Catching up with Donna Shalala after “The Colbert Report”

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The Donna on ‘The Report’
Pres. Shalala talks about her Comedy Central appearance
Greg Linch // News Editor
Issue date: 2/6/07

The following are selected questions and answers from an interview with President Donna E. Shalala two days after she appeared on Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report on Jan. 30. Some of the questions have been edited for brevity.

The Miami Hurricane: Do you watch “The Colbert Report”? What do you think of the show?
Donna Shalala: Yes. I think it’s hilarious.

TMH: Would you call yourself a fan?
DS: Big fan.

TMH: Do you watch the “Daily Show [with Jon Stewart]” as well?
DS: I do, and I read The Onion. I was one of the original supporters of [the newspaper], financial and otherwise. In fact, one of those writers is a writer for Colbert. He was so excited to see me. He said, “No one else would support us and you thought we were hilarious.”

TMH: Was [the invitation to appear on "Colbert"] related to the National Academy study?
DS: Yes it was, but it was too late for them to bring that up, so they didn’t bring it up.

TMH: What was the overall experience like, with the fans, the young crowd?
DS: There was a green room with my name on it. I’ve never had a green room with my name on it. The fans were very enthusiastic. When they heard I was a college president a few people yelled out, “Go ‘Canes.”

TMH: What was Stephen Colbert like off-camera?
DS: Sweet. Very sweet.

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