Colbert Report

Stephen Colbert sits down with Ujjal Dosanjh in the first-part of the Colbert Report’s one-part series, Better Know A Riding.

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are on three-week vacations, and you know what that means: staff departures and replacements. Allison Silverman, who was Colbert’s head writer from the beginning of the series, became executive producer two years later, and has been as responsible as anyone for shaping the tone of his show, is stepping down. No official reason has been given (because, well, everybody’s on vacation), but the New York Times was informed by a Comedy Central executive that she was just exhausted after four years of working on the show, which sounds perfectly understandable.

Stephen Colbert’s first Iraq show was great — the drill sergeant routine, the head-shaving, his character’s surprise that the war isn’t over yet, the use of “Risk” as a guide to the rules of war — but my favourite part may have been the fact that he was carrying a golf club during his opening monologue. This was an homage to Bob Hope, the most famous and prolific entertainer of the troops. I’m sure a lot of people got it, but I wonder what was the median age of people who caught the reference.

David Frum says that Stephen Colbert took his words out of context. Stephen Colbert. Apart from the point that it’s not really out of context (even in his preferred version, he’s saying that McCain is an exciting story because McCain is running despite his advanced age and lack of enthusiasm for his candidacy), I have to think it’s not a good idea to complain about the way you’re quoted on The Colbert Report, unless you’re specifically trying to get Colbert to mention you again.