I'm not old enough to remember Jack Parr, who by all accounts was brilliant, but I've watched every late night host on US television since Johnny Carson, and I'm convinced that Stephen Colbert is the best of all of them.
This struck me last week when Colbert hosted his brilliantly creative predecessor, David Letterman. Letterman was an icon in his era, but sitting next to the suave, intelligent, and steadfastly empathetic Colbert, he came across like a rambling rando.
Colbert's cancellation, despite consistently leading the ratings in his time slot, will forever be remembered in entertainment business infamy. The network claimed that the cancellation was a cost-cutting measure in an era of declining ratings, but the timing was glaringly suspicious.
Colbert has regularly criticized the current administration. The Leader of The Party has made it his mission to silence detractors. Further, Colbert's network wanted to participate in a merger that a. would require administration approval, and b. place them under the control of one of The Leader's wealthiest donors.
One would have to ignore a lot of coincidences to believe that Colbert's termination was not politically motivated.
The aforementioned Letterman summed it up best when he embellished Edward R. Murrow's tag line: "Good night and good luck, [redacted]."
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