He wasn't perfect, of course...

…but he was certainly funny. Granted, Steven Colbert's timing slipped in spots, he blew one set up so badly he had to acknowledge it during his act and his 'audition' video was in desperate need of some good editing, but he was funny. If you've watched the video you've heard laughter throughout, even though a laugh out loud was likely to make you the target of a glare or two from those around you (and who'da thunk that Justice Scalia had the best sense of humor in DC?).

Even the laughers won't admit it now, though, and Dan Froomkin comes as close to the reason as I've seen in mainstream coverage...

What Colbert was saying about the guy sitting a few feet away from him -- and I think this is what made so many people in that room uncomfortable -- was: Don't believe a word he says.

Of course, there's a related reason that Froomkin touches on as well. The White House press corps got their own dose of plain truth from their guest...

Here they were, holding a swanky party for themselves, and Colbert was essentially telling them that they've completely screwed up their number one job these past six years.

The case typically put forward against Colbert isn't that he was wrong, but that he was rude. Maybe, but if you're going to make that case, you can't use the 'not funny' argument as part of it. What, after all, could be less funny than a satirist who's considerate of his audience's feelings? If folks don't squirm, at least a bit, then the satirist has certainly failed, hasn't he?

What's really surprising isn't anything Colbert said, or any Presidential irritation over the saying, but that we're still talking about a comic performance at a Beltway dinner party. If it's true that Colbert was really reaching past the room to cable and internet audiences across the country (and I think, to an extent, that is true), well, mission accomplished.


Inspired by Atrios.