The Colbert Retort
How to beat the host at his own game.
By Troy Patterson
Colbert continues to discover new dimensions of absurdity in his caricature of a blowhard-populist talk-show host even as he keeps up a stable of old hobbyhorses.
Night after night, writers, talking heads, and entertainers turn up at Colbert's table and try to have a conversation with his alter egomaniac. While this yields some laughs, it mostly conjures a painful goofiness. The host stays in character and poses either ridiculous questions on serious topics or earnest questions on ludicrous ones. Before your eyes, the guest, too often hyper-self-conscious, tries to sort out whether to play along or steamroll ahead or what—usually managing to leave a little chunk of dignity behind. Thus, with the emotional health of the nation's chat-show class in mind, I present a few simple guidelines for interfacing with Stephen Colbert.
Act your age. Maybe they're just being obliging, but many of Colbert's guests tend to trip themselves up right out of the gate, before the host himself has even had a chance. They're so tickled to be there that they titter, ducking their heads shyly and perhaps muttering something vaguely racy and clearly inane. Are they 12? Writers, in general, and New York Times op-ed columnists, in particular, seem especially susceptible to this affliction. After Colbert's lead delivered a line about Ann Coulter's speaking engagements, David Brooks blurted, "I do Phish concerts." Whah? ...
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http://www.slate.com/id/2152741/?GT1=8805
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