Stephen Colbert - America's Court Jester

Humor has traditionally relied on skewering the powerful and famous with a heady dose of irony. It is this humor that sometimes makes uncomfortable truths easier to swallow. But often that spoonful of sugar is laced with a bitter taste of sarcasm that cuts right to the heart of the matter, and that is the medicine Stephen Colbert served up Friday night at the White House Press Correspondents dinner. In his own words, "Reality has a well-known liberal bias."

Colbert’s performance has been criticized as "too biting and edgy", but I am delighted. Stephen was performing the traditional role of Court Jester. The jester was not just a comedian; he was a political comedian. Jesters could speak truth to power and not get beheaded, most of the time. They were the voice of humility and of the common man who could give the royal court a better perspective on reality. A good fool was sometimes a ruler’s best advisor.

King George has no stomach for jesters. His grudging nod to Stephen and then his precipitous exit show how tenuous his grip on reality is. He lacks the key ingredient in a really great leader, humility. A leader with humility, laughs at his own foibles and learns from the criticisms. Bush is a decider, and as Colbert stated, "He believes the same thing Wednesday that he believed on Monday, no matter what happened Tuesday"

People who attended the event said the president rarely laughed and mostly squirmed in his seat at the event. That is the sign of his character. He does not know how to listen to criticism and can laugh at himself only if he is making the joke. This could be called megalomania, but in the case of Bush I think it is simpler. He is as much a character playing a role as Stephen Colbert. Bush is a product, not a president. He was carefully crafted by the Republican Party and propped up as a "strong leader" strictly because he had a famous name. If his name was Smith, or Burns, or anything else he would still be struggling in various unsuccessful business ventures, failing and failing again.

My hat is off to America’s court jester, Stephen Colbert, may he keep his head to jest another day!

Watch the video here:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Also visit the instant fan site at http://thankyoustephencolbert.org/