Colbert Rapport

I have become a latter day fan of Stephen Colbert’s The Colbert  Report.  I first caught this show by accident while channel surfing, not knowing what to make of it.  Initially, I was unaware that the ‘actor’ Stephen Colbert is playing a ‘character,’ also called Stephen Colbert—a spin off, apparently, of a character he assumed on The Daily Show.  I now understand the hysterical rantings of this would-be conservative idiot pundit who makes everything worse for his cause merely by trying to make it right.

Watching the back-to-back conventions through Colbert’s lens made the frustration of today’s political landscape nearly tolerable—even entertaining.  He got Jon Huntsman to tell tales on his own party after he declined to attend the Republican National Convention.  Huntsman not only had his hat in the ring for a short time during the primaries, but he is actually a cousin, of sorts, to Mitt Romney.  (He descends, he explained, from one of Romney’s grandfather’s other wives.)   He complained that the powers-that-be asked him to be in New Orleans during the Tampa-based convention.  “When they decide,” he said, “to be a little more inclusive and broaden the footprint...” Colbert interrupted, “Why aren’t they including white guys like you?”  When a serious Colbert suggests that Huntsman sounds like he is running for president, the former candidate insists, “my presence on your show would suggest otherwise!”

Colbert also brought in Stanford Professor Jennifer Burns, an expert on Ayn Rand, to explain the rational self-interest of objectivism—the ideology that, by Paul Ryan’s own account, inspired him to go into politics.  The VP nominee bragged on the campaign trail that Atlas Shrugged remains required reading for all interns in his office.  Colbert steps in, “If I may summarize [Rand’s philosophy]. . . ‘I got mine, Jack.’”  Burns concurred, explaining that contrary to Rand’s being “the gateway drug to life on the right,” Rand’s definition of morality is the opposite of altruism and Christian values.  Amused, Colbert responds, “That’s good.  I get so little back when I give a bum a quarter!”  Ayn Rand remains a mainstay of the conservative right, Burns explained, because of her support for unregulated laissez-faire capitalism.  Nonetheless, in reality, Rand was sharply against combining religion and politics and was avidly pro-choice.  Colbert feigns confusion, insisting that “the Republican Party is the party of G-d—we know it is!”  Burns continues that Rand would look down on people who use government favors to advance their careers.  “So, politicians?” Colbert asks with feigned innocence. 

The fun of the Colbert show is in watching the host as he tries to throw off serious guests who have serious positions.  It is not scripted.  He coaches them before the show to stay true to who they are no matter what his idiotic alter ego says or does.  The dynamics depend upon this formula.  Everyone is fair game—although his choice of targets and conservatively poised babbling betrays his more liberal leanings.  In the end, his shenanigans are perfectly calculated to reveal hidden truths, even as he insists otherwise.

This is what made last night’s show so remarkable.  The guest was none other than Harvard’s president, Drew Gilpin Faust.  It seemed so incongruous that I pressed the INFO button on my remote control to confirm what I thought I heard.  It was true.  Colbert looked into the camera, making a display of crossing his fingers on both hands, saying, “I hope she’s bringing me a thick envelope!”

Faust was, in fact, promoting her latest book, This Republic of Suffering: Death and the Civil War.  Colbert used the opportunity to bring up one of the latest gaffes by Rick Santorum, asking Faust if she is one of “those smart people” who will never be attracted to the GOP.  He tried in several different ways to get her to acknowledge his comments about “dumb people,” but Faust would not dignify the label, claiming “it’s never dumb to get an education.”  Undone by her poise and intense eye contact (she never looked away—not once) Colbert had no choice but to talk about her book, even trying to rope Faust into admitting that the Civil War was “a downer.”  She averted the slang, but went on to explain that the 750,000 deaths to Americans back then would equate to 7.5 million today.  A downer, indeed!

Colbert’s comedic quickness and wit is truly genius, but last night he was bested by a higher intellect.  And no one was more surprised than he, being forced to allow his guest to deliver her message and fulfill her agenda.  He was visibly dazzled by this remarkable woman to the point of being tongue-tied.  It was a rare moment of television to behold, as sublime laid waste to the ridiculous.