YouTube has taken down the videos [of Colbert's performance], citing copyright infringement.

This could be an important moment. A large segment of the Internet viewing public wants access to Colbert's video. Its owned by CSPAN. CSPAN videos are not in the public domain. This is something that most people don't understand and aren't prepared to hear. Now a large number of people are hearing it, and it will be interesting to see how they react.

The bottom line is that this stuff is organized this way because it affords control. If this content was in the public domain it would be recontextualized all over the place. The government is afraid of sampling. This is why the Supreme Court doesn't allow recordings of cases to get out. They don't want to be sound bitten by the press, which is notoriously bad at dumbing down Supreme Court decisions to the point where the explanations have no relationship to what actually happened.

For example, look up news stories about the Hamdi decision, which the Administration clearly won. Bush got the right to detain enemy combatents indefinately without trial, as long as some internal process exists for determining whether the right people are being held, at a standard of "guilty until proven innocent." The press coverage called it a rebuke for the Administration and gushes about a fine day for individual rights. It would be positively orwellian if it was the product of malice rather then simple failure to grasp what was going on.

Now, thats the objective press. Put this same content in the hands of someone with an agenda to push and you get, well, the right wing's ridiculous exaggeration of Kelo V. New London.

Both sides to this debate have legitimate perspectives. The people feel like they ought to own the recordings of the proceedings of their government. The government doesn't want to be beat down for every verbal misstep they make on the floor. Over time I think you're going to see the people push on this more and more, and eventually the government will be forced to acquiesce or evolve in some way that makes their process more suited to an age of free information.