Heavens To Betsy

by digby

… I think Stephen Colbert forgot his place.

At last year’s White House Correspondent’s dinner, you’ll remember that when the president joshed and giggled about not finding the weapons of mass destruction, the press laughed and laughed. They just love it when the president makes fun of himself. It reminds them of why they love him — and why they are better than he is.

I sorry to report that this year, in an alarming lack of decorum, Stephen Colbert went way over the line — he lampooned the press corps itself in such a way as to make it seem as if they might be partly responsible for why 70% of the nation feels the country is on the wrong track. Making fun of politicians is one thing. They are a slightly lower life form. But the press itself? Implying they are complicit in all this unpleasantness with war and what not? Well, that simply isn’t done.

I’m sure Joe Klein was appalled. Colbert, with his horrible little parody was no better than a left wing blogger from the fever swamp who doesn’t respect his betters. He even had the temerity to ask the question that dare not be asked in polite circles:

Why did we invade Iraq?

That will not do. Why if anyone asks that question the public might notice that the White House press corps behaved like bunch of lovelorn eunuchs until about 20 minutes ago — at which point their hilarious, down-home moron of a president began to threaten to throw them in jail.

All hail Stephen Colbert — the man who coined the word for what the Washington press have been feeding us for the last decade. The truthiness hurts, doesn’t it kids?

Crooks and Liars has the video. I think it may be one of the most revealing moments I’ve ever seen in American politics.

Peter Daou has some thoughts and recommends Eric Boehlert’s book “Lapdogs” which I’m sure is as popular as Stephen Colbert’s video with Helen Thomas — the only person with guts in a whole room filled with pearl clutching little old ladies.

Update: Atrios checks into the “Why did we invade Iraq?” question and finds that Bill Kristol’s answer to Colbert last week was truthiness. I’m stunned.

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