Friday Funny Video: Stephen Colbert Asks Congressman Westmoreland: "What are the Ten Commandments?"

Studies have shown that you can tell people's true feelings in "micro-expressions" that flash across a face for less than a 15th of a second.

"These expressions tend to be very extreme and very fast," said Paul Ekman, professor of psychology at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine and an expert in the physiology of emotion and nonverbal communication. "Eighty to 90 percent of people we tested don't see them." (link)

Here are a few microexpressions captured in this video where Stephen "I've got Balls!" Colbert interviews Congressman Lynn Westmoreland. (click on any photo to see the video. Total time: 4:26, Windows video) See if you spotted all Westmoreland's microexpressions.

First the "George W. Bush" Smug smirk. The "You can't touch me" look.



Next the "Here's my cute little answer for you." Mr. Fake TV Reporter



Then Colbert asks him to name the ten commandments, after all he co-sponsored a bill that would have requiring display of the ten commandment in the house of representatives and the senate.


I didn't quite catch the widening of the eyes, the fear that flashed across his face, but this frame is close.




Colbert holds up his fingers to mark the successful recitation of each one.




Looking up and to the left, this is where most people's eyes go when they are trying to recall something or are making something up (or just plain lying). A good reporter looks for these expressions when talking to politicians.




Now notice how he gets two of the big ones, and is hoping the teacher will cut him some slack for trying and let him off the hook. Maybe even lead him into the "right" answer with a leading question. Of course most "good" MSM reporters would have done this almost unconsciously. It is part of the timid script they are expected to follow in their quest for "balance". They would never do what Colbert did. Why make him look like an idiot? You might need access to him again some day because you HAVE to keep coming back to him. It is your job. Not exposing the idiot. Just getting his quote.

People have an OLD idea of how the press does their job with politicians based on the days of beating up Clinton. They don't do it for Republicans because they will get harassed for it and punished with loss of access. See Eric Boehlert's great book, Lapdogs for documentation of this.






He gets one! "Don't Murder."




He gets another, "Don't lie." Good one for a Congressman to know and follow.




Still searching his brain, hoping the teacher will excuse him and ask one of the other boys.




He gets a third, "Don't steal." Yet another one good for a Republican Congressman (or any party for that matter) to remember.



That's it. That's all he can remember. Clearly this shows just WHY they should be up in the halls of Congress. That is why he co-sponsored his bill. (See, I'm helping him out with his spin here, just like a good main stream reporter or talk show host.)

And I especially love his "What do you expect of me? I'm an idiot!" look.


I hope you enjoyed this quick tour of microexpressions of politicians. I'd like to thank Crooks and Liars for hosting the video and Paul Ekman for his groundbreaking work on documenting how observant people can tell when they are being lied to.

What is especially interesting about Ekman's work is how many people CAN'T figure this out. People THINK they are a good judge of this, but most aren't. If you have seen his videos you can train yourself to better spot these microexpressions.

And finally, a brief Vulcan hand sign to a friend who is away from home but is still checking in on Spocko's Brain. Glad you are checking in and hope you can see the video.