Stephen Colbert's performance at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner mocked the Bush administration and the White House press corps, and subsequently generated significant controversy. Stephen Colbert was the featured entertainer for the 2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, delivering a 20-minute speech and video presentation which was broadcast live on C-SPAN and MSNBC. Colbert spoke as the same character as the one he plays on The Colbert Report: an over-the-top send-up of a conservative pundit in the fashion of Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity. Colbert satirized the Bush administration and the White House press corps. Colbert spoke directly to President Bush several times, satirically praising his foreign policy, lifestyle, and beliefs, and referencing his low approval rating and popular reputation. Various reports give an impression that Bush did not take too kindly to the performance, as several of Bush's aides and supporters walked out during Colbert's speech, and one former aide said that the President had "that look that he's ready to blow." Reaction to the event caused it to become an Internet and media sensation, and ratings for The Colbert Report soared 37% in the week following the speech.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1272: Prince Edward I became King of England, succeeding his father Henry III who died five days earlier. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_I_of_England)

1783: The first successful untethered flight by humans was made in a hot air balloon constructed by the Montgolfier brothers. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_air_balloon)

1920: Anglo-Irish War: The Irish Republican Army killed more than a dozen British intelligence officers known as the Cairo Gang, and paramilitary forces of the Royal Irish Constabulary opened fire on players and spectators at a Gaelic football match in Dublin on Bloody Sunday. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairo_Gang) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Sunday_(1920))

1977: God Defend New Zealand became one of the national anthems of New Zealand. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_Defend_New_Zealand)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

Man is free at the instant he wants to be. -- Voltaire (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Voltaire)