Irony Alert: Former Bush Speechwriter/Neocon David Frum Lashes Out at Comedy Central for Distorting the Facts

by Teh Nutroots | Via Sadly No: See Frum get very cross indeed with Stephen Colbert for twisting  facts to further his own [comedic] purposes and to manipulate people's emotions. Huh.  Here's David Rose, quoting Frum a couple of years ago.

"I always believed as a speechwriter that if you could persuade the president to commit himself to certain words, he would feel himself committed to the ideas that underlay those words. And the big shock to me has been that although the president said the words, he just did not absorb the ideas. And that is the root of, maybe, everything."

At least people watching Colbert are on notice that he is massaging the facts to get a laugh.  Frum admits he was trying to use the president---who, you know, credulous people elected to represent them---as his personal sock puppet and that it all went badly wrong.  I guess it's okay if, as a speechwriter your goal is to manipulate the president of the United States so that he will manipulate the public.

Talk about Jests with a capital J.

Oh, by the way--here's Frum's proposal for teaching Colbert not to be so funny next time:

If any reader out there has the skill, time and interest to fabricate a Stephen Colbert quotation - let me know. We'll host it at NRO or put it up on YouTube. Fairness, shmairness. Copyright, shmopyright. The only thing that matters is humor - isn't that right, Comedy Central?

I can only imagine that Colbert is rubbing his tiny hands together and chuckling incredulously over the opportunities which will thereby be afforded to him.  I know I can't wait. 

PS.  Even if you think Frum kind of might have a point and that comedians shouldn't be allowed to get away with making funny videos for their comedy shows, check out Seb's comment at Sadly, No!

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