Stephen Colbert in the Zeitgeist: 2nd Anniversary Eve Edition

Has it been 2 years already? Has it only been 2 years? Is truthiness so young? Will we get a new portrait tomorrow night? Here’s the Zeitgeist for Tuesday, October 16, 2007.

The Pocket Master’s appearance
Some mixed reviews.

• Kucinich on The Colbert Report: Helpful or Harmful? – Largest Minority: “Kucinich was seemingly forced by Colbert’s writing staff to be a poor man’s Carrot Top. Sure, being the butt of jokes has gotten Kucinich a fair amount of media attention in itself, but once you get that attention you’re supposed to step out of the caricature and address real issues. I use to think any publicity was good publicity for Dennis, but now I’m not so sure. I don’t have a problem with the gnomish typecasting, but I think there’s a serious problem when that’s all you’re brought on for. What do you think?”
• Kucinich empties pockets for comedian Colbert – Cleveland Plain Dealer Politics Blog: “Dennis Kucinich got in a few good quips on last night’s edition of Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report,” after comedian Stephen Colbert noted his habit of pulling items out of his pocket during presidential debates and challenged him to empty his pockets on television.”

South Carolina Public TV offers Stephen a stump
Does anyone else here remember Pat Paulson’s run? Or am I the oldest It-getter here?

• ETV, South Carolina’s Public Television Network, Invites Native-Son Colbert
  to Kick-off Pres. Bid On Its Air – MyETV.com: “As South Carolina’s only statewide media outlet, boasting 11 television and eight radio stations, ETV is extending an offer to Colbert to formally begin his campaign on its air. This affords him the important opportunity to reach his Palmetto State neighbors at one fell swoop. … And Colbert’s vow to run on both tickets, meshes well with ETV’s even-handed programming policy.”
• COLBERT FOR PRESIDENT – New York Post: ” “As South Carolina’s only statewide media outlet . . . ETV is extending an offer to Colbert to formally begin his campaign on its air,” the network said in a statement to Editor & Publisher. “This affords him the important opportunity to reach his Palmetto State neighbors at one fell swoop.” “

Our favorite Media Watch Dog targets Chris Mathews!
It appears Chris was praised, along with Stephen and Jon by far-left rock star types. Crosby and Nash were probably high, anyway. Why wasn’t Chris nailin’ ‘em?

• Chris Matthews Riffs With Anti-war Rockers Crosby and Nash – News Busters: “Crosby and Nash received such a friendly audience from Matthews that Nash actually sucked up to his host as he credited Matthews, along with Keith Olbermann, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, as the only ones who are really “asking the questions”:”

Feisty promo
I thought he said “fight song” … but then I always thought the jingle said a “by Mennen”.

• Stephen Colbert: How To Get Feist Out Of Your Head – CBC Radio 3: “On the most recent episode (October 11), Colbert is performing his rapid-fire intro and promos what’s coming up on the show, then says: “This’ll get the Feist song right out of your head” before singing the classic TV jingle, “Buy Mennen.”"

And I thought we had posted all the Pre-Emmy interviews…
Leave it to The USA Today to release the Colbert interview on YouTube in October!

• Stephen Colbert 2007 Emmys Interview – YouTube / USATODAYCelebWatch: “USA TODAY Entertainment Reporter Will Keck interviews TV host Stephen Colbert at the 2007 Emmys.”

Richmond, VA – you’re on notice!
Number 8?!? We expect better than that from you.

• What Richmond’s Reading – Richmond.com: “The top 10 bestselling books at Richmond-area Barnes & Noble Booksellers for the week of Oct. 13: … 8. “I Am America (And So Can You!)” “

Did you see the NY Times on Sunday?
We posted some of the responses to the “Stephen Colbert Op-Ed” in the previous Zeitgeist, but who would imagine that 400 or so words could create such a blogostorm?

• Best Maureen Dowd Column Ever Written by Stephen Colbert – Wonkette: “Now that TimesSelect has been brutally ousted, we’re gonna post all of the NYT’s op-eds all the time because they’re all just terrible. Maureen Dowd naturally seemed like a great place to start, but a peek at her column from yesterday showed that she had given the space to… Stephen Colbert! That’s some kinda genius, Times! How about you have Stephen Colbert always write MoDo’s column? Or just fire Bob Herbert. Either/or.”
• Chinese Beginning to Creep Into U.S. Lexicon? – SinoLinx.com: “Impressive display of geographical knowledge by Colbert’s writing staff. Moreover, if you Google sailcloth makers in Guangdong, you actually get a few hits – impressive.”
• MoDo’s Easy Weekend – FishbowlDC: “Okay, okay: So Maureen Dowd’s column this weekend — written by Stephen Colbert – was very funny (the Colbert portion, at least). But we have to ask: Why didn’t the New York Times just have Colbert write his own op-ed (since, as it is, his “Dowd op-ed” made up 710 of the column’s 865 words)?”
• Al-Qaida on the Wane? – Slate.com: “Many bloggers seem to celebrate Dowd’s absence: “I like Colbert, but the best thing about this column is that there’s less Dowd in it,” opines the Brit at the Sideshow. At the Impolitic, Libby is enjoying Dowd’s column: “Miraculously, there’s a Dowd column worth reading, mainly because she didn’t write it. Stephen Colbert did.”"
• Maureen Dowd, “Stephen Colbert” Team-Up = Op-Ed Genius – FishbowlNY: “Writing in the Times that isn’t dry? According to some theologians, that’s a sign of the impending apocalypse.”
• Stephen Colbert a Marcionite? – The Way of the Fathers: “Somebody call the Holy Office. Stephen Colbert jumped out of the TV this week for a guest spot at Maureen Dowd’s New York Times column. Shamelessly putting himself forward as a presidential candidate, he outlined his core convictions, among them: “After Jesus was born, the Old Testament basically became a way for Bible publishers to keep their word count up.” This from the guy who played Irenaeus to Elaine Pagels’ Valentinus. Say it ain’t so!”

On Self Promotion
Cheers and Jeers

• I have a book to sell: The refrain heard everywhere – Orlando Sentinel: “The most adept author these days is an entertainer: Stephen Colbert. He interviewed himself on his Comedy Central show to push his new book. He also has appeared on Larry King’s show and dropped by former employer “Good Morning America” (where Diane Sawyer went mushy). Oh, and Colbert has written a column for Maureen Dowd in Sunday’s New York Times.”
• Kurtz Is Trying A Little Bit Too Hard To Be Like Stephen Colbert – FishbowlDC: “You probably already are aware of “The Colbert Report”‘s “Formidable Opponent” segment, when Stephen Colbert debates, well, Stephen Colbert. Or you saw Colbert’s interview last week with, well, himself: And now this? Howie Kurtz interviewing Howie Kurtz on CNN’s “Reliable Sources” yesterday:”

Gratuitous Quote Dropping
What is it about the last 2 days? Or, as Stephen would say…

• Inside the Beltway – Washington Times: ”
  We had to laugh at David M. Walker, comptroller general of the U.S. who leads the Government Accountability Office, the so-called “investigative arm of Congress.” “Or as Stephen Colbert would say, we’re all about combating ‘truthiness,’ ” Mr. Walker said during his presidential lecture series last week, quoting the popular comedian and satirist.”
• The land of optimism is in the dumps, but refuses to accept how it got there
  – Guardian (UK): “Even as class rigidity entrenches and personal reinvention slips, the dream remains. Like Stephen Colbert’s spoof of George Bush, it has the capacity to “believe the same thing Wednesday that [it] believed on Monday, no matter what happened Tuesday”. It posits America as the world’s future whether the world wants it or not.”
• Tobacco industry truthiness – Oregon Live: “She said the researchers hired by the tobacco company are “meticulous” about documenting the claims made in their campaign ads. As Stephen Colbert would say, this Measure 50 ad does have a “truthiness” about it, but in another sense it is as fanciful as the old Marlboro Man television ads I remember from my youth.”
• Inside Star Wars: A Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy – StarWars.com: “Reinhart isn’t the only one who loved the rancor monster as it explodes from the pages. Recently, television host Stephen Colbert featured the book on “The Colbert Report” and was delighted by the unexpected pop-up as he opened the book and said, “Oh…oh…oh that is cool!”"
• Debating The Year of Living Biblically – Slate.com: “Do you think there’s anything to the idea of being a “reverent agnostic”? Or is it just oxymoronic? And is an agnostic just an atheist without balls, as Stephen Colbert says?”