Stephen Colbert in the Zeitgiest: Guy Fawkes Edition

I’m trying to catch up with the zeitgeisting… there’s been a lot out there to sort through the past week. And when you hate to eliminate stuff from the list, well, it gets to be a long list. MsInterpreted has been keeping us up to date on the strike front. Let’s hope it’s a short one. Meanwhile, ‘I Am America (And So Can You!)’ tops the New York Times Hardcover Nonfiction list for the third week in a row! And ‘The Best of The Colbert Report’ DVD is released on Tuesday. Here’s more of the zeitgeist for November 5, 2007.

More from behind the scenes in South Carolina
Brad Warthens Blog continues to provide information about Stephen pitching to be on the ballot in South Carolina:

• And after all that perfectly good sucking-up, too… – Brad Warthens Blog: “Actually, this is a win-win for him on another level. He told the assembled Dems Sunday that he, for one, is not worried about the threatened Hollywood writers’ strike. If the writers are gone, he just keeps “campaigning,” and his character’s story line progresses without missing a beat, and without recourse to reruns.”

The editorial I’ve been sitting on…
I was going to do a separate post of this when it first appeared, but there were so many arguments to be made and really, the dude’s not worth it. Where to start?

• Stephen Colbert is laughing all the way to Fort Knox – MarketWatch.com: ” Sure, Dowd and Russert are already celebrity journalists, but they also want to hang out with Colbert. They can tell their friends and family members that they’re obviously cool because Colbert knows who they are. I simply wish that they would remember that they are journalists, and Colbert is an entertainer. Even in the age of fake news, there is a difference.” [Note: some responses can be found here.]

It-Getters comment on Stephen’s candidacy
A cure to the above post.

• Roberts: Stephen Colbert is a real fake – Cokie Roberts and Steven Roberts / via Milford Daily News: “So it’s all a big joke, right? Not quite. Yes, Colbert is trying to sell his new book. And no, he’s not a serious candidate. But he is a serious commentator, part of a great tradition of jesters, cartoonists and satirists who have always poked fun at established leaders and punctured their carefully crafted self-portraits.”
• Stephen Colbert: Run, Boy, Run! – Allison Kilkenny: “The thing is: Stephen Colbert is joking. He’s a brilliant comedian, and he’s f@#king with everyone. I love it. No one knows what to do with Stephen because he’s slippery and smarter than everyone he talks to. At first, I was content in watching him slowly unravel the democratic process and reveal its gaping flaws, but now I want him to gain momentum. Serious momentum. I want him to ruin, get in the way of, and derail everyone’s neatly prepackaged campaigns of commonplace answers and kissing babies. I want him to so utterly surprise candidates that they have to give real answers and act human.”
• No joke! This country needs more presidential candidates – Chicago Tribune: “I know you probably think I’m sitting here with a smirk on my face, but I’m completely semiserious. If Colbert ran in the Illinois primary he would get my vote, and I think the country would do just fine if he won. It doesn’t matter to me that I can’t quite tell if it’s the real Stephen Colbert or the character Stephen Colbert who wanted to run. Or that it’s clearly a joke to Colbert.”
• Are we Colbert’s punch line? – Los Angeles Times: “These days, who truly has more influence — a politician, or someone who plays one on TV? Deep in his darkly comic heart, Colbert knows the answer — and I’m sure he hopes that we do too.”
• CAMPAIGN UPDATE – Columbus Dispatch: “Presidential campaigns, Blundo said, should be reserved for rich people, the wives of ex-presidents, senators who appeared on Law & Order, diminutive Ohio congressmen, obscure newspaper columnists and other candidates who have earned the right to be considered. Colbert, who stars on Comedy Central’s Colbert Report, meets none of those criteria, Blundo said. “
• Why I want to be Stephen Colbert’s running mate – Christian Science Monitor: “Why, you ask, does the native South Carolinian – comedian, pundit, and self-promoter extraordinaire, who is running for “president of the United States from South Carolina” on both party tickets – need a vice president when he is perfectly capable of being not just chief executive but his own entire cabinet?

  Because there are skills that even Mr. Colbert does not have, and I can provide them. I have the vice-presidential ability to blend into the background when the headliner speaks. I behave well at funerals. I think I could even refrain from rejoicing at the funerals of political opponents. “

• The Colbert Experience, at Law – More Soft Money Hard Law: “Colbert could not be serious, hence not a serious candidate; and yet his candidacy was only viable—it really only made sense—if it was not taken seriously. “

Giving is good!
Stephen related charity type stuff

• Don’t forget to support Donors Choose. Stephen still tops the list of the straw poll but is only half way to the goal of $100,000.
• The Bob Woodruff Family Fund, founded by journalist Bob Woodruff, helps injured service men and women and is holding an auction which includes a meet-and-greet with Stephen Colbert.

Product Placements
Getting names out there.

• Cinnabon Gets Chuckle Out Of Colbert’s ‘Branded Killings’ – Marketing Daily: “Karen Gailey–pr manager for Focus Brands, which makes Cinnabons–found the mention flattering. “He’s a great guy and pretty darn funny,” she told Marketing Daily. “We’ve made our way into pop culture.”
• (De)Press(ing) Releases: Colbert/Dr Pepper ’08 – Politico.com: “Every so often, along comes an artifact that perfectly expresses the character of our times. Sometimes, that artifact is a press release that arrives in my in-box. Today, it’s a press release attempting to sell soft drinks by piggybacking on a comedian’s already over-extended publicity stunt. Enjoy.”
• Steagle Colbeagle the Eagle Gets Plug in Entertainment Weekly – Our Sports Central: “The Saginaw Spirit Hockey Club and it’s mini mascot, Steagle Colbeagle the Eagle, were mentioned in an article from the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly.”

Shout outs, six degrees, gratuitous name dropping

• Viacom Profits Reports Massive Third Quarter Profits – Associated Press (via Huffington Post): “Viacom said it wouldn’t see a big impact in the event of a Hollywood writers’ strike, except for late-night spoof artists Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, whose shows would go to reruns.”
• SMART LIST: Pop culture talking points (Holiday edition) – Los Angeles Times: “Surely this former skateboarding champion’s gig on “My Name Is Earl” is bringing in the big bucks, so why is he starring as Dave alongside three computer-animated rodents in this winter’s “Alvin and the Chipmunks”? We don’t think he looks anything like the Dave from our favorite Saturday morning cartoon. (Weirdly, we were Simon fans.) Now, Stephen Colbert, that would be a good choice.”
• A Sunday School Story – The WØRD: A Colbert Blog for Catholic It-Getters: Posts an excerpt from Erin Ptah‘s taping report with a very nice story from Stephen about a Sunday School teaching experience.
• Stephen Colbert Campaign Song – AOL News Bloggers: You’ll have to watch the video.