 At the 2006 White House Correspondents ' Association Dinner , Colbert , the featured guest , described President Bush 's thought processes using the definition of truthiness . Editor and Publisher used " truthiness " to describe Colbert 's criticism of Bush , in an article published the same day titled " Colbert Lampoons Bush at White House Correspondents Dinner — President Not Amused ? " E & P reported that the " blistering comedy ' tribute ' to President Bush ... left George and Laura Bush unsmiling at its close " and that many people at the dinner " looked a little uncomfortable at times , perhaps feeling the material was a little too biting — or too much speaking ' truthiness ' to power " . E & P reported a few days later that its coverage of Colbert at the dinner drew " possibly its highest one @-@ day traffic total ever " , and published a letter to the editor asserting that " Colbert brought truth wrapped in truthiness " . On the same weekend , The Washington Post and others also reported on the event . Six months later , in a column titled " Throw The Truthiness Bums Out " , The New York Times columnist Frank Rich called Colbert 's after @-@ dinner speech a " cultural primary " and christened it the " defining moment " of the United States ' 2006 midterm elections . 
