"You're No Will Rogers, Sir!"

I like a good comedy! Mel Brooks is an American treasure; I've seen "Blazing Saddles" hundreds of times and it never gets old. I'm a "Honeymooners" fanatic; Gleason was a genius and Carney could not have been funnier. Laughter is an American staple; we love to poke fun in this country. No subject seems to be sacred; nothing is spared from a humorist's barb. Will Rogers was a very prominent humorist during the 30s and 40s; he gave no preference to any political philosophy or party. He would "get after" both the Democrats and Republicans alike. Oddly enough, his name was brought up at both political conventions as a nominee for President; which he humbly refused with a smile. He once said "There is something about Republicans, where you can only stand them for so long; and Democrats, where you can't stand them for quite that long", he gave no quarter to anyone because he had the eyes and heart of the average American. Bob Hope was a staunch Republican, yet by his monologues, you could never guess it, as he regularly made jokes about "Ike" and his golf game, and Reagan's acting ability. Hope was an" American Icon"; as a former service man, I hold Bob Hope in great esteem, as he put himself in harm's way to entertain our troops in many of our darkest hours. Both Rogers and Hope were great patriotic Americans. Love of country was apparent in all their actions and all their words. Neither of them espoused a political philosophy over basic American principles.

Last week, Stephen Colbert, the satirist on "Comedy Central", made an appearance at Congressional hearings on immigration and labor. Colbert has a successful show called the "Colbert Report", where he parodies FOX NEWS's Bill O'Reilly. I've seen it and it is a funny show and attracts many of the far left supporters. I'm afraid though, Mr. Colbert is no Will Rogers or Bob Hope. He is full of sarcasm but shows little substance in his obvious leftist views.

I don't know why Mr. Colbert was asked to appear at this hearing. I know he spent a day as a migrant worker, and perhaps the committee was expecting a serious dialogue about working condition for migrants. Perhaps they were expecting Walter Cronkite and got something else. Mr. Colbert used this appearance as a performance piece, not an opportunity to actually do something of substance for America. The more he spoke, the more the committee seemed to regret their invitation to him.

A Congressional hearing isn't "Comedy Central" (although they are sometimes laughable): it is a forum for information to the American people. I don't believe Will Rogers would have made jokes about the "Dust Bowl" before Congress, or Hope about the "Great Depression".

Mr. Colbert had the chance to do something for migrant workers, but he didn't. He made a joke of a Congressional hearing instead of giving value to a great opportunity to improve what has been a bad situation for many years. It's best for Mr. Colbert to remain on his cable show and stay away from Congress, as he thinks it is just a JOKE!