My friend Eric Rawlins, quoted here with his permission:
Although I’m not surprised that the right would claim it was “not funny” — they can hardly argue with Colbert’s suggestions on their merit — whether what he did was funny strikes me as completely irrelevant. It’s as if Welch’s “have you no shame” speech had been followed by an extensive media debate on whether his tie was too loud.
Update: Jon Bell’s screen shots of the crowd reaction.