec. Rumsfeld in one week! As the seemingly impenetrable insulation recedes further and further towards the walls of the White House and the Department of Defense, I feel a sense of awakening, a light, if you will, that I have not caught a glimpse of since before 9-11.  A toast, to the new heros, intentional or not, of the “Factanistas.” Here’s to TRUTHINESS!!!

Report this

By Larry Denis Freitas, May 4, 2006 at 5:31 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

It doesn’t surprise me that all the major corporate media, who have acted as ministries of propoganda for the Republican Party and George W. Bush (they love their tax cuts, and heaven forbid Democrats take back control of Congress and the Executive, or those tax cuts disappear, and they have to pay taxes again!) did not mention anything about Colbert’s performance Monday or Sunday.  It’s great that Cspan could have aired Colbert’s performance live, and that Democracy Now re-played the performance, sans the Helen Thomas routine, Wednesday.  Unfortunately, most of America still doesn’t have acess to Democracy Now (on community access tv), about the best news show in existence, from nearly un-heard of, but fifty-five year old Pacifica Network.  Let’s see if Sixty Minutes does a follow up on Colbert.

Report this

By AG, May 3, 2006 at 9:33 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

A true genius, a uniquely courageous act in a sea of sellouts and liars. To not back down, but more importantly, to stand up for truth and justice, even under the guise of humor, is a rare trait among the cowardly mainstream news media. I want more.

This is really not the time to be polite to a person that is killing and maiming thousands of our own people, and tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis, guilty only of living in a place where Exxon’s oil is.

Mr. Colbert, hats off to you.
peace
AG

http://www.NotOneMore.US Sign the Pledge for Peace

Report this

By PamAlonia McCrary, May 3, 2006 at 5:25 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

I want to see Colbert satirize the National Day of Prayer.  I’ve left some ideas here for him.  It might begin like this:

So every first Thursday of May is National Prayer Day. Prayer’s interesting. It’s like sex. It’s something that’s supposed to be done in private (Matthew 6:5), but you’ve got all these kinky Christian exhibitionists humping their prayers in public without any sense of human decency.

They’re getting it on, these swingers in spirit, in city parks, on courthouse steps, at school commons, around capitol rotundas. This shameful behavior has to stop. Our children’s morals are being corrupted by these public displays of affectation.....

http://www.godisajoke.com/2006/05/03/bully-pulpit/kiss -your-constitution-good-bye-so-long-farewell/

Report this

By Sly Slack, May 3, 2006 at 12:49 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

What Colbert did was incredible.  It was pure art, pure truth, pure comedic gold.  He used his act to pierce through and expose the hypocracy, corruption, collusion, and cowardice of the Bush Administration, the Republican Party, and Fox News.  He stripped them bare, and laid them out like lambs and slaughtered them with the skill of a master—he sliced them and diced them, mashed them, and pulverized them in such a complete, hilarious, intellectually precise and truthful way, that all the President and his protoges, henchman, yes-men, and yes-women, could do was sit there and sulk.  They couldn’t even manage a phony smile because they knew, especially their #1 Liar, was being gored.  Mr. Bush could only express a frozen, lingering snarl for the 20 minutes that Colbert worked him over, shredding each layer of bullshit until Bush laid there, the devious nitwit that he is, with all the world to see his true nature.  With his performance, Colbert drove a dagger straight through the heart of the Republican elitist blood sucking nightmare that has helped create a more violent world.  He showed more cleverness and communicated more truth in that 20 minutes than the Republicans have provided the American people in the last 6 years.  The Empire isn’t dead by any means, but it’s false patriotic cloak was removed at least for a little while so that the little squirmy slimy slugs were exposed.  Thank God for brilliant honest moments like this one.  Of course the devious nitwits in the crowd that night did not understand Colbert’s performance or appreciate it, but that’s always the case.  It should definitely be preserved for generations to come.
A great moment in truth, honesty, and sheer sarcastic brilliance.  God is, I am sure, very proud and impressed by Mr. Colberts work.  Now Colbert, Run! Run as fast as you can—the backlash of the devious nitwits is coming!.  They’ll fight like cornered animals and swing wildly, because you exposed their cancerous underbelly, and the American people just might try and find a cure.

Report this

By Robert, May 2, 2006 at 4:46 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

Ok, so basically my family and I have been debating it all day. What in the world would possess anybody involved with the Washington Correspondent’s Dinner to invite Stephen Colbert to roast Bush?
When I mentioned it to a friend, the first words out of her mouth were: “I doubt they would have invited Jon Stewart, or Bill Maher, or Lewis Black, why in the world would they invite Stephen Colbert?” Maybe they would and have invited some of those other guys, expecting they would be on the good foot with their acts since Bush would be in the room. But Stephen Colbert?
The only conceivable answer is that they are too dense and oblivious to recognize that every single word out of Colbert’s mouth is an indictment of the right-wing press and the neo-cons. Repeat, every word of his show, and his act on that show, is a blistering indictment.
So, I’m a White House public relations jerk-off, and I hear that Stephen Colbert is about to roast my precious president. And then I sit back and say: “Sure, that’s OK, should be entertaining.” Am I really that unbelievably obtuse? It has appeared that from time to time some of Colbert’s guests haven’t gotten it either, but COME ON! Is it really possible that they don’t understand what Colbert is all about?
News flash! Colbert is Jon Stewart’s evil alter ego and they are both two of the most brilliant guys out there. No wonder the geniuses in the White House don’t have the slightest clue as to what Colbert or Stewart are saying at any given time.
Who cares how the crowd at the dinner took it? Who gives a spit what Tucker Carlson has to say about it, good or bad? How about the absolutely breathtaking nerve, and talent, and conscience it took to stand up there in front of all those Beltway insiders and let them have it in a way that was too clever for more than half of them to even understand? Bravo!!
Stewart, Colbert, Maher, Lewis Black, and Carlos Mencia are some of the only people we have out there who are talking for us. It’s a good thing they’re all so much smarter than the people that control this country. Reassuring is what it is. (That’s sarcasm in case you neo-cons missed it.)

Report this

By Joe Citizen, May 1, 2006 at 9:56 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

While the 60 Minutes piece did air after Mr. Colbert’s performance at the White House Correspondents Association annual dinner, the portrait of Mr. Colbert was obviously completed before the event. Therefore, is it not misleading to say that Morley Safer portrayed Stephen Colbert “in the wake of” of that appearance?

In fact, I may have missed it, but I do not believe Mr. Safer’s 60 Minutes piece ever mentioned that Mr. Colbert’s was scheduled to appear at that annual DC event. (The piece also failed to mention Mr. Colbert’s routine use of unusual props, or his over-the-top, on-air lists.)

BTW, most of the media coverage of the dinner (what litle there was) somehow failed to mention Laura Bush’s cool reception following the comedian’s remarks: unlike her husband, Mrs. Bush refused to shake Mr. Colbert’s hand—so he bowed to her instead.

Report this

Add Your Comment

Posts by unregistered readers are moderated. Posts by members
are published immediately. Why wait? Register today!






Notify you when others comment on this article?


Are you a human?
Retype the word you see here.


Please read and abide by our comment policy.
By submitting this comment, you agree to this site's terms and conditions.

Newsletter

Get Truthdig in your inbox

Privacy Policy

 
Click here to advertise with Truthdig
 

 
Join the Liberal Blog Advertising Network
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A Progressive Journal of News and Opinion. Editor, Robert Scheer. Publisher, Zuade Kaufman.
Copyright © 2008 Truthdig, L.L.C. All rights reserved.