Bush Gives Shout-Out To Troops On "Colbert"; Mocks Stephen For Press Corps Dinner Performance (VIDEO)

Colbert broadcast his final show from Iraq last night and in it George W. Bush gave a "shout-out" to the troops, saying:

"Laura and I send our greetings to our servicemen and women. Your achievements in Iraq have earned you a special place in American history. You are men and women of great courage and endurance and that's gonna come in handy: I've sat through Stephen's stuff before."

His final quip is an obvious reference to the 2006 White House Correspondents' Dinner in which Colbert took searing shots at Bush over his handling of Katrina, the war in Iraq and his energy policy. He also mocked the president's approval rating saying:

"Now, I know there are some polls out there saying this man has a 32 percent approval rating. But guys like us, we don't pay attention to the polls. We know that polls are just a collection of statistics that reflect what people are thinking in 'reality'. And reality has a well-known liberal bias."

All week long, Colbert has broadcast politicians' messages to the troops. Senator Jim Webb, President Clinton, President George W. Bush, President Obama, Laura Bush, Vice President Biden, among others sent their best wishes and varyingly successful attempts at humor to the servicemen and women in Iraq.


WATCH:

Comments

[inthedesert]

When I look at this failure of a human being all I see is DEATH AND DESTRUCTION OF INNOCENT LIVES.............................There is NOTHING humorous about this man.......NOTHING!!!!

[jrlaco]

Why is that Kennedy, LBJ, and Nixon are never referred to in such ugly terms as murderers and so forth? I mean, it is easy to argue that the Viet Nam war was far less justifiable than Iraq and 10x the number of people were killed. In addition, we walked out of there without and any achievement for our blood, and when we left the South Vietnamese were slaughtered. In 41 we were attacked by Japan and promptly declared war on.....Germany! Germany had nothing to do with Pearl Harbor, right?

[Foreground]

Er, Japan and Germany were allied with each other in an active war(s), the latter of whom was in the middle of a massive war with nations allied with the US that we'd been helping under the table until then. America attacked *both* Japan and Germany (going so far as to toss Japanese Americans into camps and friggin' *nuke* Hiroshima and Nagasaki), so its not even remotely comparable.

A more apt comparison would be possible if, after the Pearl Harbor bombing, we invaded, let's say, the USSR.

[Peacedog]

Vietnam was a stupid war and so was Iraq... unless you were one of the ones who got richer off them I guess.

Kennedy shouldn't have followed conventional wisdom at the time that said we had to wage a War on Terr... err, I mean Communism. I like to think he would've found the cajones to defy the Pentagon and the warhawks had he lived and been re-elected... but who knows?

LBJ should've been prosecuted for lying us into an escalation in Vietnam. His level of ignorance was on par with Bush's in regards to the wars they were willing to lie us into supporting. He couldn't even find Vietnam on a map.

And as for Nixon... well, let's just say we all know he was crook.

As for your last point... so, you don't think we should've gone to war against the Nazis in WWII?

[lord corleon]

Uhm, we didn't declare war on Germany, jrlaco. Germany declared war on us.

Japan, Germany and Italy had a little something called the Tripartite Pact (aka the "Axis Powers" pact) that required each of the three signatory powers to assist each other with political, economic and military aid should one of them be attacked. So when we declared war on Japan, Germany declared war on us as part of the deal struck with the Japanese. Got it?

[ClockworkOrange]

The most telling reaction would have been that of the troops in attendance.

For my "money", Stephen T. Colbert, MFA, is the real deal.

[RoseMerry]

War Criminals and traitors are not funny. Ever.

[tc2598]

What if they are wearing big silly shoes and fake arrows through their heads, and are singing the theme song from Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo?

[dogman44]

Only if they are doing it from the dock at The Hague.

[carolr51]

I thought it was bad that Palin was on the night before- I can't believe W. had the nerve to show his nasty little self to the troops.

[MadMoll]

I loved the fact that she BOMBED. nary a peep out of the troops.

[starkcr31]

Yeah, he's so nasty to the troops, kind of like when Obama was in Iraq and refused to shake hands with the troops unless he had a camera rolling (an Army friend of mine was there). What a stand-up guy!

[carolr51]

You must have heard that lie on Fox News.

[Ben Johnson]

Give credit where credit is due!

Bush destabilized the union and paved the way to enable true and real progressive change in the USA> He has discredited the GOP and that they are a conservative party - fiscally speaking.

The GOP is now trying to decide of whether its still pro-small government or if its more concerned with womens rights, gay rights and "american values" issues.

Without Bush, none of this would have come about - you all wouldn't have been ever made so angry enough to change the American political landscape. You owe Bush for that.

[cactusgal]

Johnson, you said a mouthful

[carolr51]

Still, it wasn't worth haveing to endure his administration.

[carolr51]

sorry, having.

[Burkelbile]

NOTHING was worth 8 yrs of George w s#t-4-brains
and it will take more than a decade to repair the damage.

[Troyxx]

Right on!

[starkcr31]

Yeah it will take about 5 decades to repair Obama's damage.

[jennbeez]

You're one of those glass half-filled kind of guys, aren't you?

[Damon Grant]

I'm pretty sure those types of people are banned here. =)

[RobinSeattle]

The problem, of course, is that the GOP sat through so much of Bush's nonsense that it's congressional caucus currently shows a 12%, yes, that's a dozen points, nationwide favorability rating while the Republicans as a whole are at 22% (the Democrats are at 40%).

Clearly, the public finds Colbert a whole lot funnier than Bush was.

[starkcr31]

How about last year when congress's approval rating got down into the single digits?

[Jazzier]

Yeh, when congress;s approval dropped to single digits, Democrats had complete control for two whole years...2006-2008.

[DrPneumann]

Who can laugh after all thats been done!?!?

[Peacedog]

sometimes that's all you got left...

[ConfuciusSay-]

Caught the rerun of the Report around lunchtime. When Bush came on, there was a shocked and dismayed silence from the live audience. Even through the TV, I could feel the people pulling away. It was matched by my own revulsion.

[zepfan81]

Is it just me or any of you starting to see Bush as a well-meaning guy that simply should never have been elected President? The more I look at it seems as confident as he looked on the outside he wasn't and allowed himself to be manipulated by others (i.e. Cheney, Wolfowitz.)

[cactusgal]

It's just you

[icemilkcoffee]

It seems clearer by the day that the Rasputin who has been running the show for the last 8 years was Dick Cheney. Bush couldn't wait to get the heck out of Washington DC- whereas Cheney still doesn't want to leave.

[ConfuciusSay-]

Dunno about "well-meaning", but yes - he should not have been elected to a position that he couldn't fill. His whole philosophy is messed up; like the slow snarky dimwits at the back of the class who cannot understand what is transpiring and need some self respect.

[zepfan81]

I always thought the election in 2004 said more about us than him.

[Ipanemagirl]

dont be fooled, theres alot of damage behind that friendly face!

[Canucky]

Yeah - Brain Damage

[Buffington]

Well-meaning just doesn't cut it.

[BambooHarvester]

he, his father and the gop has Cost the American People TRILLION$ and
~ Set U.S. Back DECADES in Progress behind the developed World.
~

[zepfan81]

Do you REALLY think they set us back decades? C'mon..this is America...we're stronger than that.

[ConfuciusSay-]

Decade is correct. Google the "Lost Decade" for a fuller explanation.

[BambooHarvester]

Maglev Trains , Health care , weeks vacation , Wi Fi, Better education etc . . .
~

[anesthesia84]

Conservatives and all those who supported their me first myopic policies have ruined this nation. In 15 or so years social security will go bankrupt, then medicare will go.....and if we think the world is gonna lend us money so that we don't have to face reality that our 20 year temper tantrum that was GOP control of this country has put us on the road to high taxes, lower gov services and reduced support for science and innovation...we have another thing coming. It will take literally decades to dig ourselves out of this mess and in the meantime we will definitley see the rise of China and India, and a decline of our influence on the world scene.

[Roses]

Maybe not by what they did....but by what they DIDN'T do. Opportunity lost.

[Marvin Burt]

Hey! Don't forget HW's father Prescott Bush. He was a senator that was indicted for laundering money for the Nazi's! Prescott's father Samuel P. Bush worked in the Hoover administration for the War Department. He made his selling arms to both sides of conflicts around the world. Let's not forget Jeb who cost the taxpayers millions in the savings and loan scandal! This family is as crooked as it gets!

Marvin in Dallas

[Colmore]

HE would be the last person I would want to see if I were stationed over there. He can make jokes, but he is the cause of this entire mess. As has been his lifelong practice, he walked away and left the mess for someone else to clean up. Why Colbert even asked this cretin to say something is beyond me. I am surprised he didn't say "Found any WMD yet? HA, ha, ha"

[carolr51]

Not only that, he is responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraquis.

[starkcr31]

How about the $4 trillion Obama has already cost us mere months into his term?

[GBO]

I miss W

[Blufftonian]

Dang! He even tells better jokes than I do...

[cactusgal]

No he doesn't. Yours are the best.

[Ipanemagirl]

I was happy not to have to hear him stumble over his own words anymore, and continue to do more damage to his country, good riddance! I only miss the jokes about him.

[Roses]

I don't. I don't miss anything about him.

Every time that I see a Hummer on the road or a belching smokestack, or my health care denies me coverage...I think of him unfortuantely.

[dogman44]

OT, but I love your country. Bahia is one of my favorite places on earth.

[DJBALL]

War Crimes, torture and dead American Soldiers is not funny.

[Naktyvyras]

I hate George Bush as a president. He wrecked almost everything he touched.

But as a person, he's not THAT bad. :)

[NeldaDee]

Puppets can be cute sometimes, I suppose.

[EvenSteven88]

H.itler loved animals and children, and was quite the charmer with the ladies according to most accounts.

[Jazzier]

Here comes Obama, "charmer of ladies, lover of animals and children"!

[Garrett123]

He was a person while he occupied the white house. He needs to be tried for his crimes.
Quit trying to paint him as a hapless dolt who seems nice. H is a criminal at best, in person and in office.

[roger37]

Yes, he is that bad. W is a nasty, self-centered little pryckk.

[Jazzier]

AND Obama is an arrogant, self-centered narcists and BIG "pryckk"! LOVE ME OR ELSE!

[tuesgone62]

"Your achievements in Iraq have earned you a special place in American history."...and if I were to believe an a "hell", Bush has earned his place there. I wonder sometimes if he lives in his own hell, having to live with the consequences of what he, and his chums have done...

[Ipanemagirl]

I dont think so , as this man has no conscience, and he lives in a bubble.

[provgrays]

If reality has a well known liberal bias, shouldn't former Emperor George be dealing in reality?