But that all changed yesterday during the coverage of the second inauguration of
President Barack Obama. While the POTUS was sworn in for the second time (well technically the third as Colbert pointed out, “now to get rid of him we have to impeach him twice”)
The Colbert Report host had his own swearing in on even more bibles. Re-inaugurating himself as “the commander-in-opposing-the-chief”, Colbert once again solidified himself as the funniest wallop of the one-two punch that is Comedy Central’s finest programming.
Colbert’s sharp-witted, rapid-fire jokes, from his names for the POTUS (“Hollywood Hussein”) and
Mitt Romney (“Dip Chutney”) to his own poet laureate-worthy poem (“There once was a man named Barack, whose re-election came as a shock/ He raised taxes I pay and then turned marriage gay/ And now he’s coming after your glock”) not only makes him the funniest man in late night, but continually the most daring. Stewart and
The Daily Show still call bulls**t on cable news and politics, but Colbert is the only one that truly turns it on its side and exposes them for the farce that they are. And he’s still looks like he’s having a blast while doing it. Watch Colbert’s brilliant inauguration coverage from last night’s episode below:
While
The Colbert Show was clearly the comedy victor, that’s not to say
The Daily Show didn’t have some hilarious moments of its own. It didn’t hurt that the media frenzy over
First Lady Michelle Obama‘s bangs,
George Stephanopoulos‘ embarrassing blooper (he mistook
Bill Russell for
Morgan Freeman) and even the President’s own live television flub practically lobbed comedy homeruns their way. But the series didn’t squander their opportunity. Heck, they even got Supreme Court Justice
Sonya Sotomayor on as their guest just hours after she swore in Obama and Vice President
Joe Biden. (As Stewart cracked, “The hardest part of swearing in Biden is explaining that you dont actually get to swear.”) Watch
The Daily Show‘s coverage of the inauguration here:
[Photo credit: Comedy Central]
More:
For all intents and purposes, in the late night fake news comedy world Jon Stewart and The Daily Show would be President. They have the prime 11 PM time slot, the accolades, the stoic charm of a great leader like the President. Stephen Colbert and The Colbert Report, on the other hand, would be the Vice President, as they directly follow the “Prez”, they don’t get nearly the same amount of recognition, and they’re a little bit more of a wild card like the Veep. 
