All hail Stephen Colbert, master of irony

If you haven't seen Stephen Colbert's speech at the Washington Correspondent's Dinner, run, don't walk, to C-SPAN and prepare to hear a comic genius speak truth to power.

Colbert shocked the politicos and the Washington journalism establishment by unleashing his razor-sharp irony on the unsuspecting crowd. Here are two quotes from Salon's glowing review:

"His imitation of the quintessential GOP talking head -- Bill O'Reilly meets Scott McClellan -- uncovered the inner workings of the ever-cheapening discourse that passes for political debate."

"They invited Colbert to speak for levity, not because they wanted to be criticized. As a tribe, we journalists are all, at heart, creatures of this silly conversation. We trade in talking points and consultant-speak. We too often depend on empty language for our daily bread, and -- worse -- we sometimes mistake it for reality. Colbert was attacking us as well."

And here's another from Dependable Renegade:

"Stephen Colbert displayed more guts in ten minutes of performance at the White House Correspondents Dinner than the entire Bush family has in their collective lifetime."

I'm proud to say I'm a member of the Colbert Nation.