His jokes are aimed at people who would never watch Bill O'Reilly's conservative rant of a cable news show on Fox, but who recognise Mr Colbert's obnoxious on-screen persona as a parody of Mr O'Reilly because they have read about Mr O'Reilly in the New Yorker.

ECONOMIST: Lexington

Custom's latest hit song is an obnoxious ditty about a punk surfer kid sassing the dad of the girl he's dating.

FORBES: Magazine Article

According to USA Today's Claudia Puig, the "obnoxious, over the top and often dull" result constitutes "a feeble attempt to rehash action-hero glories".

BBC: Die Hard sequel leaves critics cold

Earlier this term, the court voted 8-1 to deny a grieving father's right to sue picketers who celebrated his son's death with obnoxious placards outside his funeral.

WSJ: High Court's Term Shows Kennedy's Sway