I haven't had the opportunity to see the last episode of The Colbert Report yet because I'm on the West Coast (and all you east coasters are ruining everything as usual by running your east coast mouths on twitter!) But I have been enjoying all the tributes and remembrances over the past few days.
Still, this is the best thing he ever did, the most stellar, surreal put down of the Village anyone anywhere has ever done. And he went directly into the belly of the beast and did it right to their faces. They didn't know what hit them:
Remember, this was 2006, when the press was still in full swoon over Bush and barely waking up to the fact that the war in Iraq was a big fat loser and that they had been so far in the tank for the Republicans for years that they'd grown gills. Those of us who followed the media closely were at a point of near despair. And then came this moment of pure comeuppance. It was beautiful.
I didn't see it live. I saw it the next morning on C-SPAN. My husband and I and my brother and sister in law who were visiting sprang from our chairs and stood in front of the TV for the entire thing, cheering, laughing and even dancing. It was one of the best moments of the decade and I will never forget it.
Politics is going to be a lot less fun now. Colbert always gets it and then gives it back in a whole new way. I've often looked to him for assurance that I'm on the right track --- that the political lunacy I see around me isn't a product of my own delusions. So I will miss conservative "Stephen" --- he was a touchstone to sanity. But normal Stephen will be back with a new thing that I'm sure will be vastly entertaining and intelligent. He's just that good.
