What, was the guy from "Inside The Actors Studio" busy that night?

Some of you might remember the low point in American journalism that was last year's White House Correspondents Association dinner.

It was a low point not because of what happened there — which was an incredible and biting monologue from Stephen Colbert — but because of the swooning, "Well I do DE-CLA-RUH!" response that many journalists had to the earnest ribbing of the president, who happened to be seated within IED blast radius of Colbert.

Well, just to show America that journalists haven't descended into complete irrelevance, the Correspondents Association this year has turned to one of today's most potent voices of cutting-edge satire: Rich Little.

Oh yeah, that Rich Little.

Listen, I love journalism. I hope you all know that. Setting aside my penchant for sarcasm, I truly do think it's a noble profession that asks much more of its professionals than it offers in return.

But I also think the industry is guided by people are just too damn scared. Scared of offending readers. Scared of offending public officials. Scared of partisan bloggers who are constantly looking for reasons to demonize the mainstream media.

Hey, I've been there. It's a tough balance. But being scared of offending the president? Give me a break. On a daily basis, the man is called a liar, a mass murderer, a racist, a zealot and a baffling ignoramus. I think he can handle lines like this from Colbert:

I stand by this man. I stand by this man because he stands for things. Not only for things, he stands on things. Things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently flooded city squares. And that sends a strong message, that no matter what happens to America, she will always rebound -- with the most powerfully staged photo ops in the world.

And Bush did handle it. The Correspondents Association president says his group got no negative feedback from the White House last year.

But journalists (and even my new peers in advertising) just haven't come around to the idea that it's a good thing when people are out debating these things loudly and passionately.

Here's a classic explanation from a fellow who I'm sure will lead the laugh track when Rich Little does his Milton Berle impersonation:

(Former Correspondents Association President Ron) Hutcheson also said that having a less-combative host might help the dinner return to its goal of giving reporters and politicians a fun evening together, without the controversy that has sometimes entered into the dinner. "My personal feeling is that this [the Little pick] is about ENOUGH" he said of the fallout from last year. "We don't need to have a blogfest and a partisan slugfest after the dinner. We don't need that."

So what we need is a cozy night of D.C. journalists and politicians, pretending to be social equals and putting aside that whole "watchdog" bullshit for a few hours? Sounds good. I think that'll definitely clear up this misconception that Beltway reporters are one matchbook and a marker away from being booty called by the political establishment.

UPDATE VIA ROMENESKO:

Impersonator Rich Little says White House Correspondents Association dinner organizers made it clear to him they don't want a repeat of last year's controversial appearance by Stephen Colbert. "They don't want anyone knocking the president. He's really over the coals right now, and he's worried about his legacy." Little promises to play it safe. "I won't even mention the word 'Iraq.'"

Sigh.