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.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Colbert_at_the_2006_White_House_Corres…
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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)
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Wikiquote of the day:
Man is free at the instant he wants to be. -- Voltaire
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Voltaire)