When Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert did a monologue at the White House Correspondents Dinner in 2006, it was a hilarious demonstration of the ridiculousness of right wing talking points. Needless to say, the president wasn't in on the gag. Colbert demonstrated the difference between 'laughing with' and 'laughing at' by engaging almost entirely in the latter. The absurdism of President Bush's supporters and the laziness of the press were nailed dead.
The next year's dinner featured impressionist Rich Little, who many were surprised was still alive. He poked fun at such topical subjects as Richard Nixon and TV dinners. The Correspondents Dinner was a yawn-fest but, for the president, it was safe as nerf.
Listening to the news, I was reminded of this bit from the opener of Colbert's monologue:
Mark Smith, ladies and gentlemen of the press corps, Madame First Lady, Mr. President, my name is Stephen Colbert and tonight it's my privilege to celebrate this president. We're not so different, he and I. We get it. We're not brainiacs on the nerd patrol. We're not members of the factinista. We go straight from the gut, right sir? That's where the truth lies, right down here in the gut. Do you know you have more nerve endings in your gut than you have in your head? You can look it up. I know some of you are going to say "I did look it up, and that's not true." That's 'cause you looked it up in a book.
Next time, look it up in your gut. I did. My gut tells me that's how our nervous system works. Every night on my show, the Colbert Report, I speak straight from the gut, OK? I give people the truth, unfiltered by rational argument. I call it the "No Fact Zone." Fox News, I hold a copyright on that term.
Yeah, you can see why Bush would have a problem with that. One Bushie who seems to have forgotten Colbert's routine is Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff. After having this tough guy 'gut check' game shown to be ridiculous crap, Chertoff has cited his gut in a new warning about imminent al Qaeda attacks on the US.
Chicago Tribune:
Fearing complacency among the American people over possible terrorist threats, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Tuesday that the nation faced a heightened chance of an attack this summer.
"I believe we are entering a period this summer of increased risk," Chertoff told the Chicago Tribune's editorial board in an unusually blunt assessment of America's terrorist threat level.
[...]
Chertoff said there were not enough indications of an imminent plot to raise the threat levels nationwide. He indicated that his remarks were based on "a gut feeling" formed by previous patterns of terrorist attacks, recent Al Qaeda statements and intelligence he did not disclose.
The truthiness of Chertoff's warning is obvious. His gut tells him we've got to be on the lookout, so we'd just better. Who needs some sort of evidence or any facts? We've got Chertoff's gut and that should be good enough for anyone...
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