With The Colbert Report wrapping up it
nine-year run this month as host Stephen Colbert moves to CBS to take
over David Letterman’s spot, the show was able to pull off a bit of a
coup by booking President Obama as a guest Monday. POTUS had been a
guest before on The Daily Show but had not stepped foot on
Colbert’s set before Monday. Much of this may have been due to Colbert
playing a character on his show. As anyone who has watched the program
knows, Colbert’s character is a thinly-veiled caricature of Bill
O’Reilly. (Hilariously, during the interview segment of the show, Obama
referred to Colbert as Bill.)
Before a live audience at George Washington
University in Washington, D.C., the president unexpectedly walked on the
stage while Colbert was going to do one of his most beloved segments,
‘The Word.’ The audience roared with delight as Obama strolled over to
the desk as they weren’t expecting him until later when he would be
interviewed by Colbert. Obama confronted Colbert and told him that he’s
“been taking a lot of shots at my job, I’ve decided to take a shot at
yours.” At that point, the president sat down at the desk and commenced
with the segment, which he changed to ‘The Decree.’
Below is video of the segment, courtesy of Comedy Central:
The biggest takeaway from Obama’s turn in the
hosting chair is that he showed, once again, that he is willing to poke
fun at himself and not be overly sensitive about his image. The Colbert Show
writers provided a number of zingers during the piece and Obama was
able to deliver them with ease and relish. As anyone who has seen ‘The
Word’ before, while the host is delivering his commentary, the
television displays satirical messages related to the topic. This was no
different.
As the president delivered a line about
healthcare.gov signing up nearly a million new customers through the
Affordable Care Act, a television graphic appeared stating, “So, half as
popular as Grumpy Cat video.” Prior to that, when the president said
that there were things both parties like about Obamacare, the on-screen
display read, “Everything but the ‘Obama’.” Later on, when talking about
a potential Mitch McConnell plan, the screen showed “Walk-It-Off.gov.”
Overall, it was impressive that POTUS was able to both poke fun at
himself and deliver a satirical commentary with excellent timing and the
proper tone.
As for the interview, President Obama was able to
roll with the sarcastic jabs and deliver an entertaining, yet still
informative, discussion with the in-character Colbert. Below is video of
the interview:
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