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The Iraq War gets the Colbert bump
If you missed it, last night's Colbert Report taped from Baghdad was absolutely phenomenal television, culminating in President Obama making an appearance by satellite to order Gen. Ray Odierno to shave Colbert's head:
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Obama Orders Stephen's Haircut - Ray Odierno | ||||
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Kudos to Colbert for putting on a great show for the troops and the viewers back home. But given that the show is paired with Colbert stint as "guest editor," of a Newsweek special issue on Iraq, it's fair to ask what exactly the point of this project is. Colbert quipped last night that, "I thought the war was over, because I haven't seen any stories about it in a month," and the show and the magazine seemed to be designed to bring media focus back to a war that Americans haven't been paying much attention to lately.
Newsweek editor Jon Meacham's ultra-meta-editor's note puts it this way:
Some readers and critics will inevitably object, saying that this is a publicity stunt. To them I solemnly say: you are half-right. Of course I am seeking publicity for the magazine. I would argue with the term "stunt," though, but only because of the popular assumption that a stunt is something silly. (The dictionary definition is a feat of daring, but we do not live in the dictionary.) Colbert's involvement is an exercise not in silliness but in satire, and the two are very different things. His role means more attention for NEWSWEEK, yes, and to me that is a good thing. It also brings more readers to a serious subject—and that heightened interest is a good thing, too.
Believe me, as editor of this blog I'm sympathetic to the desire to use celebrity buzz to attract eyeballs (trade secret: the top two Google searches leading readers to Passport right now are "sex photo" and "Susan Boyle") and we've even attempted to harness the power of the Colbert bump ourselves, but I'm skeptical of the idea that "heightened interest" is a good thing in and of itself.
First of all, I suspect that Colbert's involvement with the issue is going to get quite a bit more attention than the stories within. Second, Iraq is going to be back increasingly back in the news anyway as the planned withdrawal date draws closer, so is there really something to be gained by "drawing attention" to it right now?
Possibly, but it depends what you do with that attention. Colbert (the real person or the character) isn't really saying much new about the war, leaving that to the guests on his show and the "serious" writers in the magazine. Since his TV guests this week are mostly military and Fareed Zakaria's Newsweek cover story about victory in Iraq is the kind of goalpost moving that Colbert has relished mocking for years, it's hard to say that he's making any sort of critique. And it's hard to call this week's shows satire given the free publicity he's giving the president and General Odierno to publicize U.S. achievements in Iraq.
Again, there's nothing wrong with Colbert making great television or Newsweek selling magazines, and I can only imagine how frustrating it must be for troops in Iraq to see the dwindling media coverage of their efforts, but I'm not quite sure that attention on its own, particularly with Colbert himself hogging the spotlight, is really going to do much for them.













Colbert at Al Faw Palace
Lighten up everyone!
How about we stop trying to read to much into this.
As a member of the audience and an occupant of the "palace", it was great to have the Colbert Report here. It definitely accomplished its extant purpose which was to bring some levity and fun to our otherwise serious existence.
Why does it take a comedian
Why does it take a comedian to bring Iraq back into our living rooms?
Sad.
Comedian, maybe. Its a very
Comedian, maybe. Its a very primitive humour, poking fun at everyone, but not Israelis and the millions of New Yorkers supporting this neo-colonial enterprise - the greatest desbilising factor in International politics and the world greatest terror-incentive. If there were no Israel - no War in Afghanistan and Iraq, this is absolutely sure. And porbably no housing-bubble that got punctured, because Alan Greenspan lowered the interest rates too much following 9/11. He -- and the rest of the ruling elite -- was so keen to demonstrate that the U.S. was not deterred, but would keep on regardless. Instead they should have examined whether there perhaps was a problem in U.S Middle East policies, and whether it was disproportionate in some way, and whether it was this that caused 9/11. If we had closed Israel in --say-- 1965, nothing of the following would have happened.
____
OBS!, the above is original work by me. It is based of years of following news from the ME, visiting Israel and Egypt, spoken to the people there, putting 2 and 2 together, and figuring out how the problem can be solved. It turns out it can be solved by closing Israel. We must be bold and just go ahead and do it. Nobody in their right mind talks about throwing them into the sea; instead the majority of them will go to The United States, when we shortly introduce Arab Majority Rule, by omitting all the Palestinian refugees and their descendants back to the land they are named after, and let them have a vote, as how they think this land should be governed. And of course the [remaining] Jews should have a vote to. [What do you take me for?]. You cannot have it any more democratic than that; one man one vote.
Don't Ask Don't Tell
Colbert took on the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy on Tuesday night's show, and he did it rather cleverly. Rather than focus on the plight of gay soldiers, he focuses on the absurdity of implementing the policy. It is a policy that focuses on the private behavior of troops, by not asking them about their private behavior. The audience seemed enthusiastic and respectful. There may be some in the audience that approve of the policy, and others that don't - but Colbert was sharp enough not to hector either side.
He also showcased the new military - interviewing an Arab-American soldier who enlisted after 9/11, along with a female MP, who pointed out there is no such thing as a "front-line" anymore. So, the idea of keeping women out of combat has been quietly shelved, without fanfare.
Colbert is a Genius
There is nothing funnier or more dangerous to the hypocrites than a serious clown. Colbert's shtick is so original and so funny he should be named a national treasure. He gets a pass to heaven in my book for his Bush bash
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-869183917758574879
(please also note how Laura shows her fangs afterwards)
hilarious!!
Shark Jumping, Gay Pandering Colbert
Dont Ask Dont Tell (DADT) is a critical issue to discuss? Talking about loosing gay Arab translators who accumulated in that branch of the military?
This is a bogus issue which ignores the fact that there are millions of Arab American citizens who are qualified to be translators but find military service unconscionable.
The US foreign policy has supported imperialism and defended authoritarian regimes in the Arab world, alienating and pushing away Arab Americans. This, when America could benefit from its Arab citizenry now if it was upholding good policies. Instead, sustaining corrupt and despicable policies of invading countries and protecting dictatorships is THE REAL MORAL FAILURE OF AMERICA.
Moreover, only 48% of black and latino boys graduate from high school and over 4000 in every 100,000 black males 18-24 end up in prison. Why isn't Colbert addressing the BIGGER ISSUE of America failing black youth who arent even qualified to join the military?
The majority of gays Colbert is concerned about are white males. White males are not an underprivileged, disadvantaged minority- they dominate America. Sexual conduct is a private matter for the majority of people, except those who make it their public identity. Colbert is merely advocating privileges for aberrant white male sexual conduct. He has failed to confront the manipulation of news and media by the US military in Iraq and Pentagon.
Colbert failed to question US commanders in covering up US atrocities in Iraq.
Colbert played the same game for "the troops" as all the Mainstream media have done.
He sucks, he jumped the shark.