Stephen Colbert Is Sick

I meant the title in a humorous and loving manner. As I've said before, I'm a fan of great satirical shows and The Colbert Report (a spinoff from The Daily Show) is one of the best.

For those of you who are not part of the "Colbert Nation," let me give you a summary for the premise of the show, The Colbert Report. Stephen Colbert plays a Republican character but not just any Republican Character but the most conservative kind who loves his God, his guns and don't want to discuss gays.

But the catch of this Republican is that as he's supporting his causes, he reveals the flaws of his party and the viewers are in on the joke. For example, Colbert has a segment called "The Word" where he takes on hot button issues. Last night's episode was about "torture," I mean "enhanced interrogation techniques" as the Bush administration will have us believe. So during "The Word," he defends the cause of his party's decision but what he's really thinking is displayed on the screen. Check it out here:


But that wasn't what motivated me to write this post (for loyal readers, you know where I stand on the aforementioned subject - don't care for it). I decided to write after laughing so hard about another segment Colbert also does called "Better Know A District."

Here I was in a reflective state with some tears shed after Diane Sawyer's remembrance of Randy Pausch only forty minutes later holding my stomach laughing on the "Better Know A District" where Colbert traps politicians on their policies. One of my local congressman, Robert Wexler made the segment with his infamous remarks. Even Colbert told Larry King last year he didn't expect the Congressman to go along with the statements (Note to Colbert: We dance to a different beat in Florida).

Anyway, after Wexler's remarks, many politicians on Capitol Hill didn't know (at the time) the premise of the show since it was still in its infancy over a couple of years ago that Nancy Pelosi (before she was Speaker of the House) advised Democrats not to go on The Colbert Report. So last night, Colbert had another segment of "Better Know A District" with 14th District of New York Congresswoman, Carolyn Maloney. See for yourself:



Sometimes, Colbert's "real" persona shines through. Examples include him talking to civil rights Icon Andrew Young during the TV writers strike to help him with how to deal with his writers since Young is so great with strikes from busing to poverty. Also, giving a great tribute to Tim Russert. And I'm glad, he showed me you can still keep your humor even in sad times.

Tags: Stephen Colbert, Carolyn Maloney, Robert Wexler, Andrew Young