As others have already pointed out, Shakespeare, having written the "play inside a play" in his masterpiece Hamlet, would surely have had a chuckle at
Colbert's Performance at the White House Correspondents Dinner.
The 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, arguably the most famous pro-democracy activist (through peaceful means, of course... not Bush's warped rendition of killing em all and letting God sort them out) in the world, has written the delightful and highly popular book Letters from Burma. In it (p.40, Chapter 10 "An Independent Performance") she writes:
The Independence Day ceremony of the NLD (National Leage for Democracy) began late in the morning in the garden of my house and was expected to be completed within three hours. In the event the programme went on for six hours because the audience of nearly 2000 wanted the last item, the a-nyeint, to continue for as long as possible.
She continues...
It started in the traditional way with two comedians coming forward to introduce the performance. But as soon as the senior of the two, U Pa Pa Lay, started to speak it became obvious, to the surprise and untold delight of the audience, that this was going to be an act such as had not been witnessed in Burma for several decades. The comedians were determined to exercise to the full their traditional right to apply their comic and critical powers to a commentary on matters of topical interest, many of political nature.
U Pa Pa Lay began by saying that this was an occasion when he would be speaking according to his own wishes and that he was aware that such audacity would very likely land him in prison. He explained that he had already served a year in prison for making a joke that referred to the overwhelming support of the NLD throughout the whole country. The thundrous applause that greeted U Pa Pa Lay's introductory remarks was a fitting prelude to a performance that scintillated with witty skits, brilliant jokes, sprightly dances and lively music. The audience revelled in the artistic skill of the whole performance and were filled with deep admiration for the courage of the company, in particular for U Pa Pa Lay and his fellow comedian U Lu Zaw who so bravely gave voice to what the people had been wishing- but not daring- to say for many a year.
The purpose of this diary is not to give a full account, but merely to point the reader to the passage and yet another indication that comedy can be used to deliver an ever-so earnest message.
Does Bush know the power behind a laugh? I would think so. This because, as for comedians, he's even tried to play one himself (read the full remarks if you wish to know how this diary got its name).