Wednesday, October 11, 2006

On the Swift boat

New York magazine has a lengthy profile of satirist Stephen Colbert (who's beginning to grow on me), which includes this observation about his rabid-clueless-conservative schtick:

Colbert's on-air personality, so distinct from Stewart's, leads to a peculiar comedic alchemy on the show. During one taping I attended, Colbert did a bit about eating disorders that ended with his addressing the camera and saying flatly, "Girls, if we can't see your ribs, you're ugly." The audience laughed. I laughed. The line was obviously, purposefully outrageous. But it was weird to think that this no-doubt self-identified progressive-liberal crowd was howling at a line that, if it had been delivered verbatim by Ann Coulter on Today, would have them sputtering with rage.

The difference, of course, is that Colbert can be likened to Jonathan Swift, whereas Ann Coulter has probably actually eaten a baby.