Stephen Colbert

Wow, apparently a UCSD political science professor, James H. Fowler, has just published a bona fide research paper on the effects of the “Colbert Bump.” From the press release: His analysis finds that Democrats who appear on The Colbert Report enjoy a significant increase in the number and total amount of donations they receive over the next 30?? days when compared to similar candidates who do not appear on the show. Specifically, Democrats who come on the program raise $8,247…

Becky and I just got back from a week-long trip to New York. Here are a few highlights:

Oh man — what could be better than Stephen Colbert singing a mock Korean pop song (à la Rain)? Exactly. [via Metropolitician]

Rolling Stone: Ben Karlin, Stewart’s thirty-five-year-old production partner who oversees both The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, says that “the biggest mistake people make is thinking that Jon and Stephen sit down before every show and say, ‘OK, how are we going to change the world?’ or any bullshit like that. They both really just want to get a laugh.” Though the shows clearly have a liberal bent, Stewart claims that they are emotional but apolitical. He does not,…

New York; October 16, 2006: Colbert in person is one of those rare comedians who like to dissect comedy, especially his own comedy, and especially what makes his own comedy funny. This is owed in part to the nature of his show—he plays an abrasive character who is, on the surface, designed to be repellent but is actually meant to entertain—which means he’s spent a lot of time thinking about how exactly to pull off this trick. When he was…