• by Joe Mandese , Yesterday

Stephen Colbert was the late-night host we didn't know we needed until we really needed him. And by we, I mean the majority of us who still believe the media are supposed to speak truth to power. Or in Colbert's case, truthiness.

Parody has always been one of the most powerful ways to defend democracy, because there is nothing more neutralizing for a wannabe dictator than to make them the butt of a joke.

It's easy to see why he got so under Trump's skin. It wasn't that Colbert necessarily had the ultimate zingers. It was that he was so focused on keeping the light on Trump's flaws and antics that it reminded us we still live in an America where someone can do that. Until last night.

I, for one, can't wait to see what he does next. And what he does next after that.

Meanwhile... I hope the other members of late night's "Task Force Five" keep slinging their zingers.

They are part of a long and heralded tradition that began in earnest with Jack Paar -- and for a time, at least -- was the way many Americans stayed in touch with the political news cycle.

I don't know that I agree with the pundits who are predicting Colbert's cancellation is the canary in the coal mine of what could be the end of the late-night talk show era, but I don't think so.

Like all forms of content business models and formats have to adapt and evolve to find their audiences, I have a feeling that Colbert will be a part of whatever that becomes.

In the meantime, I'd like to leave you with one of my favorite segments of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," which ironically didn't feature Colbert himself, but a pointed monologue by "The Daily Show's" Jon Stewart that I've watched over and over and over again, because it nails the problem of a "President Trump" exactly, even though it aired relatively early in Trump's still adults-in-the-room 1.0 administration.

“If there’s one hallmark to your presidency that I think we’re finding the most difficult, it's that no matter what you do, it always comes with an extra layer of gleeful cruelty and dickishness.”

Stewart goes on to describe Trump's "Dickensian level of villainy" as his "doctrine," including how he deals with the "enemy of the people" -- er, I mean the media -- and there are no better examples of that then how he has used the power of his office against Colbert, Kimmel and whomever makes him the butt of a joke next.

Or as Stewart put it: "What Donald Trump wants is for us to stop calling his cruelty and fear and divisiveness wrong, but to join him in calling it right. And this, we cannot do."