Colbert Discusses His Presidential Ambitions On "Meet The Press"

Today, Stephen Colbert, host of The Colbert Report, appeared on "Meet the Press," with Tim Russert. Russert interviewed Colbert about his recent announcement that he is running for president, although so far only in South Carolina. Russert seemed incredulous about Colbert's presidential bid, but Stephen set him straight, assuring Russert that he was very serious about his candidacy, and that this was not "a dream you will wake up from." Colbert's "Meet the Press" appearance, a required venue for any serious presidential contender, solidifies Colbert's intention to seek the White House. Let us know what you think about the substance, and the odds, of Colbert's White House bid.

Watch the video from "Meet the Press" below:

Stephen Colbert livelies up "Meet the Press" with a discussion about his bid for the presidency and his views on gay marriage. From NBC 10/21/07. http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1256280208http://www.brightcove.com/channel.jsp?channel=1178199204

Comments

[DollyLanna]

I don't get Colbert, don't particularly like Colbert, and think he is just too self centered to be funny or informative.
I am a very progressive liberal and I don't get Colbert.(well sometimes, but still don't think he is all that funny)
Jon Stewart is more my style.
Colbert has let his satire and his faux fame go to far up in to his head and his act.

[WigWamWag]

Hello Dolly
That valuble and accurate comment qualifies you to be a CPP of the CPPP (Corbert Party Pooper Party).
Congradulations DollyLanna. Cute handle.

[jeter2]

Colbert is usually great, I thought he was really flat yesterday, don't know whether Russert was to blame, or he just wasn't that funny.

[foghornleghorny]

I enjoy Colbert as much as the next person, but Russert wasted an entire show with the first 1/2 being all Hillary, all the time.
How about an interview with the guy who wrote the book about Blackwater? He was on Moyers last week and it was just about the most interestin­g/disturbi­ng discussion about all that is wrong in Iraq.

[hawkeye58]

This has all been done before, anyone remember Pat Paulson? Read his amendments to the U.S. Constitution...

http://www.paulsen.com/

[WigWamWag]

Paulson knew he was a comic first, so he was much funnier. Even his novelty wore off like a troll doll.

Colbert is pushing the comic limits beyond a standup routine, making him as un-humorous as Richard Belzer. At least Colbert is not as mean and hateful as Belzer is any day of the week.

Colbert is suffering from too much exposure and material that is too weak and un-imitative. He is fizzling fast. Too bad, he does not know when to pull it back before he explodes under his own overly inflated ambitions. Those ambitions have very little to do with politics and every thing to do with promoting his career and book sales. He has become the material boy toy for the producers who are milking the advertisers for revenue.
Thank God for fast forward.

[OckhamsElectricRazor]

A political version of Britney or Paris for the media to play with instead of actually informing the public about candidates and issues.

[loki]

But there is no actual information from the candidates on any issues. They are all pandering with lies to all Americans. So why not use some comedy and hopefully people will wake up to the real crap candidates dribble from their lips.

From Rudy or Romney supporting gays all their political lives then suddenly saying they dont, or Republicans who only do what is good for themselves and their Capitalist bankroll,
to Hillary with her $5000, $1000, chicken in every pot, warpigs supporting and other Democrats who are like Pelosi and Reid screaming to the cameras they will stop Bush and then kissing his ass behind closed doors.
There is hardly a person in DC who isnt lying to the public 24/7, and there are to many Americans who are willing to eat it up rather than face the facts and the truth that politicians and capitalist are forcing America into a land of only indentured slaves and the capitalist rich.

[Tobias F.]

Nailed it!

[WilliamWallace]

Go, Stephen...­.WristStro­ng bracelets for the Cabinet ;)

[War4Sale]

Colbert's candidacy is easily the best thing to happen to campaigning since Lincoln!

[Roses]

Is Colbert going to appear on the debates? I don't care which one it would be hilarious and great! And worth watching!

[WRPrintz]

and all of these people treating it like it was viewing of "Our American Cousin". Lets ask Mary Todd to the Theatre, shall we?

[AcitizenNJ]

i have to give it to mr. colbert for the entertainment value created. are you kidding me, meet the press. hello, mr. colbert is just showing us all that it is really that simple to get peole to take the bait.

[PollM]

.
As wonderful as it maybe.....

Is Stephen Colbert Electable or a Dream?
-----> http://www.youpolls.com/details.asp?pid=766
.

[starboymikey]

Stephen Colbert--perhaps more than any social satirist since the twisted and immortal Frank Zappa--is vital to the life of our democracy. He is the kid who keeps pointing out that the emperor has no clothes, and since it's clearly true, the emperor has no defence for it. All the emperor can do is stand there fuming, or at least blushing.

Colbert skewars the hypocrites with a scalpel rather than a chain saw, feeds their own pap back to them so skillfully that they never seem to know for sure if they're being praised or mocked.

Okay, they generally know that what just happened to them is somehow wrong, but they're usually too flumoxed to figure out exactly how they've been had. Pretty much everyone loves seeing vapid, clueless politicos get raked over the coals, and this is why Colbert's popularity crosses party lines.

Seeing Colbert make any kind of showing in one or both SC primaries would be one of the highlights of my life. Why? Because it will mean that a significant portion of voters are fed up enough to give their collective finger to the greedy, dumb mob that runs this country like its own private casino.

If he runs in CA as a Democrat, I can and will vote for him. And I will not feel like I'm throwing my vote away. On the contrary, that's probably what I'd feel like with any of the other candidates.

[KarlRoves3rdchin]

you obviously did not watch Colbert on Meet the Press yesterday. I used to think all the above until I saw that -I will NEVER watch Colbert again!! He is a freak hybrid neo-con and that is why he has his own show and gets LOTS of air time...he's just like Rush, Hannity, O'Reily...

When Colbert said his favorite President was Nixon -thinks Nixon was the greatest president we've ever had...that's what did it for me -NEVER will I ever give that guy my time again

[WilliamWallace]

When, oh when, oh when will people understand that Colbert (the character on his show, on Russert's, etc.) is a well-designed parody of NeoCons?

Listen to his interview with Terry Gross on Fresh Air.

[toldyaso]

I would totally vote for Stephen, but not Stephen. I think Stephen is a step in the right direction for America, Stephen on the other hand, would be more of the same. Haven't we had enough Stephens? We need Stephen now!

[jubal8]

At last -- somebody who totally gets it. Who the hell do you think you are, anyway?

[MiddletownHal]

Sorry you don't "get" The Colbert Report. It's not his intention to let guests have their say in a way that most linear thinkers would comprehend. He plays to the contradictions within a dialectic. If you turn him off, you miss the points of light this genius by way of his character, why should he ever step out of it publicly? spills into shadows in the tradition of the Great Ones: (Charlie Chaplin Ernie Kovacs, Steve Allen, to name a few) who thoroughly comprehended not only the power of their medium, but ways to tweak it even further and bring us laughing, thinking or crying, into their truths through doors we did not know existed.

[bluebela]

You are right on the money, comparing Colbert to Kovacs or Allen. He's created this persona and is trying to see how far he can take it (bridge in Hungary, Wikipedia entries, etc.) He'll get stopped before he does any real damage; the damage done to our country by the 2000 Florida election debacle and subsequent Supreme Court case is far far greater than any Colbert could do.

[PollM]

.
As wonderful as it maybe.....

Is Stephen Colbert Electable or a Dream?
-----> http://www.youpolls.com/details.asp?pid=766
.

[hootie1fan]

The candidate Colbert is at least as much the real Colbert as the other candidate are real themsleves.