The Gift Eric Alterman Couldn't Give Colbert On Air

Nation columnist and author Eric Alterman carefully planned his appearance earlier this week on the "Colbert Report," armed with a weapon designed to smother Colbert'sbiting humor with love.

Alterman, who recently wrote a lovely piece about the Huffington Post in the New Yorker, brought to the show a mock-up of the cover of his new book, "Why We're Liberals," that substituted Colbert at the center for Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Alterman planned to hand Colbert a poster-sized copy of the pseudo-cover and to declare to the audience and cameras that "nobody had done as much for liberalism since FDR as his nutty questions and commentary."

Unfortunately, Alterman decided to give producers advanced notice "because they hate surprises and hate when the guests try to be funny." Alterman was right, and they nixed using the cover on the show. So here it is anyway: