SkimIt
Hosts Jon Stewart of The Daily Show and Stephen Colbert of The Colbert Report fired off this week about drama queens, evangelicals and over-hyped billionaires. But it all started with one important anniversary.
Osama Rama
On the one-year anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden, President Barack Obama decided to use this accomplishment in his newest ad for the upcoming election, which did not go over well with the Republican Party. Both Stewart and Colbert drew attention to the behavior of President George W. Bush specifically, his landing on an aircraft carrier as a more egregious example. Stewart responded with a "Waaaaaaa," to anyone he felt was whining over it while Colbert tended to agree the president "spiked the ball" (the phrase of the week) and should perhaps hop on board the USS Humility.
Newt No More
After a long, hard fight, presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich "suspended" his campaign, stating he will remain active as a citizen of the United States. Stewart speculated what he meant by that, suggesting a policy of deportation if you lose the election. Colbert said he hadn't been "caught this off guard since [Gingrich] entered the race." Both agreed it was time to bid farewell to the wannabe candidate, a departure long overdue, as Stewart coined the term "rominee."
Bad___ of the Week
One individual made headlines this week for going against the grain. Colbert nominated Chen Guangcheng, the Chinese civil rights activist who escaped from house arrest on April 22 and was being condemned for his comments about his treatment by the U.S. Embassy. However, Stewart did not see it that way and called Chen greedy for breaking out early and seeking refuge at the U.S. Embassy, then saying he felt let down at the lack of protection provided, and now wanting to come to the United States indefinitely. As Stewart put it, the "Chensanity" continues.
God's Corner
Religion was a hot button topic this week. Stewart called out the American Family Association for celebrating the resignation of an openly gay member of the Romney campaign, Richard Grenell, who was under pressure from conservatives. Colbert took on the role of religion in the budget proposed by the Republican-led House of Representatives. He thinks we need Christianity, as long as it doesn't put the wealthy at risk. He even took on a priest to prove the validity of the "Catholic" budget.
Both hosts this week had little tolerance for showboating. Whether it was President Obama's campaign ads or ice cubes shaped like Sir Richard Branson's head on Virgin Airlines' flights, it made their commentary pretty entertaining. Here's hoping narcissism never goes out of style.
Remotes:
Missouri state representative Wanda Brown gets a visit from Correspondent Aasif Mandvi about her recent victory to prevent discrimination of gun owners in the workplace.
"The Colbert Report's in Search of Mr. Larose"
Colbert fears his Super Pac power is being threatened by the elusive Josue Larose.
Best Back 'n Forth:
April 30, 2012 -- Zach Wahls, author of My Two Moms, wants everyone to start better understanding the LGBT community. Stewart believes he has peaked too early as a beacon of moral value.
Stewart: "So you are saying in front of all of us, your family are not godless sodomites taking over our cities? That is the claim you are making here today, sir?"
Wahls: "This is on TV, right?"
Stewart: "It's going to be on TV."
April 30, 2012 -- Actress Diane Keaton wants to know if Colbert is running for president.
Colbert: "So I might run, I might run."
Keaton: "Well, yeah, I just want you to know I won't be voting for you."
Colbert: "Well, that's a long setup to break my heart. You don't really care how much you've hurt me?"
Keaton: "I don't really care how I've hurt you at all and I don't wanna see your butt naked a__."
Colbert: "I never offered! You misinterpreted that hug backstage."
Keaton: "That was a little tricky."
Colbert: "It was."
Keaton: "It was a little tight."
May 1, 2012 -- Father Thomas J. Reese, S.J., joins Colbert to discuss the Republican budget and how the budget should be a "moral document."
Colbert: "What you're suggesting is redistribution of wealth. That's Socialism. That's Socialism.
Reese: "Shocking, isn't it?"
Colbert: "That's Socialism. Jesus did not room with Karl Marx last time I checked, sir."
May 2, 2012 -- Jonathan Haidt, author of The Righteous Mind, explains social psychology to Colbert.
Haidt: "You've seen the movie The Matrix?"
Colbert: "Of course."
Haidt: "The matrix is a consensual hallucination. People have to get together, they create this moral order in which they all live and they get this absolute certainty. If they let in other people who violate the matrix, it's gonna all dissolve around them."
Colbert: "Are you saying that you know kung fu?"
Haidt: "Well, social psychology is pretty powerful, yes."
May 3, 2012 -- Lena Dunham, creator of Girls, explains what the characters on her show are going through to a concerned Colbert.
Colbert: "I worry about the girls in this show."
Dunham: "You worry about the girls on Girls?"
Colbert: "I worry about the girls on the show. They don't seem to know what necessarily to do with their lives."
Dunham: "That's sort of what it's about. That time in your life when you're not a girl, not yet a woman and you're just trying to navigate..."
Colbert: "That's a Britney Spears line."
Dunham: "It is!"
Colbert: "You know what? I'm worried about Britney Spears, too."
Dunham: "I'm worried about you because you know that's a Britney Spears line."
Colbert: "I've got her poster on my wall."
