# Can anyone look good on the Colbert Report? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 25, 2006, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-look-good-on-the-colbert-report/365903 "2006-07-25T00:41:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![shelbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@shelbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shelbo)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-look-good-on-the-colbert-report/365903/1 "2006-07-25T00:41:37Z")
What is the trick to doing an interview with Stephen Colbert without looking like a goof? This guy couldn’t do it: [http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/nation/epaper/2006/07/22/m1a\_wexler\_0722.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=0](http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/nation/epaper/2006/07/22/m1a_wexler_0722.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=0) What would you advise your boss, if he or she were about to go to be interviewed by Mr. Colbert? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-look-good-on-the-colbert-report/365903/2 "2006-07-25T01:00:02Z")
I think the best way to look good is look like you know it’s a joke, play along and try not to look like a humorless douchebag. Wexler said he ahd never seen the show. That was his firts mistake. His second was that he made the common Colbert/Daily Show mistake of truing to give straight answers to ridiculous questions. When Colbert asks you if you think caribou are more important than his SUV, you say yes. When he asks you if you would be in favor of an SUV that runs on caribou meat, say you would prefer it to be bear meat (an answer that would show you have some familiarity with his show and actually get that it’s a parody). In Pat Bucahanan’s interview on Da Ali G Show, Ali G. kept asking him about the “BLT’s” in Iraq. Instead of trying to correct him, Buchanan just rolled with it and smiled and started calling them BLT’s right along with him and he ended up coming off pretty well as a guy with a sense of humor (contrast that with Andy Rooney’s interview on the same show where Rooney blew up and just came off like a clueless, cranky old asshole). ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-look-good-on-the-colbert-report/365903/3 "2006-07-25T01:06:07Z")
Colbert himself comes off pretty well… ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-look-good-on-the-colbert-report/365903/4 "2006-07-25T01:06:45Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Rooney blew up and just came off like a clueless, cranky old asshole. So, what you’re saying is that his authentic self shone through? ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-look-good-on-the-colbert-report/365903/5 "2006-07-25T01:19:25Z")
[Here’s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZGL3PYOc-M&search=colbert%20report) a link to the video of the segment with that interview. I thought the guy actually did pretty well. The article says things like “Colbert tricked him into saying cocaine was good”, when it seems to me he was (as Diogenes makes in his point) just playing along. It was a joke about him being able to say anything since his re-election was unopposed, not a cunning sting that caught him unguarded. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-look-good-on-the-colbert-report/365903/6 "2006-07-25T01:28:41Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > …snip…(contrast that with Andy Rooney’s interview on the same show where Rooney blew up and just came off like a clueless, cranky old asshole). But I think even Andy Rooney would say he was a cranky old asshole, of course he would use a lot more words and wait for laughter, but he would say it. **shelbo** : There was an interview on the Report a few weeks ago where the Guest came off looking smart and with a sense of humor and actually got the better of Colbert. I posted about it then, …waiting for search engine… …waiting… [Here it is:](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=379486) > [@What Exit?](#): > > I think Mort Zuckerman actually got the better of Steven. It might be the first time I saw a guest handle his craziness and make some good points. I enjoyed the exchange that boiled down to > Mort: I have known Kerry for 30 years and I voted for Bush anyway. > Steven: So you like Bush? > Mort: NO, I think he is the worst President since at least Carter. > Steven: Then why did you vote for him? > Mort: Kerry would have been worse. > > I do not agree with the last line, but I still found it very funny. Jim ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-look-good-on-the-colbert-report/365903/7 "2006-07-26T20:02:34Z")
Here’s a [YouTube deconstruction](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGqPxn7njqM&search=fox%20colbert) of how Fox News took the Colbert interview in the OP and took parts of it out of context to make the Democrat look even worse. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-look-good-on-the-colbert-report/365903/8 "2006-07-26T20:25:07Z")
And [here](http://www.salon.com/ent/video_dog/latenight/2006/07/26/colbert_wexler/index.html)’s Colbert’s incisive piece on the media “frenzy” about Wexler’s appearance. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-look-good-on-the-colbert-report/365903/9 "2006-07-26T21:58:09Z")
There was nothing wrong with the guy getting interviewed. He obviously was playing along with the joke. It’s just more evidence that the _real_ news media is far more distorting and ridiculous than anything Colbert says. They turned an obvious joke into “CONGRESSMAN SMOKES CRACK AND STOMPS ON BUNNIES”, trying to play it straight. Ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-look-good-on-the-colbert-report/365903/10 "2006-07-26T22:00:41Z")
To add: Colbert’s editing staff could’ve made the politician out to be worse than he was. But the editing clearly showed Colbert saying basically “this is a joke, but since it can’t hurt you, let’s have some fun with it…”… the Colbert Report’s editors could’ve changed the context around and made him look bad, but instead, they actually showed it realistically, as is. It was the “real” newsmedia that completely distorted the context of the interview. And… so… the Colbert Report has more journalistic integrity and honesty than the news shows making a big deal out of this. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-look-good-on-the-colbert-report/365903/11 "2006-07-26T22:15:22Z")
Kinda makes you wonder if “truthiness” will supplant “journalistic integrity” as a standard of excellence. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-look-good-on-the-colbert-report/365903/12 "2006-07-26T22:51:09Z")
Caitlin Flanagan looked okay on the show because she wouldn’t let Colbert out-extreme her; she just agreed with everything he said. I can’t say I thought Fox had any shame, but damn. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-look-good-on-the-colbert-report/365903/13 "2006-07-27T01:24:50Z")
I think many of the guests who come on the show to be interviewed come off looking great. Most recently, former New York Times editor Howell Raines, who was interviewed on Monday. I thought he seemed very sweet and genuine. Julian Bond of the NAACP was on last week and did an excellent job. On the other hand, the Congresspersons who are interviewed in the Better Know A District segment are intentionally made to look like buffoons. They are asked ridiculous leading questions, and the interviews are edited to be as silly as possible. Although Wexler was clearly going along with Colbert’s joke, I thought while watching his interview that he would have done a lot better to point out that even if you are in an uncontested election, discussing cocaine use and prostitution could be detrimental in other ways. I was shocked that he didn’t answer the prostitution question with some variant on, “it may not matter to the voters, but it will matter to my wife.” I think that the best a Congressperson can do is to watch the show beforehand to get a feel for it (and it does help to know some of the hundreds of inside jokes), answer questions genuinely, have a sense of humor, and follow the SDMB rule, don’t be jerk. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-look-good-on-the-colbert-report/365903/14 "2006-07-27T06:22:53Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > . Julian Bond of the NAACP was on last week and did an excellent job. Okay. I’ll admit I’ve never heard of Julian Bond before I saw him on the Report (hold that “T”), but now I think he is one of the coolest dudes on the planet. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-look-good-on-the-colbert-report/365903/15 "2006-07-27T07:19:55Z")
Doris Kearns Goodwin has been on one or both of those shows, with her dignity intact. I guess it helps that she doesn’t have an obviously loony agenda. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8797f3/32.png) [@The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Universe_Lashes_Out)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-look-good-on-the-colbert-report/365903/16 "2006-07-27T07:38:45Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > Although Wexler was clearly going along with Colbert’s joke, I thought while watching his interview that he would have done a lot better to point out that even if you are in an uncontested election, discussing cocaine use and prostitution could be detrimental in other ways. I was shocked that he didn’t answer the prostitution question with some variant on, “it may not matter to the voters, but it will matter to my wife.” That would not have been nearly as funny. I thought Wexler did a pretty good job; he was obviously uncomfortable, but he still had the balls to go along with what was obviously a joke. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-look-good-on-the-colbert-report/365903/17 "2006-07-27T14:01:40Z")
Congressfolks and politicians always are made to come across as fools. But others can play the game, laugh at themselves, and look OK. Mort Zuckerman for instance and the Scarborough Country host (whassisname). Michael Pollen, for instance, came across as fine. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-look-good-on-the-colbert-report/365903/18 "2006-07-27T15:12:57Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > And [here](http://www.salon.com/ent/video_dog/latenight/2006/07/26/colbert_wexler/index.html)’s Colbert’s incisive piece on the media “frenzy” about Wexler’s appearance. Colbert’s explanation eviscerates the “straight media” for playing his joke segment as straight hard news, alongside their own complete fluff mascarading as hard news. ---
**Author:** ![Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spatial_Rift_47)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-look-good-on-the-colbert-report/365903/19 "2006-07-27T15:23:32Z")
To add another example, the guest on the show last night was Neal Katyal, the lawyer who represented the Gitmo detainees in front of the Supreme Court case. This guy had done his homework, and he was prepared. He even brought props: an obviously fake photo of Stephen Colbert with Osama bin Laden, and a large parchment copy of the Constitution - supposedly Bush’s version - with almost everything blacked out except the bits on Presidential authority. The result? Comedy gold. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-look-good-on-the-colbert-report/365903/20 "2006-07-27T15:26:18Z")
> [@C K Dexter Haven](#): > > and the Scarborough Country host (whassisname). Uh, Joe Scarborough? 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-look-good-on-the-colbert-report/365903.md?page=2)