While watching the Colbert-Tim Robbins interview from tonight's episode, a thought occurred to me. The effortless way in which Colbert tosses out Republican talking points only to have them ripped to shreds by his guests or by "The Word" just might be the single most effective and pointed satire to grace American television in 20 years.
It use to be Archie Bunker who would belt out racist and sexist lines, only to have the rest of the characters on All in the Family shoot him down. It was the most important and socially significant television show ever.
Today, with the evolution of politics seeming like a nightmare that gets worse day by day, with the neo-con philosophy and six years of rubber stamping by Congress leading to the destruction of the American brand around the world, thousands of dead Americans in a illegal and senseless war to pad Halliburton's bottom line and a president that has set new standards in divisiveness, a new kind of television character has emerged to try to make sense of all of it, just like Archie did in 1971.
Stephen Colbert is an amalgamation of the biggest enablers of the Bush presidency: a cup of Bill O'Rilley, 2 teaspoons of Rush Limbaugh, a sprinkle of Ann Coulter, bake at 180 degrees of sarcasm and serve.
Although the "if you criticize the government, you should be thrown out of the country" meme that gripped the US after 9/11 has cooled a bit, Colbert still leads the league in saying things on cable television every night that you just aren't suppose to say. But he doesn't just blurt out the obvious Republican talking point retort; he shows the idiocy of the talking point by agreeing with it, and then carrying the point to an even more absurd extreme. By playing the part of the White House press office darling, Colbert manages to make Bush and his corrupt cronies look more absurd than a screaming Bill Maher ever could.
If you doubt Colbert's genius for even a second, a recent episode that featured a segment called "Cooking with Feminists" should put you to rest. Colbert managed to get two of the most outspoken and demonized liberals out there, Gloria Steinem and Jane Fonda, to do a legitimate cooking segment, while insulting their cause, questioning their patriotism and belittling their beliefs, and what did he get in return? A kiss on the cheek from both Steinem and Fonda. How? By repeating in the same ignorant and pompous tone, the exact same things Limbaugh, O'Rilley or Bush himself would say if he were standing there, but in such a way that both Fonda and Steinem could poke hole after hole in his antiquated neo-con talking points. It was beautiful, it was art, it was a typical night of Stephen Colbert.
And let's not forget the single ballsiest performance in recent memory at the Press Correspondents Dinner this past year. It was quite possibly the single biggest career risk anyone can take. But not only did he say things literally to Bush's face, he got away with it. Sure, he got slammed a bit by the "liberal" media, but the positive response far outweighed the negative. If Colbert were to get cancelled tomorrow, that one glorious day would live forever as the day when the left looked Bush in the eye and said, "We will not go quietly into the night, we are here to fight, and you better believe that we've got claws!"
Colbert has quickly, in the space of a season, become one of the most important voices in a cacophony of talking heads, 24-hour news cycles and pundits. But what Colbert has that they don't is a razor sharp wit that cuts to the quick every piece of political bullshit out there. If the Dems do take control of Congress and eventually the White House, where will that leave Stephen? Can his cutting style work from the other side? It remains to be seen, but you can bet that just like Archie Bunker 25 years ago, as long as there are ignorant, hateful people out there, Stephen Colbert will be there to kick them in the ass.