Stephen Colbert kicked off his reign over David Letterman’s former Late Show desk on Sept. 8 in characteristic Colbert-ian fashion: patriotically, and satirically. The show began with a taped sketch of Colbert appearing in various locales with “everyday Americans” as they sang the “Star-Spangled Banner” together. Lest anyone thought to take it too seriously, halfway through the sketch Colbert appeared in a factory, as the sound of heavy machinery droned out his singing, in a clear parody of folksy Americana campaign ads.
With the announcement that he would not be bringing the voice of his right-wing demagogic character from the Colbert Report to the Late Show, many wondered what voice Colbert would use. And in his interview with Gov. Jeb Bush, Colbert gave us an answer. When Bush sat down at Colbert’s desk, he pointed out the proliferation of images of his host’s smiling face adorning the rotunda of the theater.
“I used to play a conservative, narcissistic pundit,” Colbert explained.
“Now I’m just a narcissist.”
Anyone who watched the premiere, however, knows that the reality is a bit more complicated than Colbert let on. While the host did not speak with the voice of his former character, who made absurdly illogical statements in order to satirize the right-wing media (such as, “Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Give a man a sub-prime fish loan and you’re in business, buddy!”), much of his humor remained the same.
In a somewhat overwrought sketch, Colbert mocked product placement with reference to a cursed amulet that forced him to endorse Sabra hummus. Then, in a hilarious metaphor for news coverage about Donald Trump, Colbert both gleefully and tearfully gorged himself on Oreos, the cookies Trump has boycotted because Nabisco moved their factories to Mexico. Colbert then welcomed actor George Clooney to the show, and the two of them took turns making fun of their own professions.
It was Colbert’s interview with Trump’s rival, Gov. Bush, however, that showed why Colbert’s new role on the Late Show could be helpful for our politics — especially in our strange election season, whose conclusion is still more than a year away. Toward the beginning, Colbert gave Bush room for a mini-stump speech. But he was not interested in just giving his guest free airtime.
When Bush said, “Imagine if we… brought people together again, rather than constantly trying to divide us,” Colbert asked him pointedly, “Do you think that you could bring people together? Because everybody says they want to bring people together.”
But Colbert didn’t throw his guest to the wolves, as he is perfectly capable of doing (the most notorious example is Colbert’s epic roast of Jeb’s brother, George, at the 2006 White House Correspondents’ Dinner — but it was a regular feature on the Colbert Report). The host of that show often treated guests as springboards for his own jokes, to their exasperation and to the glee of his audience.
On Sept. 8, however, this host wanted to take his guest seriously.
So the new Stephen Colbert explained, “For seven years, on the Republican side, the emotional needle has been nailed — bang! — in one spot: Obama … bad, you know, maybe not American … then the Democrats have to argue, ‘He’s the best!’ just to counter that emotional narrative.”
When Bush insisted that he could restore civility to Washington, Colbert assured him, “Honest to God, I would love it!”
Later in the interview, in a greeting to his family who was in attendance at the taping, Colbert called out to his brother Jay, asking whether they agree politically. Jay emphatically shook his head, “No.”
“And yet I love you,” Stephen said.
“I love you too,” Jay mouthed back.
This simultaneously funny and touching interaction opened a space for Colbert to ask Jeb Bush, somewhat abruptly, “In what ways do you politically differ from your brother George?”
Bush tried to joke, but this time, Colbert was serious. He insisted on a real response.
And because he was not asking Jeb to criticize his brother, only to point out a political difference, the governor must have felt obliged.
“He didn’t veto things,” Bush said.
“He didn’t bring order, fiscal restraint.”
With a combination of satire and earnestness, Colbert finagled an honest, illuminating answer from Jeb Bush about George’s legacy, something most media figures would have had a much harder time doing.
Colbert brings a unique combination to his new medium. While most of the late-night talk show hosts are topical, they don’t have the political focus that Colbert has had for over a decade. And compared with other political commentators and reporters, he ignores unwritten laws of professionalism, as he did when talking with his own brother in the audience. This breach of the code, however, was not to shock, but to bring a new level of humanity to a discussion about George W. Bush, one of the most polarizing public figures of the 21st century. Suddenly, the audience could imagine Jeb and George as brothers, not just politicians. And that sudden appearance of tenderness paid off in honesty.
But while Colbert tried to model the civility he called for, he thankfully reminded us that he won’t be leaving behind his humor while at the Late Show.
“I’ll restore a degree of civility right now,” he told Gov. Bush.
“There is a non-zero chance I will vote for you.”
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