A Train Wreck worth Watching

For me, the hardest part about watching "Curb Your Enthusiasm" is the constant queasy feeling in my stomach watching Larry David's character talk himself into one humiliating situation after another. The tension of knowing that every encounter he has with anyone on his show will end badly, and if it doesn't do so initially, it will lead to an even more horrendous outcome later.

In sum, it's like watching a train slow approaching a washed out bridge: there's nothing you can do to stop it, you know people are about to get hurt, part of you can't really believe it's happening, and yet you can't avert your gaze either.

[Please note that Eliel, having never actually watched a real train careem of a washed out bridge, is merely speculating that this would be his reaction. Actual mileage may vary. We apologize for the interruption, the actual point of this posting will continue already in progress--Ed.]

That's the same feeling I felt this weekend while lying in my sick bed and watching Stephen Colbert's C-SPAN recorded White House Press Dinner performance. Hearing the AP president introduce him was like seeing the light of the train coming around the bend. You can't believe that they've invited him to speak at this event. Anyone with basic cable who has ever even watched a minute of the Colbert Report would know that he's not fan of the present administration, and yet the he is: sitting two seats away from POTUS, being introduced as the featured speaker of the evening.

You watch him stand up, you see him approach the podium, and you know that someone's going to get hurt: either Colbert will minimize himself and what he seems to stand for on his program (being a blistering critic of the age of pandering media and an out-of-touch president) or he's going to to be true to his roots and be escorted off stage by the Secret Service.

You watch as he starts out, doing the Stepen Colbert of the Colbert Report persona and are pleased. He's not letting the glitz of the occasion keep him from being himself. Good. But then, mere minutes into his performance, he goes straight for the jugular as the New York Times finally reports today:

And all this after Mr. Colbert tried, at the outset, to soften up the president by mocking his intelligence, saying that he and Mr. Bush were "not so different," by which he meant, he explained, "we're not brainiacs on the nerd patrol."

It's pretty much the same from then on. And it's hard to watch. As every bombshell issue under the sun is brought up, from NSA Wiretapping, to low approval ratings, to operating from the "No Truth Zone", Colbert does not play the role of the comic here, he plays the role of the satirist. And does it brilliantly.

Whether you support the current administration or not, the truth of the matter is that the nation is at a serious turning point. And, it seems, the only people who are willing to admit to that are those who work for Comedy Central. I wish some irony could be found in that. But it's just plain awful.

For those who would like to watch the full event, you can either go to C-SPAN, if you're left leaning, you can go to this site, and if you're right leaning, you can follow links from Andrew Sullivan's take on the weekend's show. Apparently, the full video is now available here as well.