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The Truthiness Must Be Told
August 29, 2006

I have remained silent long enough. I must add my voice to that cry of pain and anguish uttered by Steven Colbert on the Emmy show Sunday night.

"He got beat by Barry Manilow?"

Nothing against Barry. I believe it could be daybreak, I believe somebody could give without taking. Heck he wrote the songs that made the whole world sing, including tuneful ad jingles that still run around and around in my head like a circle in a spiral, like a gerbil in a wheel. "Grab a bucket and mop. Scrub the bottom and top. Tell me what does it mean. At McDonald's it's clean..."

But give me a break! Manilow won best performance in a music or variety show for a PBS taping of his nightly Las Vegas extravaganza. It's only TV because noncoms need pledge-drive fodder that appeals to the demo with lots of disposable income.

Steven Colbert is only one of the best news mockers in TV. For his tour of congressional districts alone he should have grabbed the "golden idol."  His "word of the day" is inspired.

His show went 0 for 4, losing out in the writing and directing and best show categores as well. OK, the two losses to the Daily Show are understandable, though even Stewart seemed disappointed that Colbert didn't win.

Perhaps Colbert's chances were hurt by all that controversy over the real origins of "truthiness," which he "coined," only to have some nitpicking, dictionary-perusers with nothing better to do point out that the word already existed. Oh, like we were all going around with "truthiness" on the tips of our tongues before Colbert made it a symbol of official doubletalking weasledom.

There is a "Tucker Carlson Unfiltered" martini Glass topped with a Netflix fez sitting on a shelf in the palacial D.C. bureau of B&C. I have just now combined them into something that looks like a tacky lamp but is in fact the first-ever "You Really Should Have Won an Emmy" Award. Steven, just let me know where to send it.

By John Eggerton
 

Posted by Caroline Palmer on August 29, 2006 | Comments (3)