Stephen Colbert Explains His Possible Presidential Bid
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One never knows when interviewing any newsmaker if they’re being 100 percent truthful. But when interviewing comedian Stephen Colbert today about exploring a possible bid for president, it was even more difficult to tell truth from fiction.
But what does it matter when the fiction is so much fun?
Colbert says he is not yet launching a campaign, but instead forming an exploratory committee- albeit a committee that will include “a brain in a jar” and a “mountain climber.” But , as I pointed out to him, if he wants to seriously run in the South Carolina Republican primary, the committee needs to act quickly. The state’s primary is in six days.
But while his campaign flounders between fiction and reality, his Super PAC is pouring real money into attack ads that are airing in South Carolina.
While I asked him about the PAC-financed attacks- which call Mitt Romney a “serial killer”- like other politicians, Colbert claims ignorance about the content of the ads. Colbert’s PAC, which up until he announced his possible presidential bid was called Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow, is now being managed by his longtime comedic compadre, Jon Stewart. The PAC is now called The Definitely Not Coordinated With Stephen Colbert Super PAC.
Today Colbert called Stewart a “loose cannon.”
He explained that handing off control of his SuperPAC to Stewart was painful. “That’s my baby. Do you know how hard it is to give away a baby? Now imagine if that baby had a whole lot of money.”
Watch my full interview here.
And read more here about how Colbert is stirring up South Carolina.
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what a joke. If right wing is looking for example of bias “liberal” media…you just gave them more fodder! GMA is becoming more and more diluted with fluff; now your dragging into This Week. George deserves better
Posted by: Berbno1 | January 15, 2012, 11:28 am 11:28 am
Stephen Colbert is a comedian. The other Republican candidates are bad jokes.
Posted by: Larry Linn | January 15, 2012, 11:46 am 11:46 am
I support Colbert
Posted by: Jack | January 15, 2012, 12:15 pm 12:15 pm
Thank you, thank you, thank you for bringing George back. I am back to being a regular viewer
Posted by: Ann jones | January 15, 2012, 12:15 pm 12:15 pm
As a conservative, I never thought I would be so happy to see George back on This Week. Its like turning on a light switch. He has brought back some humor and energy. The show was so dark and boring with Christianne Arm-the-Poor, and everything was from the viewpoint of a third world dictator. I know that George is just a flack for Obama, but at least he is my presidents flack and not the flack of President Karzai. I am happy they also got rid of Christianne’s veiled tribute to the dead taliban and so-called freedom fighters at the end of each show. It was sickening to hear them included alongside our fallen troops.
Posted by: Eflow356 | January 15, 2012, 12:22 pm 12:22 pm
Thank goodness George is back! It’s wonderful that you finally caught on that your mis-guided venture into the international perspective on a Sunday morning political analysis show just won’t work.
Posted by: Ld Schneider | January 15, 2012, 12:38 pm 12:38 pm
Libs in love with their own self granted relevance. In my estimation most people who aspire to be on TV shouldn’t. Its why TV is so often irrelevant, and ratings are pointless to count.
I especially love the people who pose so piously in front of the camera believing they need to tell the rest of us – the great unwashed and stupid – how to think and what to do to make our lives work out.
The stench is toxic.
Posted by: DanJStevens | January 15, 2012, 12:49 pm 12:49 pm
Why not Colbert?? I was so angry at the whole mess in 1968 that I and thousands of Americans, voted for a pig!!! It was either the pig or Pat Paulsen.
Posted by: Dandy | January 15, 2012, 1:34 pm 1:34 pm
Well at least when he screws up he can always say ” I’m a comedian, a liberal comedian what did you expect”. Colbert president Stewart vice president, what a team.
Posted by: Lizzie | January 15, 2012, 1:36 pm 1:36 pm
I haven’t had this many laughs at the absurdity of this “election process” that we, the people, actual citizens, have to endure seemingly non-stop anymore, and especially due to the Citizens United Supreme Court decision. Best fun interview I’ve seen in a long time, kudos to George for taking back the show that was his, and for a fun interview. Would love to know what the conversation prior to going on the air was like….”Uhm, Mr. Stephanopolous, I’m going to be rude & insensitive as a guest, please don’t take offense. And, thank you for let me being the Court Jester mocking this established process we call the “election process,” with the silly laws allowing such reprehensible & vast amounts of money thru “superpacs” that have hi-jacked our election process.” I do love satire & good comedy, thank you George for playing along!
Posted by: Richard | January 15, 2012, 2:12 pm 2:12 pm
Colbert doesn’t need a super pac to run negative ads, he already has Comedy Central to do that.
Posted by: chamben | January 15, 2012, 2:30 pm 2:30 pm
Why waste time with someone like Colbert, when you could have someone with a little more common sense like Homer Simpson.
Posted by: Scott-Russell | January 15, 2012, 3:46 pm 3:46 pm
Why did you give Colbert so much time? And why did you have him on at all? This interview was NOT entertaining and Colbert is not funny. Please don’t ask us to take this comedienne, who is so full of himself, seriously as a presidential candidate…. And George, you’re an old pro at interviewing: please don’t be so agressive with your round-table guests. I really do want to hear the FULL opinion of someone like Johnathan Karl or George Will. They are interesting, thoughtful peoplewith something to say.
Posted by: Nancy Margaret | January 15, 2012, 5:14 pm 5:14 pm
Thank you for having colbert in the show. He highlights the biggest problem in our political system…. which is unlimited money corrupting politician. Corporations and Union (to a lesser extent) spending money on politics without transparency cannot be good for politics under any circumstances. Thanks to colbert, people are getting more aware of this!!!
Posted by: Love Sanity | January 15, 2012, 8:51 pm 8:51 pm
I will vote for Steven Colbart. an A for CArolinA, an A for America
Posted by: registered voter | January 15, 2012, 11:20 pm 11:20 pm
That bit with Cobert was just God awful. Not funny, trying way too hard, pathetic, lame. George S should be ashamed of himself for putting such tripe on the air.
Posted by: John in Atlanta | January 16, 2012, 8:57 am 8:57 am
We agree that it is great to have George S. back on Sunday mornings, but very disappointed in the show on Sunday with Colbert! We love hearing from George Will and the others but don’t waste our Sundays with a repeat like this weekend!!!
Posted by: Katie and RB | January 16, 2012, 10:36 am 10:36 am
All of you who hate this have obviously had your funny bone removed at some point in your lives!!!
This is satire mixed with a display to show how corrupt the system is. To show how easy it is for candidates thanks to the supreme court, to flat out buy elections through corporate sponsors!
The fact that the critics here don’t acknowledge that fact shows hos pathetic you all are1
Posted by: TheTRUTHx1000 | January 16, 2012, 1:11 pm 1:11 pm
Best choice yet!
Posted by: Rico | January 16, 2012, 1:57 pm 1:57 pm
What a extremely expensive waste of time. It was an absolute joke to have Colbert on a Important
news show. I usually watch religiously, No more. I will not waste my time watching a news show, to educate myself for the up coming election. That t has made a mockery of the political system.
Good Bye for now. Change and become a serious news show again and I will be back.
Posted by: DJ Maley | January 16, 2012, 9:36 pm 9:36 pm
What a waste. We have a dire need for a serious alternate candidate who is beholden to neither extreme and who will LEAD the country as we face some tough choices. And you offer us this drivel? Wasn’t this a NEWS program once upon a time?
Posted by: Bruce | January 17, 2012, 8:59 am 8:59 am
Does President Obama take super-pac money? I think not?
Posted by: sharon eisenach | January 17, 2012, 2:49 pm 2:49 pm
Hi, can any body help me how to download this video tutorial from this website, I have watched and listen it here but want to download it.
Posted by: Lawanna Gorenberg | January 17, 2012, 7:43 pm 7:43 pm
Wow, Colbert you are a genius. If America can’t hear what you are saying, they don’t deserve to. Every point well put: Corporations are indeed NOT people, Speech does NOT equal money, and YES money is the biggest influence in the political world. IF you are an American and IF you are voting, AND you didn’t get anyone of those important points and their implications, consider getting an education.
The fact that the interviewer wouldn’t give his opinion on, what he considered mundane and uncontroversial, proves even further, just how ridiculously messed up things are. When the journalist, stops being a journalist and hands his job over to a comedian. If you are an American, and you don’t understand why, Stephen Colbert is speaking ironically and satirically about these matters, it is because they are so fraudulent in the first place, that it seems hardly befitting to treat them as normal subject matter.
Posted by: Nathaniel Carr | January 18, 2012, 6:13 pm 6:13 pm
It is obvious that Stephanopoulos thinks he can corner Stephen Colbert and did a pretty good job flustering him a little. Fortunately, the attempts to mischaracterize Colbert’s actions (automation of “campaign” rather than exploratory committee) and the attempts to patronize him for his comedy (by catcalling his disingenuousness) all the while hammering at come supposed shamelessness (by hyping his future campaigning) backfired a bit since Colbert mostly remained in character.
Results. ABC showed their hand. ABC already suspects Colbert may a) actually be serious and a threat to Obama’s campaign in the long run and b) Colbert might stump for Paul sometime in the next few months. This had obviously motivated ABC to entreat him (ie, airtime) in order to grill him aggressively with the hopes that Colbert would expose some cards or look deflated before the mighty Stephanopoulos. Luckily, the very next two interviews Colbert comes out far more serious – to the point of transparently stepping “out of character” to laud Paul’s intellectual consistency. Best part of THIS interview: “I got 5% I got throw”. Classic. (No comedy. Pure reality. How’s that for a quick double-back. Wow.)
You got to hand it to Stephanopoulos, he’s certainly consistent about taking money from the highest bidders in order to stump for them greedily (Clinton, Obama, media) all the while attempting to maintain a veneer of journalistic neutrality and dignity. Do you think ANYBODY buys it? I guess so. It’s ABC. He gets a pass because he’s a shameless sycophant for the liberalism he cannot even pronounce – and certainly could never be intellectually consistent about! (How about a journalist who REALLY IS globally-minded, human-rights oriented, harbingers of fairness in interviews and during debates, intellectual transparency and neutrality, unbuyability, etc? Has anyone seen one of these since the 50′s??? Yet still…. they pretend.)
Posted by: J Carter | January 21, 2012, 3:54 am 3:54 am
Wow Nathanial, please read Lawannas post above. It’s satire dear.
Posted by: LDSAAV | February 20, 2012, 7:29 pm 7:29 pm