Man. That was awesome. The logic chopping that he used to get her to use 'her own logic' to admit that DC isn't in the USA... pure genius.
Ben | Homepage | 07.28.06 - 3:56 pm | #

I watched that last night, and I thought he was brilliant.

I can't believe I hadn't even heard of this guy a month ago. His is my new favorite show!
The Soccer Mom | Homepage | 07.28.06 - 4:24 pm | #

I caught it on Comedy Central last night. The man is a genius!

By the bye, did anyone get the sense that Colbert's "disagreements" with the Church are more a cover than substantive after his stem cell argument?
Gabriel | Homepage | 07.28.06 - 4:43 pm | #

I had just taken a sip of Coke when Mr. Colbert questioned Ms. Holmes-Norton about her having helped to draft the Federal Sexual Harassment Guidelines. It took every ounce of strength in my face and body to hold it in my mouth and not spew it all over the keyboard.
Kit-Kat | 07.28.06 - 5:17 pm | #

Duuuude. I might actually have to buy a TV, just to watch this guy. He's a hoot!
Jen | Homepage | 07.28.06 - 5:22 pm | #

Gabriel,

After I saw his "Formidable Opponent" on stem cells I was thinking the same thing, but wasn't totally sure. The interview with Lee Silver was even more provacative (that's all I've seen about stem cells). The way he handled Silver's analogies was genius. Still, it's hard to untangle his persona on the show from where he stands. Perhaps he was most himself when he was with Donahue. I'll say this though - I like how he's willing to engage all sides with his satire and raise spiritual questions.
Ryan C | 07.28.06 - 6:08 pm | #

Actually, I have to give Norton credit for her role in the segment. Whether she was in on it or not, her performance did her credit.
sj | 07.28.06 - 7:29 pm | #

I agree with you, sj. By now all politicians know who Colbert is and I assume that she was prepared. I thought she did well and demonstrated a good sense of irony. She rolled with the punches and delivered a few herself--a good sport.
Phil | 07.28.06 - 7:59 pm | #

Thanks for posting this. I was rolling on the floor watching this yesterday.
Jason | 07.28.06 - 10:59 pm | #

HUHlarious! Keep the "Colbair" coming, Mark.
Elliot B | Homepage | 07.29.06 - 2:07 am | #

Watching this led my wife and I to the interview he did with Barney Frank, which was just about the funniest thing ever done on television (besides his report on pet freeze-drying).
Erik Keilholtz | Homepage | 07.29.06 - 3:14 am | #

FYI, Colbert comes from a huge Catholic family in Charleston, S.C. His father and one of his brothers died on a plane trip to enroll the brother in one of the few at the time Ivy League track Catholic preps, The Canterbury School. Colbert attended an Episcopal prep and the old Virginia money Hampden-Sydney (still has an all-male student body and is very trad), which he dropped out of to pursue acting at Northwestern University.
Mark R | 07.29.06 - 8:58 am | #

I hope that everyone realizes that the ultimate butt of Colbert's humor, which I completely agree is the most intelligent and hilarious available, are those in his audience that take his conservative point of view literally. One needs to flip everything he says and does in order to get it.
Rob | 07.29.06 - 9:24 am | #

Ultimately Colbert is making everybody smarter and more honest. Wish he'd drop the closet-case bit, though. Other than that, A+!!
Kathy | Homepage | 07.29.06 - 11:19 am | #

Try to catch the portrait over the fireplace on his set. The show just gets better and better.
carolyn | 07.29.06 - 2:43 pm | #

Rob, Colbert cannot be pigeon-holed, but two things are obvious: (1) he's Catholic and (2) in most (but not all) political issues he's closer to the progressives than to the conservatives.
Phil | 07.29.06 - 2:49 pm | #

Phil--
No argument there. And he is brilliant. He blows Jon Stewart out of the water.
Rob | 07.29.06 - 4:01 pm | #

This has done a lot to improve my opinion of Eleanor Holmes-Norton. She's obviously a good sport.
GregK | Homepage | 07.30.06 - 9:48 am | #

GregK--
Exactly right.
Rob | 07.30.06 - 1:55 pm | #