Stephen Colbert's Speech at The White House Correspondent's Dinner

I chose Stephen Colbert's speech at the 2006 White House Correspondent's Dinner because it is a a great example of giving a speech in front of an aggressive audience. As many of you know, Stephen Colbert's show on Comedy Central is called the "Colbert Report". On his show, Stephen Colbert assumes the position of a conservative republican in order to poke fun at real conservative republicans. Often his jokes are at the expense of President George W. Bush or Fox News, both of which were present at this dinner. Colbert was the final speaker of the evening and he had to fallow speeches by both Bushes.
In this speech, Colbert maintains a sense of respect while still making jokes about the President, his policies, and many of the people at the dinner party. I think his tactic is brilliant because he doesn't start out by saying things that would offend everyone, because they would stop listening. I also think Colbert's humor is appropriate because many of his jokes about the President are easily missed unless you are listening for them.
While watching the video, I noticed that some people in the audience are laughing, but not all. It would be difficult to give a speech to people when you know they don't like you.
For giving a speech in front of a large group of highly respected people, Colbert remains calm. He obviously has notes for his speech, but he maintains excellent eye contact. He also incorporates hand gestures which make him seem even more relaxed. A speaker must have a certain level of self-confidence to give a speech like this.