Sarcasm may not be the highest form of flattery, but perhaps John Howard should settle for what he can get. The PM’s flight of imprudence over Barack Obama has drawn plenty of flak both international and domestic, but no criticism more trenchant and incisive than these observations from Stephen Colbert on his daily cornerstone of TV political commentary The Colbert Report – watch it here:

COLBERT: Next a ‘Tip of the Hat’ to Australia Prime Minister John Howard who slammed Barack Obama for introducing a Bill to remove US combat forces from Iraq by March 2008. Take a look…

CLIP OF HOWARD: “If I was running Al Qaeda in Iraq, I would put a circle round March 2008 and pray as many times as possible for a victory not only for Obama but also for the Democrats”

COLBERT: Bravo, Prime Minister – or as they say in Australia, ‘Digeridoo, your mateship’. I guess now we know what those kangaroos are hiding in their pouches – kookaburra-sized balls. The conservative Howard knows that in this war you’re either with us, or you’re a Democrat.

Which brings me to my next ‘Wag of the Finger’ to Australian Prime Minister John Howard for slamming a citizen of the United States. Listen you sawn-off wallaby, I know Foster’s is Australian for Beer, but what’s Australian for shut-your-damn-trap? Keep your shrimp-stained fingers off Barack Obama. Leave the ad hominem attacks on him to Americans. Why don’t you go back to worrying about your little canetoad problem, and the fact that your whole damn country’s descended from criminals. Oh, and the next time you’re Waltzing with Matilda, you might want to check out her Adam’s apple, ‘cause she’s a dude…[pause]

That being said, I agree with everything he said.