I have a mixed reaction to Colbert’s speech, to be honest (great intent, imperfectly executed), but I will definitely hold on to this gem:
“Reality has a well-known liberal bias.” – Stephen Colbert, White House Correspondents Dinner
I have a mixed reaction to Colbert’s speech, to be honest (great intent, imperfectly executed), but I will definitely hold on to this gem:
“Reality has a well-known liberal bias.” – Stephen Colbert, White House Correspondents Dinner
3 Comments
“great intent, imperfectly executed”
Man, you sound so Canadian; trashing the hero who just won a minor battle for some procedural errors.
“Reality has a well-known liberal bias.â€
Oddly, only liberals seem to believe this. Oddly, they never give any proof or justification for this statement. Oddly, everything in science, and particularly evolution, points to the falsity of this claim. Oddly, history has conclusively demonstrated the unsoundness of liberal doctrine wherever it has been given a reality check.
Very odd.
Kerry:
That is a very silly complaint. Reality doesn’t have a bias: it is. Whether it tends to be more like it has been in the past or tends to surprise you with innovation (or “progress,” from a teleological perspective) is entirely in the mind of the beholder.
There are a number of ways that the statement could be interpreted. I think the most straightforward, given the context, is this:
Many within this administration seem to have difficulty telling the truth, or seem to have significant problems understanding the problems of the country. When this administration, and its fans, are faced with any sort of criticism or objection, they label it as “liberal.” (This has nothing to do with the traditional form of the term–e.g., we believe in a liberal democracy and liberal education. It is instead meant as a pejorative.)
Unfortunately, recently the administration finds itself in the position of refuting face-obvious facts. If the facts are not pro-administration, they must therefore be “liberal.”
If you really believe that the claim is (a) serious and (b) falsifiable, I don’t know what to say. Both are pretty dumb positions to take.
One Trackback
[…] As seen all over the blogosphere, Colbert recently paid a blistering comedy “tribute†to President Bush at the White House Correspondent Dinner Saturday night. From the opening of this C-Span video (C-span preferred Google Video over YouTube), you can already see how George Bush wasn’t amused right from the start. With good reason, since he’s the butt of Colbert’s joke while seat right next to him in silence. Given Colbert’s performance, I felt that it wasn’t as polished as his show, but the recklessness was priceless. It was a dare that stirred the hearts of many (last count 54,000!) across the nation. […]