Colbert, a former correspondent for The Daily Show, began his spin-off program, The Colbert Report — in which he satirizes the personality-driven pundits who saturate cable television (particularly, and especially early on, Bill O'Reilly) — in 2005. Shortly thereafter, invited to provide entertainment at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, Colbert decided to take it one step further, and delivered a bold, barely veiled lashing to President Bush — who sat mere feet away from him on stage. In character, Colbert roasted the press corps for being uncritical of the Administration and the President for staging photo ops. While Colbert got only uneasy rounds of muffled laughter at the dinner (mainly because he was mocking every single person in that ballroom), the video of his performance became a viral hit.