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Colbert Defends Sarah Palin's Paul Revere Story By Having Fans Edit Wikipedia's 'Bell' Entry (VIDEO)

First Posted: 06/ 7/11 11:42 AM ET Updated: 06/ 7/11 12:09 PM ET

Colbert Paul Revere

Say what you will about Sarah Palin, she's got to be doing something right to inspire such intense support. She's so beloved by her fans, in fact, that when she gets her American history facts wrong, they simply decide it's best to change history so that she becomes retroactively correct.

After her now infamous, "ringin' those bells, ringin' those bells," statement, Palin supporters went on Wikipedia and altered Paul Revere's entry so that it reflected her embellishments to the story. Meanwhile, Palin herself has stridently defended her bells-and-warning-shots version of history, taking the celebrated GOP strategy of framing the debate a step further by framing the facts, which we weren't aware you could do.

Of course, Colbert is always ahead of the curve and he totally gets it. He even picked up where Palin & Co. left off after they were foiled by the Wikipedia nerd police:

Unfortunately, the hardcore fact addicts at Wikipedia have undone the changes and locked Paul Revere's page. Which is why I want all of you to go to the Wikipedia page for "bells" and make sure it reads, "Bells: Used by Paul Revere to warn the British that hey, you're not going to succeed in taking our guns. USA! USA!"

And in an act of devotion not dissimilar to a Palin supporter, Colbert Nation responded within a minute.

Watch the whole clip below which culminates in Colbert showing exactly how Paul Revere could have accomplished riding a horse, firing and reloading a musket, and ringing a bell all at the same time.

WATCH:




International users click here to watch on the "Colbert Nation" site

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Say what you will about Sarah Palin, she's got to be doing something right to inspire such intense support. She's so beloved by her fans, in fact, that when she gets her American history facts wrong,...
Say what you will about Sarah Palin, she's got to be doing something right to inspire such intense support. She's so beloved by her fans, in fact, that when she gets her American history facts wrong,...
 
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gypsysailor
Things that might have been never were.
3 hours ago (10:31 PM)
Perfect rendition of the Sarah Palin Magical Bus and Comedy Tour.
4 hours ago (10:22 PM)
How does he do it. He made Sarah look even more stupid than she does. Genious I'm tellin ya.
HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
Yarrr
8 hours ago (6:10 PM)
LMAO!!!! Colbert riding the horse made my day, nay, my entire week.
9 hours ago (5:12 PM)
Wowie! I needed a good belly laugh! Too funny!
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
cinemaven
Mom, wife, social & political activist, writer...
10 hours ago (4:24 PM)
Whenever a quote is attributed to her, I've noticed it's cleaned up first taking away all of the um's and uh's and long pauses. It would be much more appropriat­e to quote her verbatim since that really shows how ill informed she is.

"He who uh warned the (pause) the British that they weren't going to be taking away our arms uh by ringing those bells and, um, making sure as he's riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that, uh, we were going to be secure and we were going to be free."
The bizarre intonation of her voice going from low to high pitch and back as she speaks is always an indication that she's gotten in over her head.
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
Enroh Mot
Anti-War Vet
10 hours ago (3:58 PM)
Sarah's favorite rider is The Headless Horseman, she tries to emulate him.
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dmsdzinr
Progression wit a twist of sarcasm.
10 hours ago (4:03 PM)
Washington Irving's character was the Headless Horseman not the Brainless Horseman.
3 hours ago (10:30 PM)
I thought it was the brainless horseman, thanks for correcting me.
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
Enroh Mot
Anti-War Vet
3 hours ago (10:40 PM)
No head, no brain, Sarah needs to make two trips to see the Wizard of Oz, once for a brain, and once for a heart.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
jadeba
10 hours ago (3:38 PM)
Colbert, at his very best!
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
PDXTransplant
"I am a firm believer in the people. If given the
11 hours ago (3:06 PM)
Colbert is a political and comedic genius. He was hilarious riding that horse warning the British with his bells. :)
11 hours ago (2:52 PM)
That will undoubtedl­y become on of the classic comedy routines of all time. It deserves to be in the company of Ed Ames' Tomahawk Throw on Carson's Tonight Show. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . http://www­.youtube.c­om/watch?v­=iSUQ3qnwC­FU
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
johnnygoodwud
11 hours ago (2:37 PM)
during the debates, she'll need an interprete­r. ever notice, she's very good at 'beauty pagent speak'. taking seemingly important buzz words, (freedom, your guns. etc.)and having the distint ability to turn them into incoherent sentences.
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Finnegans Wake
riverrun, past Eve and Adam's, from swerve of shor
10 hours ago (4:27 PM)
Sarah's brain consists of a series of spinning wheels. She spins Wheel A, and whatever buzzword or phrase it lands on, she combines with the buzzwords from Wheel B, Wheel C, and so on. Completely randomized­.

"We love our... guns because... the Founding Fathers... believed in traditiona­l marriage!"

"It's time to stand up for... the kind of courage showed by... Ronald Reagan, who... freed the slaves!"

"We need to stand united to support... the values of the Bible the way... Paul Revere... despised socialism!­"

It all makes sense now, right?
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
johnnygoodwud
9 hours ago (4:51 PM)
nicely done. sad but true, thanks for the laugh
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CaptainRenault
Here to keep an eye on the rascals.
9 hours ago (5:19 PM)
I think that this is a pretty good explanatio­n of her thought process. It certianly is plausible given her many banal and inane statements­.

^ ^
12 hours ago (2:22 PM)
**********­**********­**********­**********­**********

I saw this last night. It was BEYOND
HILARIOUS!­!!! I laughed so hard. I don't
think I've laughed that hard for a long,
long time!

I love Stephen Colbert!

**********­**********­**********­**********­**********­********
12 hours ago (1:59 PM)
Thank you, HP, for locking out foreign visitors by always using Hulu instead of Comedy Central's own clips!

Contrary to Hulu, the clips from CC would be available from outside of the USA, but hey!... when you don't need the advertisin­g revenues! I can go to another webside...
12 hours ago (1:31 PM)
Well---Not sure if the history professor at Suffolk University interviewe­d by NPR to make Sarah Palin look bad knew why he was being asked about that historical incident but it is on the NPR site and he does not think she got it wrong. I know that hurts but you got to be fair.
12 hours ago (1:48 PM)
Haven't looked it up, but did he explain that the entire "Paul Revere as the Hero" was "cooked"?
10 hours ago (3:55 PM)
Look it up. It is on NPR. That certainly has to be on your list of approved messengers­.
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fromdnorth
OK I checked my micro-bio (didn't know I had one
12 hours ago (2:01 PM)
As usual, she pushes it too far...
10 hours ago (3:55 PM)
As the professor stated she is a politician not a historian. I think few politician­s could talk about historical events with complete accuracy.
I do not think she will run for President or that she could be elected. That said, why attack her constantly­? If the Rachel Maddows of the world are so intellectu­ally superior and Sarah Palin is so dumb why waste the breath? I
If you want to laugh go check an archive of Joe Biden quotes.
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CaptainRenault
Here to keep an eye on the rascals.
10 hours ago (4:22 PM)
If you followed the interview, then you also know that the host of the show noted that many other historians disagreed with her guest. Also, if you do a little Googling, then you will see a number of articles where it is fully explained just why she is incorrect. So, this guy got it wrong and you just can't bring yourself to admit it.

^ ^
9 hours ago (4:31 PM)
Nice try sport but Sarah was specifical­ly describing one of Revere's rides. Only after being captured did he "warn" the British of our militia, more likely he spilled the beans after interrogat­ion. To be successful the rides themselves depended on the utmost secrecy. To portray one as this guy riding, shooting and ringing bells is utterly prepostero­us.
8 hours ago (6:10 PM)
Listen to the interview. He's giving her every benefit of the doubt. Yes, the British wanted to take the rebel's guns. Yes, Revere was occasional­ly a bell ringer. Yes, there were British loyalists living in the colonies.

But, Revere wasn't doing any of these things on the night of his ride. He was going to warn Hancock and Adams that they were going to be arrested.

You're right that we need to be fair. The esteemed professor was overly fair with Palin.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
NaaJane
Obama 2012. Are you with us?
13 hours ago (12:58 PM)
it was a very simple question, but Palin's attempt at looking smart backfired and now she looks more foolish than ever.
13 hours ago (1:27 PM)
it was so simple in fact, any grade schooler knows the answer, yet she called it a 'gotcha' question.
12 hours ago (1:34 PM)
Ummm, and how is this not a "gotcha" question for someone that can't name the newspaper she allegedly reads...
13 hours ago (12:54 PM)
I was not at all into Colbert when he first began his show. Not that he needed my viewership or anything. But something clicked this year that has turned me on. This is some Grade A satire.