I used to not really like Stephen Colbert – his pseudorightwingery was perhaps too convincing. But as his style has evolved, it's become more tongue-in-cheek and, well… complicated. He doesn't stay in character as well as he used to, but that adds tension to the performance, which, in my opinion, improves it.
Colbert is in such fine form, lately. Nothing he touches remains unscathed by his satirical, winking worldview. He's almost a kind of Cervantes for the internet age. There are performances within performances, representations and lies about representations and lies, misdirections to other misdirections.
[broken link! FIXME] I have no idea what he intends with respect to his "explorations" regarding the presidential race – I expect he may not know, himself. Though his individual interactions are likely more scripted than they appear, I think the broader narrative is possibly at the same time less scripted than it appears. It's a kind of improv – writ large – across the American political landscape.
Below is an excerpt from a recent show. It's funny (with all the visual references to his recent expropriation of Herman Cain's identity for electoral purposes), but I also happen to think it's a genuinely sweet rendition, with James Taylor, of Taylor's song "Carolina In My Mind."
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| James Taylor & Stephen Colbert – "Carolina in My Mind" | ||||
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I recommend watching the whole episode – there are some really great moments when Colbert is interviewing retired Supreme Court Justice Stevens, for example.
I’ve started recording Colbert and watching during my lunch break the next day. I agree that last night’s episode was very good. The duet with James Taylor came as a complete surprise. It was terrific. And Justice Stevens was really on top of things trading comments with Colbert. What a delight.