Very interesting. Not surprisingly after last night’s appearance with Leno (check out this reaction on UnitedHollywood.com), Mike Huckabee has backed out of his guest spot for next week’s Colbert Report. Paul Krugman seems to have bowed out, too. Here’s the current version of the ever-changing guest list, courtesy of TWoP’s loudfan and the Late Night TV Page:
Mo 1/7: Andrew Sullivan
Tu 1/8: Michael Pollan
We 1/9: Matt Taibbi
Th 1/10: Muhammad Yunus
(Compare to the last iteration of this list.)
EDITED TO ADD: Looks like Huckabee’s back on the agenda . . . via satellite. See this post for details.
Aww, bummer. I was looking forward to Huckabee, what with the Colbert Bump and all. Oh well…
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I wonder how much has to do with the response to his Leno showing, and how much has to do with avoiding giving Stephen the vice-presidency.
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Another member of the Nation disappointed that Huckabee won’t be appearing. Maybe he’ll stop by later in the year though?
They seem to have dispensed with the “Acts” as well. Interesting.
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Looks like we have an answer to at least one burning question: “Paul Krugman, or Paul Betray-us?” : P
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This is giving me a headache, I can’t imagine the migraine it’s giving Jon and Stephen.
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You know, the reality of the shows coming back didn’t truly hit me until we had actual guest lists. And now the crew has to deal with people backing out at the last minute? It must be incredibly frustrating.
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Poor guy. Huckabee, that is. I mean, although, he should have informed himself better, etc. … still, I mean, all the candidates. This must be a rough week…
I feel like people backing out of being guests won’t really have an effect (on viewers) unless EVERYONE does it, though. Which, I mean, I’d support.
Why can’t everyone just get along? And, you know, give the writers what they’re due?
),:
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I wondered about the wisdom of Huckabee appearing on Leno’s show when it would mean crossing a picket line. He, or more likely, someone on his staff, should’ve done their homework better. He managed to avoid the picket line itself by ducking through a different entrance, but there’s no way he can do that on TCR, the place only has one entrance (that I know of).
@ Shruti: Yeah, this is a tough break for all the candidates. Some of them would benefit from an appearance on either TDS or TCR, but I doubt that any of them will be willing to cross the picket line now.
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Huckabee’s backing out of TCR is really not a surprise, if you conaider that he apparently didn’t know he was crossing the picket line to appear on Leno. He just made the correction one would expect and cancelled with TCR.
I would expect things to even out after a few shows, when people have a better idea how things are going to go.
(BTW, as I sit here watching TV, Mike Huckabee has just been projected as the Republican winner in Iowa.)
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Yeah, Huckabee hasn’t been doing his homework on a lot of things… the NIE report for one…
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Oh jeeze…what a nightmare this has become.
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Can you imagine the stress on poor Stephen at this point? He’s got to be funny … but not too funny, because then they’ll think he doesn’t need the writers. He’s got a handful of writers … and a hundred other staffers as well. I really hope the writers themselves make it clear (via taping, maybe, so they don’t have to cross the picket line?) that they support him.
My stomach is in knots. I hope he has something brilliant next week, but what if he doesn’t?
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I think Colbert should riff ad lib on daily newspaper articles (as if he were just chatting with someone over coffee); show the question/answer periods with the audience on camera; interview whoever he can get on his show (or he could talk about books he’s hated/liked); and sing a song or two (take requests?).
He should do it all as a casually dressed, bearded, southern accented Steven Coal-burt.
He shouldn’t get a haircut until the strike ends.
Kind of a different alternate universe Stephen (there are many alternate universes).
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Matt Taibbi is my favorite political writer – bar none (not even Hunter Thompson -rest his soul), however, harken back to the infancy of the Report when Taibbi was a guest – probably one of the most painful interviews I’ve seen Stephen do. At one point he actually looked at his watch! Maybe Matt will come out in drag or something. Taibbi’s a brilliant writer, but a very reserved introverted type – probably how he slips into absurd situations virtually unnoticed. I can’t wait for this interview, though I’m extremely nervous to watch it.
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“casually dressed, bearded, southern accented Steven Coal-burt.”
Love it! And sing songs, lots of them, the entire great American songbook!
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