Late-Night Comics Pile On Bush

Stephen Colbert may have earned himself a special spot atop President Bush's list of enemy combatants, but when it comes to presidential heckling, he's hardly alone. The rest of the late-night comics have been double-teaming Bush in recent months, mocking him at twice the rate they did last year, according to a new study.

The Center for Media and Public Affairs found that the late-night comedians have been averaging 102 Bush jokes per month, up from a pace of 45 jokes per month last year.

"Bush's numbers in public approval polls may be sinking consistently, but he's never been more popular with the late-night hosts," said CMPA President Robert Lichter.

Almost a third of the jokes lampooned his intelligence, while other popular topics included Bush's plummeting approval ratings, his personality, the port security flap, and the Iraq war. And it's not simply that the Bush punch lines are in greater abundance – they're also much more pointed.

Here's a sampling of some of the most biting Bush jokes from recent months:

David Letterman: "President Bush is now being accused of leaking classified information. I was stunned. I was shocked. I said to myself, 'Wait, they let this guy see classified information.'"

Jay Leno: "President Bush says America has caused an incredible transformation in Afghanistan. He said everything's being rebuilt, people are getting jobs, kids are going back to school. He said it works so well that he's thinking of trying it in New Orleans."

Conan O'Brien: "President Bush said that when it comes to hurricane preparedness, step number one is to, quote, 'pray that there's no hurricanes.' Later President Bush admitted, 'Yeah, that's our entire plan.'"

Tina Fey: "This week President Bush made a surprise visit to Afghanistan. The president said he heard it was a good place for an embattled leader to disappear into the mountains."

Bill Maher: "More people, particularly Republicans, disapprove of President Bush's performance. They're questioning his character now and they no longer consider him a strong leader on terrorism. Yeah, apparently there's a little more to this whole presidency thing than just not getting blown."

Jon Stewart: [Shows a clip of President Bush addressing national guardsmen in Idaho and saying "Nineteen individuals have served both as guardsmen and as president of the United States, and I'm proud to have been one."]
Stewart: "Ah, the first rule of public speaking -- always start with a joke."

Conan O'Brien: "Earlier today, President Bush flew to New Orleans. There was an awkward moment when the president looked around and said 'Oh my god, what the hell happened here?'"

Jay Leno: "President Bush said that Bill Clinton has become so close to his father, he is like a brother. Which is great because it gives the first President Bush the smart son he never had."

Tina Fey: "A new poll shows that 66% of Americans think President Bush is doing a poor job on the War in Iraq. And the remaining 34% think Adam and Eve rode dinosaurs to church."

David Letterman: "President Bush now is apparently giving an Arab country control to American ports. Does that seem like a good idea? He's going to give control of American ports to an Arab country. If he keeps this up, people are going to start questioning his judgment."

Bill Maher: "Air Force One arrived [in Pakistan] today, landing there after dark with the lights off and the window shades drawn. And then Osama bin Laden made a speech and said, 'Bush can run, but he can't hide. Karl Rove told the president that if his approval ratings dipped any lower they were going to have to arrive home the same way."

Jon Stewart, on Bush naming Joshua Bolten his new chief of staff: "He just gave a promotion to the guy who was in charge of our nine trillion dollar debt. You know what? I really think if you walked into a cabinet meeting and started hurling your feces at the wall, Bush would name a state after you."

Jimmy Kimmel: "President Bush's approval rating is not good. A new Gallup poll puts it at just 36% which is a new low for his presidency. He is just slightly more popular than herpes now." --

Stephen Colbert: "President Bush has embarked on an eight-day tour of the continent. He hopes this one goes better than the other ones he's made recently. Obviously he's not doing that well in North America [on screen: '36% Approval'], his South American trip had a few bumps [on screen: 'Angry mobs of torch-carrying bumps'], Europe seems to think the president doesn't care what they think, but hey, who cares what they think? They could at least thank him for what he's done for their burning effigy industry."

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