Wørd Up: The Best of Colbert

In honor of Stephen Colbert’s visit to the Kennedy School of Government Institute of Politics (IOP) last Friday, The Crimson proudly presents The Best of Colbert.

Best Guest: William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Government Harvey C. Mansfield ’53, Episode 78, April 5, 2006

There’s no question: The Colbert Report dominates every other show on when it comes to sheer manliness in interview technique.

Come on…can you really imagine any other TV personality take on our own Harvey “C-minus” Mansfield and discuss the “manliness” of President Bush with Colbert-esque wry sarcasm? The repartee between the two was golden. Government concentrators, you know you wish you could have had that opportunity.

Best “Better Know a District”: Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.), Episode 123, July 20, 2006

Colbert coaxed Wexler to follow the line, “I enjoy the company of prostitutes for the following reasons,” with, “because it’s a fun thing to do, much like cocaine. If you combine the two together, it’s probably even more fun.”

“Wexler claims never to have seen the show, and only went on because he was encouraged to do so by young staffers who thought it would make him seem cool. It didn’t,” commented Geraldo Rivera about the segment.

The irony, of course, is that Geraldo is probably the least cool person on the planet; by going along with the gag, Wexler proved to be one of the few politicians in this country with a genuine sense of humor.

Best Wørd: “Wikiality,” Episode 128, July 31, 2006

Leave it to Colbert to cause havoc for Wikipedia and give African elephant researchers a headache.

“All we need to do is convince a majority of people that some factoid is true. For instance…Africa has more elephants today than it did ten years ago,” proclaimed Colbert. Never mind that the statement is patently false—it became “fact” on the African elephants” article on Wikipedia following the broadcast, and vandals and moderators battled it out until the article was temporarily locked.

Let’s just hope some unsuspecting high-schooler didn’t cut and paste that into their biology research paper.

Best Award Colbert Has Won: Honorary Doctorate from Knox College

We’ve seen Colbert salivate over MacArthur Grants and Fields Medals. He’s persuaded Barry Manilow to “share custody” of an Emmy statue. He had a bridge in Hungary (almost) named after him. Clearly Colbert loves accolades.

So, what’s the best of them all? His honorary doctorate in fine arts from Knox College that he received in June 2006. The perk of having the degree? He’s now credited as Dr. Stephen T. Colbert, DFA in the Colbert Report credits. Damn, they beat Harvard to it.