Satire is a matter of period. It flourishes in a stable society and presupposes homogeneous moral standards. It is aimed at inconsistency and hypocrisy. The artist’s only service to the disintegrated society of today is to create little independent systems of order of his own.
—Evelyn Waugh

From ”Fan-Fare” in LIFE magazine April 18th, 1946

That’s why liberals and conservatives alike find Colbert funny.