Stephen Colbert, former host of the hit Comedy Central program The Colbert … Read Full Bio ↴Stephen Colbert, former host of the hit Comedy Central program The Colbert Report, has taken over the mainstream. This South Carolina native has not only taken over American Television by following David Letterman as the host of the Late Show on CBS, but now is expanding into the music industry. With his Colbert Report exclusive song, Charlene (I'm Right Behind You) to his beautiful cover of This Land Is Your Land he demonstrates the most truthiness and talent of any musican or entertainer out there today.

Stephen Colbert At the White House Correspondents' Dinner
Stephen Colbert Lyrics

We have lyrics for these tracks by Stephen Colbert:

Another Christmas Song Ho! It's another Christmas song Whoa! Get ready brother for …
another christmas song"|"--"|"--"|"--"|"--"|"--" Ho! It's another Christmas song Whoa! Get ready brother for …
Can I Interest You In Hannukah Jon: Can I interest you in Hannukah? Maybe something in a…
Can I Interest You In Hannukah? Jon: Can I interest you in Hannukah? Maybe something in a…
Have I Got A Present for You I can't believe what Christmas has come to today All these…
Have I Got a Present For You' I can't believe what Christmas has come to today All these…
Nutmeg John: Nutmeg, Sweet sweet Nutmeg On the 25th I'm cover you…
Peace Love and Understanding As I walk through This wicked world Searchin' for light in…
Peace Love and Understanding? As I walk through This wicked world Searchin' for light in…

Please Be Patient Angels soaring through the air As they did in Bethlehem Ange…
What's So Funny 'Bout Peace Love and Understanding? As I walk through This wicked world Searchin' for light in…

The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos

TRACKS

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Comments from YouTube:

FireCrashers

7y↑2.5K

In Bush's defense, at least he actually attended the White House Correspondents Dinner.

CFGYVR

@ǝɹnʇnℲ 7\ the best Democrats these days are just second rate republicans as they are so far to the right

CFGYVR

3y↑1

a pretty low bar

glhmedic

3y↑1

And is actually liked. I hated bush but with trump I miss bush.

Topper Harley

3y↑1

Was capable of laughing at himself too

Voyageur

3y↑1

@The Perfect Mix he's just parroting what the loser.com took from Hitler and Mussolini because he can't think by himself.

20 More Replies...

Cianan Mortem

8y↑1K

Serious freaking balls on Colbert, this really is worthy of the history books with regards to political protest.

Karen de Leon

3y↑8

I miss this Colbert: edgier, funnier.

Jonne Steen Redeker

4y↑2

@Pagani Zonda how is spouting baseless paranoid conspiracy theories making a point? He4 didn;t even try to make a point, just share his delusions.

Keanan Rice

4y↑2

@Rene P lol what?

Luminatron, of the Second Sphere 🅥

4y↑11

@Rene P How much for that tinfoil had? I'd like to buy 20. Also whatever weed you're taking right now

Seralph

4y↑31

@Rene P LoLoLoL DeEp StAtE oPeRaTiVe

5 More Replies...

DarkChocolate33

4y↑515

The fact that George W. Bush shook his hand after Colbert delivered that performance is amazing.

Sombre Cynic

He didn't get it.

Ray H.

3y↑2

@XdeadXheadX I'm not entirely convinced that his 2016 run wasn't fuelled by his need to show up Seth Meyers

Henry He

3y↑6

@Mark Pemberton Trump doesn’t lack just a social veneer. He lacks a large chunk of the average person’s sense of morals as well. Perhaps there will come a president with worse policies than Trump, but hopefully never one less moral.

Mark Pemberton

3y↑9

@XdeadXheadX People shouldn't fall into the trap of appreciating Bush for the social veneer just because trump has none. Before you know it you'll be pining for trump while a worse person seizes power.

Virus 1956

4y↑1

XdeadXheadX
I think 🤔 you really mean a CHILD 👶!!!

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Daniel Dougan

5y↑793

My favorite quote: "Reality has a well-known liberal bias."

sunsofguns

@Secher Nbiw When you say liberals patting themslves on the back is a recipe for weakness, do you mean vulnerability come election time, because many will be turned off by their lack of humility? Or something more? Cuz I don't exactly see conservatives deftly steering away from this trap...I mean, their whole campaign motto for seven years has been "We are rational, they are emotional, therefore they can't defeat our arguments." I mean, talk about patting yourself on the back.

Likewise your mention of Hollywood and "short-term hedonism and shallow wish-fulfillment fantasies"...surely this is a Western thing (or at the least an American thing) and not an American liberal thing...

Secher Nbiw

@sunsofguns Good points. I guess I just think liberals would do much better at defeating conservative appeals to fearmongering and to convenient but false narratives if liberals had more intellectual and cultural humility and less entitlement on the basis that "at least we aren't as bad as conservatives." This is a recipe for liberal weakness and decadence, and we see the result play out all the time for example in the embarrassment that Biden barely managed to win the popular vote in 2020 against a president who had wildly mismanaged a pandemic through a combination of incompetence and politically calculated coldness, almost certainly leading a very large number of people to die who otherwise would not have, simply because they trusted what the President was saying. Biden should have had a landslide victory. What is most embarrassing about that is that liberals largely aren't questioning themselves on the basis of the closeness of the election. Mostly liberals just talk about the illusion of a return to "normal."

American liberal culture is largely shaped by Hollywood, social media and streaming services and favors special effects lightshow movies which amount to unthinking indulgence in short-term hedonism and shallow wish-fulfillment fantasies about personal power, fame, wealth, romance, sex and physical beauty. Liberals tend to be uninterested in any kind of subtle debate about anything. Liberals are content with being better than conservatives, which even though it is true, is still a recipe for mediocre and clumsy policy decisions, lack of imagination, powerful social pressure for conformism, and a lack of the intellectual and emotional maturity needed to convince conservatives they are wrong or to respond to the legitimate grievances conservatives do have. Some examples of legitimate grievances driving conservative resentment would be conservative bitterness about deindustrialization, wage stagnation, the apparent role of liberal culture in producing divorce and single motherhood, and the contempt, disinterest and lack of empathy many liberals display towards ordinary conservatives on both an intellectual and an economic level. Liberal short-term hedonism, distraction by shallow entertainment fads and smug self-satisfaction all amount to intellectual, moral and political weakness. The liberal media meanwhile tends to fawn over whatever liberal politician is in power.

Unfortunately the barbarity of conservative culture is matched by the weakness of liberal culture. Neither culture is capable of dealing capably with reality, but in a power contest between barbarity and weakness, barbarity tends to win. At least that is true until barbarous, anti-intellect exercise of power inevitably backfires and undermines itself, allowing the weak but more technically competent group to do clean-up duty until the immediate crisis is dealt with, at which point barbarity is in a position to win again. It isn't good for liberals to pat themselves on the back in this situation.

sunsofguns

Don’t overthink it. You admit what he said tends to be true in America, which is what he was talking about. From Noah’s Ark to post-birth abortions and everything in between, the fewer facts you have on your side, the more rhetoric and fiction have to do the heavy lifting of convincing people to your cause. Hence the origin of the phrase “the media has a liberal bias.” “Reality has a liberal bias” is the perfect response imo.

Secher Nbiw

3y↑1

This was nearly the only unfunny line he said. Reality isn't liberal or conservative, because reality is amoral and apolitical. It is true that American conservatives in particular have a more exaggerated anti-reality bias than most liberals. Still, most people of all moral and political outlooks prefer glorying in the inherent rightness of whatever they already believe and want to believe, rather than actually investigating and discovering the truth about anything in a rigorous way. This is true even in life or death situations. Where is the comedy in a comedian encouraging those who agree with him to pat themselves on the back?

GJGBA 3:16

3y↑1

Reality has a liberal bias because liberals tend to believe in proof more than the conservatives.

12 More Replies...

Richard Taylor

9y↑559

This never gets old. I love this speech. Its marvelous.

Justin Salazar

Pickled Thyme you shouldn't have said anything.

Tamar Picker

6y↑1

You should put an apostrophe between the t and s in its.

Jam For A Cure #JamForACure

Genius

Robin Gallagher

9y↑3

@Richard Taylor ive seen it like 25 times, and its the best.

Richard Taylor

9y↑1

@***** I guess I need to change it because you are the second person to say that.

SquirrilahFish

4y↑199

“If I decide the Panama Canal was built in 1941 that’s my right as an American”

If that’s not an appropriate metaphor for current America idk what is.

Fred Johnston

3y↑2

"If I decide that January 6th was a dangerous terrorist attack carried out by BLM and Antifa, that's my right as an American!"
"But... the people there were clearly Trump supporters. Literally nothing they did indicated their support for BLM or Antifa."
"In that case, January 6th was a peaceful protest by concerned patriots and does not need any investigation."
"But you just said-"
"It's my right as an American to say it!"
"What you just said-"
"MY AMERICAN RIGHTS!"

Rustin Cohle

3y↑9

Right? It’s like tens of millions of people are emulating his attitude but without the irony.

AbyssGnasher

6y↑1.3K

Its funny that this was our worst president before trump and yet he still can show up to his white house correspondent's dinner unlike trump and get roasted.

Drano

@Wibble Wobble you make abortion look like it should be legalized

Sapta B

@Cordelia Hamilton did you see the Obama dinner😂 trump looked FURIOUS

Knial Piper

Say what you will about bush he cared and believed in what he was doing... what we have today.... don’t even think to care or think to think to think to care

Abdulla Yaser

@Cordelia Hamiltonthe brits think they are better then everyone 😂😂😂😂

M.B O

Applause, for sure!!!!!!!!!!!!!

19 More Replies...

Yesornoization

8y↑523

I actually continue to argue this was a very important moment in comedy.

heygodders73

3y↑2

@Ray H. such a good point

Ray H.

3y↑9

@Emerald His jokes were not written to get laughs from the people in that room, or even those watching at home. They were designed to get under their skin. You could hear a pin drop after some of the best jabs he made. I love watching the different comedians throughout the years. I think Conan and Hasan Minhaj were overall the funniest speakers. Colbert was the most effective at using satire to speak truth to power.

H. Andy Lingua

4y↑8

@Emerald - Least funny? Perhaps. Most insightful and downright prescient? Absolutely. (Arguably he was the Cassandra of that moment in time!)

Emerald

4y↑1

Ngl I think y'all are crazy. I enjoy Colbert a lot, usually, but I just finished watching this after several other correspondents' dinner speakers and IMO it was by far the least funny and also one of Stephen's least funny performances compared to his other stuff. Just wasn't a strong set. It happens sometimes

Mythraen

4y↑3

@chris b Based on skimming the Wikipedia article: Media did not really report on it immediately. Amusingly, one reporter (replying to someone about it, I think) said "it wasn't funny." That reporter was an idiot, though, so no worries there.
Regardless, it shortly after received a lot more attention, as did Stephen's show.

2 More Replies...

ParhelionMedia

6y↑387

Weird to watch this 12 years later and all of Colbert’s criticisms about post-truth reality in government and media have come to pass.

Masika Mahabir

4y↑1

And now America is a fascist country.

EmbassyNerdcore

4y↑5

I believe my GUT that the coronavirus isn't real. My GUT tells me that Trump is making America great again. Every single dirty bacteria slowly rotting all that I consume, is telling me that it sees Trump as a WINNER, and it wants to get CLOSER to that source of high energy!

Ilva Toska

5y↑2

And comparing this to what one would say about Mr President

ParhelionMedia

6y↑15

AlbertO Agreed. Somehow, with Obama in between, I seem to have forgotten that the blatant manipulative lies coming from the Fox News sector has been building since then. When Colbert says “reality has a strong liberal bias” I was thinking damn, we were saying that back in 2005 too! Colbert was pretty edgy back then, but yikes, this is nothing compared to Michelle Wolf and the dysfunctional wannabe fascist insanity of this administration.

AlbertO

6y↑27

They were true back then. Remember the WMDs? But today, we've got a Potus who literally can't speak in public without spewing lies and insults and unlike Bush (who was stupid and had terrible ideas but truly wanted to do a good job) this POS doesn't give even the tiniest f about anyone or anything that isn't named "Trump."

Lucas Becker

9y↑841

Hahaha every time they panned to the crowd it was a bunch of people looking very uncomfortable. Love it!

The Government

Lucas Becker FORGET ABOUT IT

coolkitty kpop

michael p r

mp

9y↑20

+Lucas Becker Bush looked uncomfortable at times too haha

Mike utubesux

9y↑20

+Lucas Becker Stephen was so brave. He didn't hesitate once and never let that tense silence get to him, in fact he reveled in it.

metacritical

9y↑1

trololol.
nah i wasnt really serious about that but I did hear that the room did not have a proper mic set up to pick up the crowds laughter. at least that was colberts rational according to an interview. might be quite possbile and it had nothing to do with bias.

3 More Replies...

Chris Woodward

9y↑287

I cant believe they let him do this. How can Bush keep a smile? lol This is clearly not a joke, or Bush doesn't know anything about Colbert. Stephen Colbert is a genius.

Larry Lindgren

He said it what they asked him to do. He said, "Do they watch the show?"

Mythraen

4y↑19

@RICHARD MILLIKEN Huh, that was a weird way to write "I didn't get it."
You and most of the audience there. Stephen was subtle, largely satirical, brutal, and hilarious.

Aviral Gupta

4y↑3

@RICHARD MILLIKEN Yeah you are right, he got invited by mistake.

RICHARD MILLIKEN

4y↑2

@InXLsisDeo Colbert wasn't even funny! Bush & Obama are 100% funnier than Colbert. They should've had Carlin or Robin Williams roast Bush.
Colbert has no timing and is a complete bore!

InXLsisDeo

6y↑25

At 8:00 Bush isn't smiling anymore. Colbert was incredibly brave to do that, at a time the whole US press was basically under shock and awe by the Bush administration. I will always remember how it felt to watch this: liberating.

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Zone Tai

8y↑753

You have to understand that these crowds are quiet for two reasons:
1. They have massive egos. They're the most powerful people in the world, and everyone walks on eggshells around them. They probably aren't used to being roasted.
2. They are political creatures. They don't want to get caught laughing too hard and the target sees them and gets upset.

Okeanos Okeanos

These people can laugh at a good joke trust me... or just watch literally any other correspondent speech. I recommend conan if you wanna see how hard they can laugh. He did the character and got his point across properly but he was not funny. That set was just horrible, in terms of comedy that is.

Gangsta Penguin

3y↑2

it's interesting because colbert later said that after this speech, no one wanted to even make eye contact with him. the only person to really interact with him was justice scalia

RICHARD MILLIKEN

4y↑1

@Neal Desai Colbert wasn't funny?? He sucked big time! Carlin would've been funny!

D'Hotness McAwesome

4y↑5

@Neal Desai Joke? You're saying this man was joking. Yes! Uh... Yeah. KAKAKA! I get it. Wait... H-A not K-A. Stop typing that! Why are you still typing what I'm saying. Stop typing! Dammit! Stop typing "stop typing"! Someone get in here. The mind control drugs aren't working on this one. What? Oh. Right! The emergency hammer! Hit him where? Oh. Okay so right here. Okay. On 3. 1. 2.

J Dog

5y↑2

@Neal Desai somebody watched "They Live"

2 More Replies...

Miss I.

7y↑36

He is hilarious and impresses me how he stays in character. Sadly nobody in that room seems to have a sense of humor. He's so good here.

Isakaldaz Wulfazizsunus

8y↑262

This is brilliant. Stephen Colbert is a genius.

okrajoe

9y↑637

The master of political comedy...

Michael G

6y↑1

Pretty close though.

John Smith

6y↑3

okrajoe George Bush

Dr Tune

7y↑58

Some of the greatest and most biting comedy has been at the WHCD; Colbert's is a timeless classic

jadujen

8y↑75

His speech was hilarious- I couldn't believe the quietness of the audience!

InXLsisDeo

6y↑8

Colbert roasted them as well, and they weren't expecting that. Because they thought they were doing a good job while in fact they had been mostly repeating the lies of the Bush administration without doing any critics or research. That period was a low for the US press.

Jam For A Cure #JamForACure

6y↑5

Most of them had to figure it out on the spot, that they got totally punked with Colbert’s routine

k.a.carson

7y↑3

jadujen Well, the audience didn't have a microphone.

Nivesh Proag

7y↑8

He was making fun of the media to a media audience. It was awkward silence.

Daniel Dougan

8y↑14

They were the butt of many of the jokes.

Dr Tune

6y↑24

"He calls her his better half.. and polls show America agrees." Oh man I can come back to this video over and over.

Alex Landherr

7y↑932

Wow, an NSA joke 7 years prior to Snowden leaks...

melbatoast667

Snowden didn't reveal anything new, lol, but acts like a martyr.

BradyPostma

4y↑2

The movie Sneakers was doing NSA political commentary in 1992.

Dubanx

4y↑9

@Piecesrestonthabed
This. Back when the history channel actually did good stuff, they did a report on how the government was monitoring the entire nation's calls. Even included some examples of innocent calls that triggered a red flag for review. Such as one person who said something along the lines of "last night's party was the bomb". People still called it crazy up until Snowden "Exposed" it. Even though it had been publicly known long before him.
P.S. it was presented as "This is what's protecting us" like it was a good thing.

Supreme

4y↑5

The bush phone wire taps were public knowledge Snowden just showed us how it continued and became super high tech.

Piecesrestonthabed

4y↑53

@monavari it was public knowledge that the NSA was spying on American citizens at that point, Snowden just showed how deep it goes and the specific methods they use.

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Rod Ham

8y↑11

A brilliant comedian, a legendary speech. It is is just incredible how much he said, what a great performance.

Alex Desmall

9y↑475

Did Republicans let him do this because they didn't understand the character? Haha so awesome

AbsinthEve

4y↑12

Yeah they did not realize just how critical he would be , the press and the president , they thought he was just a fake republican lol

Dominik Leitner

4y↑51

No. Not the politicians invite people there, it's the White House Correspondents Association.

StephBrilliant

8y↑65

This never gets old. So brutal! lol

Mark Pemberton

3y↑127

I rarely resort to this cliche, but Stephen Colbert has BALLS.

POOP STINKS

I think you mean a vagina!

TorbotiaN

3y↑1

Well thank you!

Dixon Francois Jr.

9y↑367

"Events can change,...this man's beliefs never will" lol

Aviral Gupta

@Nicole Song WMD in Iraq was the reason the war started but even after no evidence being found by anyone the war continued, hence events changed=no WMDs but man's belief=war on iraq never did

Nicole Song

what's the context for that?

Riyam :3

9y↑3

@***** I just LOVE that one xD xD

Svedina80

8y↑150

Damn, that's brave. He was probably sweating as hell and expecting security to lift him out of there at any moment

Daniel Dougan

8y↑387

This is what it means to be a satirist.

Nicole Song

3y↑1

yes it was very excellent, sharp, backhanded comedy like the best satire i've ever seen.

Andrea Brozek

6y↑134

Love Stephen. Notice that W could take a joke, unlike King Tangerine!

Dinal Abay

6y↑10

Colbert is a comic genius, he still manages to stay in character whilst Bush's face is souring.

ViveAprilia

7y↑14

Brilliant! In the heart of the beast and delivered an epic performance.

Kent Paper

9y↑40

I admire his courage.

Funky Gerbil

4y↑3

The first time I watched this it took me over a year to sit through all of it. Even to this day I still have a little bit of compassion for W and it's just so full of BURN. I remember all the lead up to it and basically every night on his show he's asking, "Who the hell thought this was a good idea?" and daring them to cancel on him. I do miss "The Colbert" but it is nice to have him out of the closet, so to speak. He does not disappoint.

log140

9y↑80

Colbert and Bush are 2 of the best Comedians ever!
Pitty, one of them was paid to do something else...

ICON Dula DaRula

6y↑159

Your grandchildren will have no idea what a Glacier is. That's POWER! This is a very very intense and powerful message!

DoyouwantAnts?

8y↑159

I am a republican and I love this. I believe if you can't laugh at yourself then you're just as bad as Kanye.

Priscilla Saravia

Dr. House this made me laugh!

Dr. House

6y↑4

This comment is still 100% relevant today.

Araani

6y↑5

Oof the irony

I_am_VM

Or Donald Trump 45th president, who don't even both.

kinn grimm

6y↑3

Have you seen how IQ45 reacted on Obamas jokes about him during a WH Correspondents Dinner? If not , have a look and then read your comment here again ;)

remcat03

8y↑184

"If you;re strong enough to go on one of those pundit shows, you're strong enough to stand at a bank of computers and order men into battle." OMG!!

Emilio Cabra

8y↑67

"I would've made a fabublus press secretary, I have nothing but contempt for these people" hahahaha loled too hard (sorry for bad english)

Well Yea

6y↑18

I see this guy as one of few loudest true voices in America

Scott Sparling

6y↑5

This was a masterpiece. So much balls by Colbert.

Attila Borguet

6y↑30

For all his flaws, W at least has some sense of humour :-) And btw, kudos for going from worst President ever, to the 2nd best of the century ;-)

Abid

8y↑16

he's really brave, it takes balls to do that

AirlessMICRO

8y↑7

Never gets old.

ChrisBrengel

7y↑311

I call it "the no fact zone." Fox News--I want a copyright on that.

Oh how true that has turned out to be.

Tina Loye

3y↑7

Well they call it alternative facts now so that Colbert doesn’t sue

Strengthinbattle

6y↑19

This must have been back when people could take a joke and weren't trying to completely suppress the truth.

Tamar Picker

6y↑2

I love how he treats his own fumble with the glass joke so gracefully.

Rachel Shugart

It was a play on Bush's fumble on "fool me once"

Francisco Velez

8y↑58

I can only imagine the insults he got as he walked off the stage. Colbert is the man jajaja

Imperator Caesar Divi Filius Augustus

3y↑1

@Klondike And you’re not fun at parties

Klondike

@Imperator Caesar Divi Filius Augustus Youtube isn't america

Imperator Caesar Divi Filius Augustus

5y↑3

In America, we use H: jhjhjh

MB D

6y↑1

I could watch this forever. Mr. Colbert is gifted. Wit, heart, and guts - a rare and incisive bird!

Crazysammie

7y↑7

I haven't seen this because I became a fan in 2007 of Stephen. But after watching Hassan, I watched this. Stephen is hilarious

Jonathan Kidder

UnrealizedTalent4u he's still just as good as ever

Arnatri Bandopadhyay

4y↑4

I am grateful for the fact that Stephen is still well and alive.

Emilio Cabra

8y↑230

How is Colbert still standing with those huge balls

Jelle D van Rinsum

6y↑14

Weird how I can see this and think to myself "I miss Bush"

RaDioRaHieM

7y↑28

wow. I never saw this. He went in on the whole administration. Oh man!

David I.

8y↑58

This right here is a classic.

Willie Whopper

3y↑58

Imagine Donald trump getting joked about like this. He be throwing a tantrum.

ßìels

@Jocco if I remember right, alot of Hollywood babies refused to do the dinner because it was Trump and so they haven't had one since.

Willie Whopper

3y↑3

@Jocco a man should be able to laugh at himself. Presidents should be able to accept criticism. It lets them know what the country thinks and wants. Every president has stood up to the criticism and jokes. He is too soft to be in this position

A B

@Jocco that’s exactly why they are worth rewatching 😉

Jocco

3y↑4

Actually the correspondents dinner where Seth Meyers and Obama roasted him are more than likely the reason he ran for President, out of spite, and also the reason he hasn't attended any of them since taking office. They also supposedly didn't book comedians for that reason. He's fine with making fun of people but when it's about him it is NOT okay lmao

A B

https://youtu.be/0Km4R377s4M

It’s worth one more listen ☺️

Britta Barnes

6y↑3

I was still in high school during these times so some of the references go over my head but I still appreciate it.

MCL MG

6y↑10

“This (WHCD) is an event that celebrates freedom of speech, you shouldn’t be able to say everything you wanted to say” - Stephen Colbert, the character, to Michelle Wolf in 2018.

ICON Dula DaRula

6y↑6

Those rich people are dying on the inside they hate this dude til this day for this. Majority of the people there aren't laughing Colbert uses his platform flawlessly!

Piotr Swat

5y↑1

I even love this when he messed up set up for the glass half full joke.A great comedian.

nikita haggard

3y↑1

fun fact: he was actually killing it. there were a lot of people laughing but it wasn’t picked up well because of the mic placements.

Bipradip Mandal

6y↑2

I really really want to see how exactly Stephen writes a script. He is genius.

Tanu Suresh

6y↑11

Man this is awsm. The audience is so uncomfortable...... I love it!!

Aria Gilgameshian

3y↑1

In hindsight, it's very interesting to see how democracy has changed in the past 15 years. Here you see a president with record low approval ratings and yet sitting and gracefully laughing with his critics.

It's so surreal to see this from a president now. It's unreal to see a president without a fragile ego and consistent need to be praised and revered. Its so weird to see a president who is not insecure about his manhood. As a conservative leaning independent myself, I am proud and in the same time too sad to see GOP was normal and decent just a decade ago.

For the past 4 years, people who stood beside the president praised him like North Korean Media praises its supreme leader. How can you not see that? For 4 years our Grand Old Party became party of cringe-worthy flattery of a man's insecure ego. The integrity and decency is at lowest point. A strategy of classic tyrants is to repeat a lie and double and triple down on a lie so many times that you start believing it as well and your followers too. Its just so sad to see classic tyrant strategies worked in our beautiful country.

Komal Khan

3y↑1

stephen colbert still going strong after all this time is crazy underappreciated

Amuro Ray

6y↑5

A masterpiece performance in sarcasm and irony.

stone1andonly

6y↑5

It's too bad you don't have the recorded portion that played before Stephen went up to speak, it is just as amazingly funny and it features Helen Thomas, the longtime White House correspondent.

Ali Reza Bakhshandeh

4y↑1

You know what really blows my mind? Everybody and even Obama are saying, aside from the evil politics this man has brought upon the world he is a very likable and pretty funny guy. That is also the reason he was there - because as a jokster he can take a good joke.

kamran kam

9y↑30

what a man He has guts!

230968

5y↑1

Colbert's life after 2006 is just a bonus. Enjoy every minute of it Stephen.

Not Sure who's on first

9y↑240

Bush administration was beyond inept. Just one more example: booking a comedian who anyone understanding irony knows is fundamentally opposed to everything about you and has gargantuan cajones. Not sure wig would have predicted such a groundbreaking and brave performance. But it's still the height of incompetence to book this guy - like most everything else bush did.

InXLsisDeo

6y↑7

Brassblitz your story is cute and incredibly naive, and I can assure you it was the exact opposite that was happening at the time.
The Bush administration was almost as corrupt as the Trump administration, but contrarily to the Trump admin, they weren't completely inept. The US press was cowardly like it had never been in a century. That's why Colbert roasted them as well, saying "the president decides, you type", because that's basically what was happening: the press was repeating the administration lies unfiltered. That's why Colbert talked about the "book where an intrepid reported stands up to the administration: you know fiction". You have no idea how "ballsy" Colbert was to do this, because nobody was standing up to Bush at the time. It was so incredible that a whole website was setup to thank him after this performance, thankyoustephencolbert.org, a website that still exists to this day. You can see on Google that it was setup on april 30th 2006. You can see what people said about him at the time: http://web.archive.org/web/20060703045758/http://thankyoustephencolbert.org:80/wordpress/archives/3#comments

So no, the Bush administration didn't accept irony or criticism AT ALL. And that's why they invited him. They didn't realize that Colbert was playing a conservative pundit on the Colbert Report. They thought he really was one. Else they would have never invited him.

Taylor Blyth

6y↑18

This tradition was started in 1983 and since then the host is always a comedian with opposing political views to the standing office. This is why Trump has declined to attend this year aha.

Brassblitz

6y↑29

Or maybe they did it because they KNEW Colbert was one of their harshest critics, and really funny, and they knew that self criticism is one of the greatest strengths of our democracy. We have a free press that reports the truth even when the government wants them not to. It exposes corruption and is a check against tyranny. Maybe they thought being uncomfortable for one night was worth it to reinforce something more important: our democratic ideals. I honestly see it as an act of patriotism. Why do you assume they would want to "not look bad" more than facing real criticism? What better way to say free speech is more important to me than political disagreements. I'm saying maybe they put country over party in a way Trump never has. We as Americans revel in free speech. We hire comedians to make fun of the president to his face! And that is truly awesome. I respect president Bush for doing it, and I think he did it for the best possible reasons, however much I may disagree with his policies. Too bad president Trump is too much of a coward to go.

Ste H

6y↑25

And now, in 2017 December 17, 12:41 am, we know that George W Bush was not the worst president.

Not Sure who's on first

8y↑3

+Jimmy Guitar the administration has to approve it. you must be out of your mind if you think a presidential administration doesn't control (via approval at the absolute least if not coordination). if you don't understand something that basic good luck with the whole life thing...

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Astro Gnome

6y↑3

Great open mic set, this guy should have his own late night show!

Luc De Cleir

7y↑9

This was great, say what you will about George W Bush. Compare it to 2017.

Nihal Sahu

8y↑393

"And Reality has a well known Liberal bias." That takes huevos rancheros

Rodrigo DLM

3y↑1

Hahahahahaha indeed

Long Schlong

That sounds like something ba liberal would say

Nicole Song

6y↑1

Ayyyyyy it does.

Carl Kuss

6y↑7

It's great to see Bush sitting there watching this. Colbert is brilliant, but Bush has a seff-deprecating quality which allows him to take all of it with style--so different than Trump.

Michael Cunningham

He was pretending to be OK with it. By the end you could see he was fuming. Watch his face after shaking Colbert's hand.

James Clerk Maxwell

9y↑9

Hahahahaha 😂😂 this guy is a genius jokester.

Liza Tanzawa

6y↑87

...at least Bush was brave enough to show up

Weird Gardener 🌱

5y↑1

Liza Tanzawa Bush is no punk

Jae Nwawe

8y↑1

Stephen Colbert. Still my hero!

Marcus Holmes

3y↑12

Colbert's "from the gut" bit is pretty much how voters think nowadays

Lorette

6y↑1

Colbert's comedy is even more funny since then and if he gets a chance to participate again in another Whitehall correspondence specially during Trump's presidency he would make everyone's tummy pain with laugher.

Corey King

6y↑13

Best and most important WHCD performance ever. Ask your gut

Pun2404

7y↑1

This is still one of the best things ever.

Rob Kennedy

7y↑42

at least bush had the balls to go

Horny Fruit Flies

6y↑3

Perfect impersonation of the average Conservative. No books, no brains, no reason, all guts and emotions and beliefs.

Bodhi

9y↑73

The Cheney joke at the beginning spelled Bush's doom that evening.

Julia Chernov

7y↑134

"Think about it...I haven't". 😂

Konstantin Sembos

6y↑49

At least Bush had the courage to be there for the roasting.

R and B

8y↑10

Good lord. This is brilliant.

Enabler

9y↑532

How on earth did they let him finish??!! LOL

Alex Savastru

3y↑1

@Nafisa Tabassum i mean Hassan did it well and i really enjoyed it but come on... Colbert is truly something else

Nafisa Tabassum

4y↑5

Because 1st Amendment. Hasan Minhaj got to do it too, not as well, but did it.

Queen Elizabeth I

5y↑3

Everyone gets their time. And roasting is tradition

Jonathan Kidder

6y↑6

Shortest comedian speech in 15 years... Maybe he did and we don't know

Tatu

7y↑44

Woud have been 100x more embarrasing for Bush if he hadn't let him finish

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Lanwarder

6y↑6

Wow, there was a time when presidents could handle comedians making jokes about them?

Iker Rodrigo

8y↑7

This guy is gold

Los Loud Boyz

6y↑17

Say what you want about the US, but this is what real freedom looks like

Syed Jawad Quader

4y↑1

As a critic of US foreign policy, I agree.

realmadridfn04

6y↑1

The look on Bush's face before they announce him is hilarious

buckeye chuck

undoubtedly rough but wholly Colbert and really funny. "Reality has a well known liberal bias". Classic

Tiago Santos

9y↑11

This is the one true interventional post modern action ever committed in the last two decades !

Luminatron, of the Second Sphere 🅥

5y↑1

The Jesus Christ one kills me so hard lol. Great punchline, great delivery.

Fusi Gabz

8y↑14

This is a smart guy!!!

Its Me

8y↑49

Best white house Insults LMAOO in my opinion !😆😊

Toni A

4y↑1

Stephen Colbert truly is intelligent, funny and brave.

Virus 1956

4y↑1

Go Stephen Colbert, WHAT COURAGE 👍

PhillyFrank1

9y↑516

"Reality has a liberal bias." No kidding.

Rip Wheeler

@waeng Wang Its not a stupid point! It was called Obama Phones for short . It placed smart phones in the hands of low income recipients paid for by taxing paying customers of cellphone providers . If you research it will say that it was passed thru lifeline act. But what got amended to the original bill intended for emergency use was a full voice talk data and broadband internet connection plan!

Mythraen

4y↑1

@waeng Wang His show was basically a satire of folks like Bill O'Reilly. One could argue then, that it was against hardcore conservative shows.
That doesn't strictly make it for anything.
It has been a while since I've seen it, so I don't want to pretend to know more than that regarding political positions he might have taken/mocked.

waeng Wang

@Mythraen its hard to actually place where his show was "for" on a political spectrum

waeng Wang

@Rip Wheeler what are you talking about? what is this "technological equality?" do you just make stuff up to make a stupid point? Yes. Yes you do.

Mythraen

4y↑17

@wantafanta01 No, he wasn't.
His entire character on the Colbert Report was a mockery of hardcore conservativism.
His show was for liberals.
Also, for the record, conservatives in the United States have a very negative relationship with facts. Human-caused climate change is a fact that conservatives don't want to accept. Evolution is a fact that conservatives don't want to accept. Bill O'Reilly doesn't understand that the tides are not a mystery, but are caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon. Reality is often antithetical to conservatives.

3 More Replies...

Sukhie Brar

6y↑121

George Bush had far more grace than the joker Turmp

som d

Sai dasyasiga phaji

Kartikeya Veeramraju

Seeing this was five years old, I thought I'd witness good ol'bama genuinely taking a joke. It's been a while guys, it's been some time, I swear.

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