Remembering when Stephen Colbert destroyed George W Bush

Tonight marks the end of Stephen Colbert, the faux right-wing Murica-espousing host of The Colbert Report.

The real Colbert is going to host CBS's Late Show, nine years after his incredibly successful spin-off from The Daily Show first launched.

So what better time to remember the moment when Colbert, under the guise of his conservative pundit parody namesake, was invited to provide what was meant to be a gentle roast of the most powerful man on Earth in 2006.

Standing just a few feet from an increasingly uncomfortable George W Bush, who was wondering just whose fault it was to have invited Colbert to the White House Correspondents' Dinner, he completely tore apart the US president and his record in office up until that point.

Watching the video back it's immediately apparent how badly the 21-minute set (including a more gentle video presentation) went down in the room, but also how incredibly brave the real Colbert was in not just making fun of the president - that was expected of him - but savaging him and his time in the White House.

If you have the time to spare it is well worth your time to watch the whole thing. And if you've never heard of or seen the speech, then it's practically compulsory viewing.

More: [Jon Stewart is speechless about Eric Garner]1