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The Colbert Report Seeks Truthiness in Congress
At a time when surveys show younger voters turning away from the mainstream media in favor of blogs and late-night television, politicians and their strategists recognize that "The Colbert Report" is a powerful way to reach a swath of Generation Y.
Congress has long suffered an inferiority complex, a sentiment that has only worsened under President Bush, who has flexed his executive muscles by keeping lawmakers out of the loop on matters ranging from eavesdropping to foreign control of American ports.
So, in an era where there no longer a true mass media, politicians are looking more micro. And "The Colbert Report" has become a hot spot must-visit. Tongue firmly in cheek, Stephen Colbert's "Daily Show" spin-off is on a truthiness quest to interview — or lampoon — all 434 members of the House. (The man who held the 435th seat, the disgraced California Republican Randy Cunningham, "is dead to me," Mr. Colbert declared.)
UPDATE 3/1: Stephen Colbert made special point leading the show tonight to correct the New York Times weekend story, saying they got it wrong. It's not Randy Cunningham ("The Dukester") that "is dead to me"....it's California's 50th district that really "is dead to me" for letting down the Dukester. The 50th is SO dead to Colbert on The Colbert Report, he no longer thinks the 50th exists. He wanted to make sure that correction was made and expects the Times to acknowledge it. Now that is commitment to truthiness.
As he assembles a dupes' gallery, Mr. Colbert is showing a national audience what veteran Congress-watchers already know: politicians are idiots just like us.
At the same time, the show reveals an essential truth about Washington: being humiliated on national television can be better than not being on national television at all.
The rest of the New York Times article here
posted by Unknown @ Monday, February 27, 2006,
