Colbert on the No-Spin Zone: video at Crooks and Liars

O’Reilly on the Report: video at Crooks and Liars

Folks, I’m very disappointed, I have to say. Now, I’m a big Colbert fan, but I’m not a member of the Colbert Nation. However, it’s no secret that I like Bill O’Reilly about as much as I like America. And being a far-left radical secular-progressive, that means I hate both of them with a passion*. So I was definitely looking forward to someone taking the mighty O’Reilly down a peg or three.

The Factor appearance, though it aired first, was filmed second being that the show is live and the Report is pre-taped. Colbert got a few jabs in, mostly at the age of Bill-O’s audience and his general inability to be shaken on Ted Baxter’s home turf. But the fact that it was civil gave me a bad omen about the second half. O’Reilly’s career is sandbagging interviewees and doing his best to humiliate them by the big B’s: bluster, bloviate, bully.

Sadly, none of that on the Report. Aside from a downright VICIOUS Andrea Mackis comment early on, the best we got was a sticker over Bill’s face on his book. Most of it was throwing jabs back and forth, pretending that they both disliked Jon Stewart and NBC. There were no turnaround gags at Bill-O’s expense during any of this. Not a one.

Now, Colbert isn’t always on top of his game. Lots of interviews fall flat, not every show is a winner. But from the perspective of his character, there are two what I would call “prime targets” for him. The first was the president, the second is O’Reilly (though he could nail other hosts, Bill is the one he most clearly emulates and professes to worship). And no one deserves a taste of humiliation more than O’Reilly.

The comedy genius who built a character whose very existence is a satire of conservative talk show hosts interviews the man who best personifies the belligerent conservative talk show host. There were a thousand and one opportunities for Colbert to go for blood, and he let them all pass. He could have easily pulled out something to the tune of “Now the liberal media hates you for some reason, they call you a liar. For example, when you claimed American soldiers killed SS soldiers at Malmedy. It was backwards, but it helped make your point and it FELT true, so isn’t that what’s important?”

Hell, when MSNBC entered the conversation Colbert brought up Chris Matthews instead of Olbermann. Whaa?

Colbert’s audience loves him because they can’t stand those types. The cheers for overly schlocky “yay America, go Bush!” items are as satirical as the host. He’s got fans that are nearly rabid, and I think he did everyone a disservice with that interview. Yes, you can accuse me of being too concerned with it, but I wanted another Correspondent’s Dinner moment.

Yes, I know that this wasn’t scripted, but Colbert is plenty capable of improvising, as his interview the night before demonstrated.

*Note: this is a joke, and while I’m sure I didn’t need to point that out, better safe than sorry.