In what was quite clearly a pre-generated headline - “COLBERT BOMBS, BUSH ROCKS.” - Michelle once again proves herself the arbiter of humor. Allahpundit “defends” Stephen:

In Colbert’s defense, he might not have been playing for laughs. The dissident posture is very important to our friends on the left; if SC had kept things light and wasted his opportunity to speak “truth” to power, they’d have crucified him for it. As it is, the moonbats will be building statues of him tomorrow.

Let me see if I can remember the last time a correspondent’s dinner speaker kept things light. Or refused to speak truth to power.

I don’t remember conservatives excoriating Don Imus:

Thank you very much …um… this is kind of interesting, these don’t appear to be my notes….(you still have the folder I gave you? where did this come from? Well, nobody just leaves stuff like this just layin’ around…

Heh, heh, heh .. let me see if I can see what it says: “S. McDougall called again …says bank needs check and statement; told her both were in mail, ha ha ha. Jesus, she looks stupid in those tank tops. ” I think I’ll just hang on to these.

…[W]hen Cal Ripken broke Lou Gherig’s consecutive game record, the President was at Camden Yards doin’ play by play in the radio with John Miller. Bobby Bonilla hit a double, we all heard the President in his obvious excitement holler “Go Baby!” I remember commenting at the time, I bet that’s not the first time he’s said that. Remember the Astroturf in the pickup?

Ah, but surely Al Franken, to whom I think at least four moonbat statues have been built already, would never question a Democratic president.

But the White House Correspondent’s Association was afraid of a repeat of the whole [Don] Imus debacle. So the board of governors had a meeting and drew up some groundrules for tonight’s talk. For example, there are a number of subjects I’ve been instructed to avoid.

- Whitewater
- specifically Web Hubbell
- Susan Thomases
- either of the McDougals
- I am not to do jokes about any aspect of the President’s personal life.
Except his eating habits. Evidently, sir, you eat quite a lot. And the Correspondents Association seems to think we could have quite of bit of harmless fun with that.

But at least those were funny. Colbert, apparently, wasn’t going for funny. Case in point:

And by these standards, we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq. I believe in pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps. I believe it is possible — I saw this guy do it once in Cirque du Soleil. It was magical. And though I am a committed Christian, I believe that everyone has the right to their own religion, be it Hindu, Jewish or Muslim. I believe our infinite paths to accepting Jesus Christ as your personal savior.

Nope, not funny! Impersonators? FUNNY!