My character is self-important, poorly informed, well-intentioned but an idiot. So we said, `Let's give him a promotion.'
Democrats lead in all the polls by at least ten points, except one.. Fox News. That is with a margin of error of plus or minus the facts.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote critiques media bias in political polling, highlighting the discrepancy in results from different sources.
Stephen Colbert humorously points out the inconsistency in political polling results, emphasizing that while Democrats appear to lead by significant margins in most polls, the exception comes from Fox News, which he suggests is not presenting reliable information. The phrase 'margin of error of plus or minus the facts' suggests that the truth can often be skewed or misrepresented, particularly in the realm of political discourse and media reporting.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a political debate, this quote can be used to highlight the importance of reliable sources.
More from Stephen Colbert
All quotes →Luckily, a recent survey published in the American Sociological Review revealed that atheists are the least trusted group in America—less trusted, even, than homosexuals. It makes sense at least we trust the homosexuals with our hair.
And when those bombs went off, there were runners who, after finishing a marathon, kept running for another two miles to the hospital to donate blood. So, here's what I know - these maniacs may have tried to make life bad for the people of Boston, but all they can ever do, is show just how good those people are.
My father always wanted to be 'Col-bear.' He lived in the same town as his father, and his father didn't like the idea of the name with the French pronunciation. So my father said to us, 'Do what you want. You're not going to offend anybody.' And he was dead long before I made my decision.
I may be just an empty flesh terminal reliant on technology for all my ideas, memories and relationships, but I am confident that all of that everything that makes me a unique human being is still out there somewhere, safe in a theoretical storage space owned by giant, multinational corporations.
And that brings us to tonight's word: Truthiness. Now I'm sure some of the word-police, the 'wordanistas' over at Websters, are gonna say, 'Hey, that's not a word!' Well, anybody who knows me knows that I am no fan of dictionaries or reference books. They're elitist. Constantly telling us what is or isn't true, what did or didn't happen.
Similar quotes
Politics: the art of appearing candid and completely open while concealing as much as possible.
The republican principle demands that the deliberate sense of the community should govern the conduct of those to whom they intrust the management of their affairs; but it does not require an unqualified complaisance to every sudden breeze of passion or to every transient impulse which the people may receive from the arts of men, who flatter their prejudices to betray their interests.
Democracy is four wolves and a sheep voting on dinner.
Social democrats are characteristically modest - a political quality whose virtues are overestimated. We need to apologise a little less for our shortcomings and speak more assertively of achievements. That these were always incomplete should not trouble us.
About all I can say for the United States Senate is that it opens with a prayer and closes with an investigation.
Our government rests in public opinion. Whoever can change public opinion, can change the government, practically just so much.