Jun
18
VIDEO: Stephen Colbert and Barack Obama – behind the scenes
By
No way — the White House has posted the footage of the taping for Barack Obama’s “Operation Iraqi Stephen: Going Commando” cameo on facebook!
I can’t embed it here, but click on this link to go to the video. Awesome!
Huge hat tip to Roland!
EDIT:
Thanks to all the tipsters who sent us a link to the vid on YouTube – enjoy! I know I did! – DB
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54 Comments
June 18th, 2009 at 11:19 am
Whaaaaaaa? They planned this in advance??? (Just kidding)
Love A.S. playing the General… and the IAAASCY on the bookshelf
hahahaha
OK – I just listened to it again and that’s Evelyn McGee-Colbert you can hear off camera talking to the President. He say’s he really enjoys her husband’s show and asks if he is really that funny at home – but I can’t make her answer.
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June 18th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
Yes, you can see her over Alison Silverman’s shoulder during the reading. How cool to visit the White House, and under such a premise!
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June 18th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Wait, when the President asked if he’s funny at home Evelyn says “No he cries-” *laughter* and then it gets warbled at the end. Can someone pick up anything more than that?
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June 18th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
I didn’t catch the “no, he cries…”, but right after that Obama says something like “… so sort of a sad…. mumble, mumble mumble….”
I feel pretty ridiculous having spent as much time as I have micro-analyzing every second of this video. Truly, I a should probably get a life.
June 18th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Here’s what I was able to decipher, close to what you and armillariella have.
Obama: He funny at home.
Evelyn:no, he cries a lot
Obama:yeah that’s what I thought
*laughter*
Obama:he still doing the sad crying thing
Evelyn: yeah
June 18th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
It sounded to me like Obama said “sad clown thing”, but I confess that I wasn’t paying attention as closely as it seems some of you were. I suppose I’ll give it another listen when I’m not at work …
June 18th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
I think Obama replies ….”so the sad clown thing”
Evie is also quick-witted, that’s great. Well she has to… with that husband ;-)
June 18th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
sad clown thing would make much more sense, and much more in the way Obama quips.
June 18th, 2009 at 7:52 pm
Evie wasn’t the only spouse who was there. AS’s new husband was also there. You can see him next to AS at the very beginning of the video.
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June 18th, 2009 at 11:44 am
OMG, look at IAAASCY on the shelf!! I love how Stephen introduced himself as though Obama didn’t know him (Southern politeness?). This is awesome, thanks Roland, NFZ.
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June 18th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Oh, that’s great.
I’ve always wanted to know when the idea came up to shave the hair.
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June 18th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
SQUEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!
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June 18th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
This is awesome!! I’m so glad they released this footage! President Obama was such a great sport to do this for the show, that is too cool. And yeah, you can see Evelyn there, all gussied up! What a thrill!
Thanks for posting! :D
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June 18th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
It’s not working. Keep asking me for installing flash etc. and I keep doing it and it won’t show:(
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June 18th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
I’ve wondered whether the idea to include Obama making fun of his ears originate the TCR or within the Whitehouse, and this leads me to believe that the “my ears are really that big” actually originated with TCR. Kinda ballsy, if that’s the case.
I am shocked, shocked! I say, that our president is so inept that he needed a teleprompter though ;-)
I wonder if Stephen presented Obama with his copy of the Spiderman issue, like he promised to last January if the president would appear on his show.
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June 18th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
What I love about this video the most is the fact that *Stephen* is the one signing autographs at the very end. I think it’s official now: Barack Obama = It-Getter!
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June 18th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Yay, It’s working now! That was the best ever! Just so amazing.:D
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June 18th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Two of the coolest dudes in the Universe.
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June 18th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
True, but Stephen is slightly cooler. Remember, it was Stephen who provided his autograph.
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June 18th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
THIS IS THE COOLEST THING I’VE EVER SEEN!
I’m sorry it really is. wow.
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June 18th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
I AGREE! STEPHEN IS NO LONGER ON THE ROAD TO THE WHITE HOUSE! HE’S THERE! I THINK HE CAN PUT THIS ON HIS RESUME DURING HIS NEXT PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN!
“Look how nice I look in a White House setting. Vote for me!”
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June 18th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Hahahahahahaha! Awesome! :-)
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June 18th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
The President and Stephen! OMG! ;)
Stephen looks comfortable in any situation. He projects such a calm and cool exterior. I would be freaking out!!
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June 18th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
“Stephen looks comfortable in any situation. He projects such a calm and cool exterior. ”
Heh. You’ve apparently never seen the OMG Space! segment. Or, uhm, the Jane Fonda interview.
Seriously though, it probably helped the Stephen has interviewed Obama before, at least via satellite. This was probably a less freaky interaction than Stephen’s first meeting with the previous POTUS ;-)
And thanks to Lisa for pointing out that Stephen was the one signing autographs at the end. Ha!.
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June 18th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
lol! Ah Jane Fonda!Of course Jane could throw him for a loop!
I think I am so amazed because he was in The White House and out of character–though it would have been nice if he had challenged Obama to a leg wrestle! :)
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June 18th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
They were both created in chicago as well–and pretty much during the same time period.
Crazyness!
June 18th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
That was so great! I liked that the President told them he’d already read the script. Always totally prepared, our Pres.
I’ll have to watch it again to watch for Evelyn, I totally missed her. Loved the IAAASCY on the shelf.
Thanks, Roland!
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June 18th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
On a totally shallow note, Alison Silverman looks frigging amazing. That dress was awesome. Evie has always been my personal fashion icon, and in the tiny glimpse I could see of her, she looked fab as always.
Although I love the buzz cut, this did make me nostalgic for the hair.
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June 18th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
I so want to see it, but it’s not working for me.
Can someone transcribe it for me, please?
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June 18th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
This is the same clip on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_DbNu5OlFE
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June 18th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
argh! I can’t get this vid to work! I have to download flash update – but then, even after I close all programs, it says I still have to close them. :( I’ll try again later after I reboot altogether.
So, haven’t seen this video yet, but I’m wondering if anyone else has a slightly uncomfortable feeling w/ Stephen and Jon being so “close” with the big shots of this administration. Now, I’m not saying that they will now never make fun of them, because obviously they do. But for years, Jon in particular, has wondered what compromises come with “access.” Of course, he’s talking about journalists, not comedians, but I think the principle may be similar.
Don’t get me wrong – I LOVE seeing things like this and the Rahm Emmanuel smooch pic – but I think they do in some ways undermine the edginess of the satire. I’m not sure what I would like them to do instead. Keep their distance? – seems strange. I’m just saying it gives me a slightly uneasy feeling, I can’t just give in to the glee like I’d like to! If it was some right-wing comedian smooching W’s chief of staff + hanging out taping segments in the White House, we’d be cringing.
I’m just curious if anyone else feels this way, even a little bit?
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June 18th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
if you have vlc or a player that can play mp4 i can give you a link that you could open via that.
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June 18th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
This has nothing to do with being able or unable to play the vid, but I assume, according to Ms Interpreted’s comment after the first picture (and only picture, actually), that you had a lot to do with this posting – thanks loads, Roland, what fun!
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June 18th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
I think you make an interesting point Holly but Stephen doesn’t strike me as the kind of person who kow tows with his satire. I think both Obama and Rahm know that they are grist for the mill.
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June 18th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
I definitely see your point Holly. But, if a year ago I had seen some right wing comedian like O’Reilly or Hannity heading off to a war zone to entertain the troops, I don’t think that I would have been overly concerned about seeing one of them participating in the taping of a segment in which W ordered him to have his head shaved.
The photo of Emanuel smooching Stephen is probably a better illustration of your point. I most likely would have been disturbed by a photo of say Karl Rove smooching Rush Limbaugh. On a number of levels. But, in the broader context, I think the Emanual/Colbert smooch was pretty tongue in…. oh, never mind. After all, Emanual did once forbid Democratic Congresspersons to appear on TCR, so I don’t think that he and Colbert see themselves as natural allies. And, until Colbert or Stewart start proclaiming themselves to be “Fair and Balanced”, I’m not going to get too concerned about the fact that they obviously aren’t.
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June 18th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
This is a very interesting discussion. I too have felt slight unease ever since the Rahm smooching photo.
However,it did seem that Rahm was doing the courting. I don’t think the feelings are completely mutual.
Conversely, the mutual admiration between SC and The President is palpable in this video.
SC, a self-declared Pinko, can no longer be seen as completely impartial.But I don’t think anyone should underestimate him,least of all the administration.If he ever thinks they’re culpable,he’ll speak out. At least I hope he would.
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June 18th, 2009 at 10:56 pm
I definitely see your point Holly and I would never like to see Stephen or Jon become too buddy-buddy with any president. However, I think it will always be more likely for presidents to “kiss up” to comedians rather than vice versa.
I think it’s too early in Obama’s presidency to make any assumptions regarding Stephen’s interactions with Obama, but I think your worries deserve some merit. Stephen recognized the danger of getting sucked into the political machine during his “presidential campaign” when his staff began wondering if he was taking himself seriously.
Thanks for keeping this thread fair and balanced;)
recaptcha: mostly melancholy (hmmm….what does this mean?)
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June 19th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
Thanks everyone for your replies – it’s interesting to hear what others think. fair and balanced indeed. ;) I think I’m just a little over-sensitive now that the shoe is on the other foot, as it were, re: who’s in power.
I finally got to see the vid w/ the youtube link, and I agree with the poster upthread who said “two of the coolest dudes in the universe”! Indeed! Every time I think I can’t be more impressed with Stephen, I’m wrong. ;)
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June 18th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
Someone put in on YouTube,,,,try this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_DbNu5OlFE
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June 18th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
i love the whispered cheering when BO does his bit…
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June 18th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
Amazing! I love it that the White House released this video. I even received tweets about it from the @whitehouse and @BarackObama twitter accounts.
I’ve been watching the video over and over. It’s so freaking cool!
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June 18th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
Thanks for the link Katie, this is so awesome. I keep watching over and over. I love it.
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June 18th, 2009 at 7:56 pm
O_0
WOW.
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June 18th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
Roland, you rock!
I SO enjoyed watching this video – Thanks
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June 18th, 2009 at 9:12 pm
This is like the greatest thing ever. And IAAASCY on the shelf, did they just slip that in there?? Haha, best thing ever.
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June 18th, 2009 at 9:50 pm
LOL. ^_^ Talk about a sweet behind-the-scenes look. My favorite part would have to be that copy of Stephen’s book that they slipped into the bookshelf.
Sneaky Colbert staff…LOL…
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June 18th, 2009 at 11:11 pm
His hair! His beautiful, beautiful hair! :D
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June 19th, 2009 at 12:23 am
I love this so much! Thanks for posting!
I wonder how much the President actually watches The Colbert Report? Does he TiVo it? :P
It was especially cute when Obama asked Evie if Stephen was just as funny at home. I’m guessing she gets that a lot.
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June 19th, 2009 at 11:20 am
Wow that was really cool. I didn’t even know that they rehearsed with Stephen actually there, I thought that a camera crew was sent and that was it.
And awesome, I Am America and So Can You being on the bookshelf!!
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June 19th, 2009 at 11:34 am
I thought so too. I think I had a dream last night where all of us here got to go see the president with them. I wish that would really happen.
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June 19th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
I wish I could just pal around with the President like that. They’re all just so “Heyyyyyyyy! :D” while just as a viewer I feel all “OMG. STEPHEN. DO YOU REALIZE THAT’S THE PRESIDENT.”
Allison’s whispered crowd reactions are great. “Whooaaa this is amazing!”
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June 19th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
I’m certain Stephen realized who he was talking to. However, he had a job to do so he had to get past all of that “OMG! This is the President!” stuff. Difficult to do, but necessary. Also, Obama’s demeanor and attitude certainly helped. Remember, he actually apologized for running late. The President of the United States apologizing for being late! What a guy! Both him and Stephen are really gracious. That’s simply wonderful.
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June 19th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
I finally just got around to watching this — ONE TAKE? That’s astounding to me. I loved when they started running Obama through it and he’s all “Yeah, yeah, I read the script, let’s do it.”
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July 1st, 2009 at 12:33 am
Not sure if this is available elsewhere in the NFZ, and I’m sure it’s alot less impressive than SC with the Pres., but here’s SC and the General rehearsing this bit in Iraq. http://www.youtube.com/user/MNCIraq#play/all/uploads-all/2/s67QkCNhFMk
Actually it’s the rehearsal BEFORE the rehearsal, as I attended the audience-involved rehearsal expecting to see him and Odierno but that part was absent. Of course when I saw it being really taped my jaw dropped…it took a bit for me to realize that couldn’t really be the POTUS on LIVE feed!
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