In my view, one of the best instances of rhetoric in any medium is "The Colbert Report", hosted by a character named "Stephen Colbert" and played by an actor/comedian named Stephen Colbert. For those that haven't seen it, the show is a tongue-in-cheek mockery of a conservative opinion show like "The O'Reilly Factor" or "Hannity". What makes his show and in particular his character so unique is his ability to use satire to make probing points concerning political culture. Perhaps Colbert's most famous example of satire occurred at the annual White House Correspondent's Association Dinner in 2006, where he openly mocked President Bush's foreign policy( "I believe the government that governs best is the government that governs least. And by these standards, we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq.") and the media ("Over the last five years, you people were so good-- over tax cuts, WMD intelligence, the effect of global warming. We Americans didn't want to know, and you had the courtesy not to try to find out"). This drew a strong rebuke from not only conservative commentators, but also many in the media who disliked being made fun of for doing their jobs poorly. Colbert's simple use of ironic praise was in turn much more damning of the Bush administration's policies and the current political and media cultures than any direct criticism of either the administration or the media.
More recently, Colbert has brought satire to a new level by running to be "The President of the United States of South Carolina" and forming his own "Super PAC" called "The Definitely Not Coordinating With Stephen Colbert Super PAC" to mock our entire electoral process. The name of his "Super PAC" makes fun of the ability of "Super PACs" to raise an unlimited amount of money in support of a candidate or his particular positions, while at the same time the candidate and the "Super PAC" are legally barred from coordinating in any way, implicitly suggesting that this law is ridiculous in principal.
Some in the Media have called Colbert's message "disrespectful". This is probably because unlike most comedians, Colbert doesn't just take aim at particular politicians. His most cutting satire is reserved for political institutions who's ultimate concern is protecting themselves.
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