Colbert Conquers Comedy Central ... and the World

Stephen Colbert isn't a conservative blowhard. He just plays one on TV.

The star of Comedy Central's satirical news show The Colbert Report is fueled by pure ironic bombast. From his electronic pulpit, Colbert (pronounced 'Coal-bear') has run for president, shilled for Doritos and interviewed some of the country's most powerful people. Presidential contender Mike Huckabee has appeared on Colbert several times since announcing his candidacy in 2006, and he's even asked the faux pundit to be his running mate. Huckabee was joking, of course. We think.

"This show is not about me," Colbert said on his first broadcast. "No, this program is dedicated to you, the heroes. ... The people who watch this show, average hard-working Americans. You're not the elites. You're not the country club crowd. I know for a fact my country club would never let you in. You're the folks who say something has to be done. And you're doing something. You're watching TV."

Indeed, Colbert attracts more than 1 million "heroes" regularly, and the show's influence outstrips its ratings. Consider:

1) Colbert's two-week run for the presidency last year (scuttled by South Carolina's Democratic committee). A week into his campaign, he was pulling double-digit support.

2) Colbert's "Wriststrong" wristbands. They're a satirical dig at Lance Armstrong's "Live Strong" efforts that have raised $171,525 for the Yellow Ribbon Fund (a charity that helps injured military personnel and their families) since June 2007.

3) The "Colbert Bump"—a term that defines the poll boost candidates supposedly receive once they appear on The Colbert Report. Though the idea was started and relentlessly promoted by Colbert himself, the term found its way into Time magazine's "10 Best Buzzwords" of 2007.

4) Colbert's guests, who range from Toby Keith and Jane Fonda to Salmon Rushdie and Ron Paul. Pastor Rick Warren appeared on the show Jan. 28, promoting his popular book, The Purpose Driven Life.

"My purpose is to shout at people I disagree with," Colbert told him.

Humorous History
Colbert isn't meant to be taken seriously. And yet, the comedian has become a serious force in politics and society—the latest snarky torchbearer in a long line of satirists, comedians and cartoonists who helped shape this quirky country.

Oh, you don't think satirists, comedians and cartoonists are the ones who've molded America? Humor has been a key component in American politics since the country was founded. Ben Franklin was, among other things, a political cartoonist. Thomas Nast, a cartoonist for Harper's Weekly, almost single-handedly tore down New York's corrupt political kingpin Boss Tweed, and he was the one who first characterized Republicans and Democrats as elephants and donkeys. That stuck around for a while, didn't it? Will Rogers, the country's most popular entertainer in the 1920s and early '30s, often poked fun at Washington hijinks and made a satirical run for president in 1928. "There's no trick to being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you," he once said.

Truthfully, humor has a way of distilling complex political dialogue into easily digestible bits. It can puncture a whole blimp full of hot air with one well-timed jab. In the wake of this year's raucous early primaries that left pollsters completely flummoxed, Colbert peevishly told his audience, "If you keep voting the way you want rather than the way we tell you you want, well then, pundits are just going to stop telling you how to think."

But some worry Colbert and others are having too great an effect on our national dialogue—where every serious issue we face is, literally, a laughing matter.

Be Serious, People!
In 2004, the Pew Research Center found that 21% of Americans ages 18-29 got much of their "news" from cable comedy shows (the big kahuna then was The Daily Show With Jon Stewart). That's more than said they got pertinent info from radio or news magazines, and nearly as much as newspapers.

That was before The Colbert Report existed. The influence of comedy shows has assuredly increased—perhaps dramatically—in the last four years, chipping away at the influence of traditional news media.

"Indeed, while the network news broadcasts are sustained by the consumers of denture cream, adult diapers, and pharmacological marital aides, it's The Daily Show and The Colbert Report that have a grip on the hip, iPhone crowd," writes Jonah Goldberg of the Los Angeles Times. "And plenty of those younger viewers seem to believe that they can deduce what's going on in the real world from jokes on a fake newscast. It's no longer funny because it's true. It's true because it's funny."

"It says something about what has happened to our news that many of you get your news from The Daily Show or Stephen Colbert," Democratic candidate Barack Obama recently told a group of young voters during a forum on MTV.

Sarcasm on Parade
The Colbert Report has its share of off-the-rack content problems, too. While seemingly cleaner than The Daily Show, the program still dips into profanity and occasionally wallows in sexual innuendo. Drug references are fairly common.

And viewers with an irony deficiency should stay well away. Though Colbert presents himself as having a fondness for Ronald Reagan, apple pie and marriage-protection amendments, the show's underlying message is decidedly liberal. Colbert himself warns that children—even his own—shouldn't watch.

"Kids can't understand irony or sarcasm, and I don't want them to perceive me as insincere," Colbert told 60 Minutes. "Because one night, I'll be putting them to bed and I'll say ... 'I love you, honey.' And they'll say, 'I get it. Very dry, Dad. That's good stuff.'"

When 60 Minutes asked Colbert what he thought of his character, Colbert said, "I think of him as a well-intentioned, poorly informed, high-status idiot."

You don't need to be an idiot to watch this show. Colbert has plenty of interesting things to say about culture, the country and the political process. But before you immigrate to Colbert Nation, read its Constitution. And then read between the lines.