So Stephen Colbert - the free world's favourite pretentious fake conservative - is broadcasting from Iraq. Which is remarkable, even though I could rant about the hypocrisy of supporting troops engaged in a war you are convinced is morally wrong.
Now the show last monday was quite hilarious. Watch this segment, then scrool down to keep reading:
Now the show last monday was quite hilarious. Watch this segment, then scrool down to keep reading:
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Obama Orders Stephen's Haircut - Ray Odierno | ||||
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Did you watch it? No?
Okay, scroll back up and watch it now.
I'll wait.
(pom pom pom.. 5 minutes and 15 seconds later...)
Now that you HAVE seen it (haven't you?) I have a question: what the fuck is Obama doing?
No, I am not impressed that he took the time from his schedule to crack a joke on Comedy Central. Nor that he's making fun of his physical appearance like that. And nor that his 'address to his troops' sounded more like the 1-minute audition of an aspiring but lousy comedian than the inspired speech of the chief.
Nor that he's, so to speak, 'taking the name of the commander in chief' in vain. Commander in chief of the armies is something to be treated with respect - not to be used to order a haircut.
Sure, the teenagers watching will like him for it. But I find that silly and damaging to his image.
No, I am not impressed that he took the time from his schedule to crack a joke on Comedy Central. Nor that he's making fun of his physical appearance like that. And nor that his 'address to his troops' sounded more like the 1-minute audition of an aspiring but lousy comedian than the inspired speech of the chief.
Nor that he's, so to speak, 'taking the name of the commander in chief' in vain. Commander in chief of the armies is something to be treated with respect - not to be used to order a haircut.
Sure, the teenagers watching will like him for it. But I find that silly and damaging to his image.
6 comments:
i thought it was funny...and G-d knows, we all need some humor in our lives right now...
Oh, mind you, I also think it was incredibly funny, and I was laughing out loud so hard as I watched it - but something about it just made me feel uncomfortable. A friendly and amusing message like Clinton or GWB did would've been more than sufficient. But a commander in chief issuing an order for a haircut... made me feel uncomfortable. And, gosh, I'm not even American... :)
Oh, this is great!! This is also peculiarly American humor. The gag is weak but what gives it its punch is Obama's order--it's meant to be satirical as well as morale-boosting for the troops who have all suffered basic training and think that media nerds like Colbert(and any similarly placed clueless civilian)is a git.
From an international perspective Obama's intervention was really a bit weird. In Europe, only clowns like Berlusconi would do something like that, while Gordon Brown or Angela Merkel would obviously not (thank God!). But then, I think in an American context this is ok, and Obama can pull stuff like that off without losing authority or disrespecting the position of commander in chief..
I didn't realize this was uniquely-American humor, but I guess it is... didn't bother me either. I thought it was self-deprecating, and the joke is ultimately at the expense of the character Colbert plays (like Aliyah06 says, the media nerd, plus the person who gives lip service but isn't willing to go through anything the troops actually experience).
I just checked Drudge Report and I don't see any flaming headlines about Obama using the title "Commander in Chief" in vain, so I don't think this raised too many (American) eyebrows!!
aliyah06,
I hadn't thought of the 'media gits' aspect of the thing, thanks for pointing it out...
Oliver,
it might be my eurocentricism talking then? :) but in my part of the world, dictators usually don't have a sense of humour.. (expect Kaddafi. He's a hoot.)
Maya,
to be honest i'm not quite sure why i got so upset about it in the first place... :)
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