May 3, 2006 Stephen Colbert
It has always been a little hard to pinpoint where Stephen Colbert was on the political spectrum. In his parody of a right wing, crisp "patriotic" talk show host on the "Colbert Report," he is hysterically hip and politically topical, but you get the feeling he takes on all comers. While he is biting in his wit, he isn't particularly a thorn in the side of the Bush Administration, because he has seemed to believe that "truthiness" was a mass affliction of both parties and the entire news media. All that changed at the Washington correspondents dinner on Saturday, April 29, when Stephen Colbert delivered an unrelenting frontal assault on the failures, lies and propaganda of the Bush Administration. Colbert's courageous performance was no accident of nuance. It was a clear personal decision to let the truth will out, and to turn George W. Bush -- who views himself as a monarch -- to turn him into an accountable American citizen, which he is despite his own delusions of royalty. And Colbert didn't stop with Bush, he lacerated the D.C. Press Corps, the very people who were in the audience, for being asleep at the wheel for five years. What Colbert did was brilliantly simple: he read a droll, sardonic monologue that revealed that the emperor isn't wearing any clothes. So many BuzzFlash readers nominated Colbert for the "Wings of Justice Award" by Sunday morning, we had to pick a winning nominator by lottery. And the winner nailed it: "His performance at the White House Correspondents dinner was the most courageous act in the face of 'The Powers That Be' that I have seen in a long time." Colbert gave his speech with confidence and poise, even though the man who would be king -- George W. Bush -- was sitting but a few feet away from the podium. For this singular act of defiance and democracy, Stephen Colbert, you are honored with this week's "Wings of Justice" Award. * * * Nominated by: Pam Gamberger of Tuscola, TX
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