Colbert bombs on Meet The Press - sadly...(Part 1 of 2)

[Geneparmesan1]

jesus christ how can you not realize the joke... i mean russert pulls out a fucking seasame street doll

[cryguys]

Also, Meet the Press is usually a serious show, you're right. But when you have one of the leading political satirists on your show, you know what you're getting yourself into and Russert decided to grill him as if it were serious. That's the joke. Looks like it flew right past you. Whether or not it was really staged is debatable but it's clear both are not taking it as seriously as you say and both know this is a joke. Bert doll? Come on.

[cryguys]

He knows he's not, both men know this. To think otherwise is foolish.

[cryguys]

@matthewpng how does it fit? The entire thing is a joke, a farce. Russert is obviously smart enough to know he's playing a character and so he's taking him on as if he's a serious presidential candidate. He

[77dris]

The problem is Meet The Press is a fail to begin with, so it's a no win situation for Stephen from the start.

[kajmal]

Don't think he should have done this interiview in-character. Apparently Stephen and Tim were trying to do a 'bit' together. For one, bits like this don't work with two straight men. Second, Tim was an awesome news man, but apparently not a very good improv actor. At the very least, not nearly as good an improv actor as Stephen. He should have done it out-of-character. I've seen Stephen do interviews out-of-character and I'm always impressed by his sincerity and thoughtfulness.

[mattlewis66]

It occurs to me that Colbert finds it very difficult to try and speak without sarcasm, pretending or some subtext of a joke. Amazing.  It reminds me of something Stewart said about needing to have the laughter. Now at least Stewart tried seriousness on Crossfire but if Carlson were savvy he would have asked "You are joking right?" when Stewart said "You are hurting us." Yes, Colbert bombed because he couldn't get Russert to laugh. Russert was the perfect antidote.

[madrandombutterfly2]

this is a more subtle comedy - just because there isnt an audience laughing at all the jokes doesnt mean its not funny

i thought it was good :) loved his book quotes LOL

[FuckedUpWebcamShows]

R.I.P. Tim Russert

[south6bt]

LOL, satire is the best comedy!

[matthewpng]

3:32. That is "play"? Watch it from the start for the context. It starts nicely but degenerates by 2mins. Notice 3:05.

Watch Part 2. Russert talks about Colbert's speech at the white house correspondents' dinner. Colbert is known to intentionally not want to read about it himself, much less discuss it.

Moreover, Meet The Press is not a comedy show, or a role playing show. It's intended to be a serious interview where interviewees have a tough time, like HardTalk.

[matthewpng]

for those who say they are both in on the joke, i think that's ridiculous. watch colbert on the o'reily show. the colbert there is the same colbert you see here, and it is different from the "character colbert" from the Colbert Report and the "non-sarcastic colbert" which you can see when he is on Larry King.

Colbert is being attacked here, and he's countering with his wits.

3:05. If both are playing, how does Russert's sentence fit into it?

Also, see the ending of Part 2. Not nice at all.

[applefrog111]

Lol Colbert bible.

[westjuan]

Colbert is my hero, the emperor wears no clothes

[Djm406]

There seem to be many people confused about this video. They were both in on the joke. Even the poster of this video is joking.

[guitar0ne11]

this is not a bomb this is hilarious!!

[JokesOnYou11]

Whoever posted this video and said that he bombed is completely oblivious to the fact that the whole interview was a big joke that everyone was in on.hahafail.

[jdpeters79]

The comments on here are really funny... people debating whether Colbert was serious or whether Russert took him seriously. Russert was a very smart and well-prepared journalist. He knows Colbert is a comedian... and people, he's a COMEDIAN!! It's an act... he acts like the most annoying, crazy right-winger to get under people's skin. But it's all comedy.... to those of you who never knew of Colbert before his show, look him up on wikipedia!

[geeflyboy]

It is an act, a total made up Character, for laughs, based in a far right wind bags, like o'reilly, hannity and rush. You have to be REALLY witty and smart to act this dumb, as dumb as a conservative pundit like hannity, coulter, o'reilly, limbaugh.

[AimeeL73]

that was hilarious, was that actually aired on Meet the Press??? I didn't know that Tim Russert was such a good sport as that, (RIP)

[ragnarocks0]

"i don't have a group of ppl that i can snap my fingers and they would attack ppl" ----> bush reference

[stillill586]

Did Russert take Colbert seriously, yes. Why wouldn't he? Its Meet The Press and he was interviewing a man (a well-known comedian/ political satirist) on his annoucement for presidential candidacy. Funny is funny, and being familiar with Russert and Colbert, i dont doubt that this was staged...but IF he was purposely being a "hard screw to turn" its because it was his duty. The office of president isnt a joke, regardless of how the last 8 years have thrown that position under the bus.

[MrPink89]

It's so sad how serious Russert is taking this, colbert was trying his hardest to be funny and he was, but Tim was just too ridiculous trying to be super serious and attack Colbert, i hope this is a joke!

[Cuyut982]

I guess you missed the Bert doll.

[vp1981ad]

WTF are all of these comments referring to? Both Colbert and Russert are totally in on the joke here and are absolutely hilarious!!! Anyone who thinks that this interview is about Russert being "a jackass" or "narrowminded" had no grasp of satire or comedy!

[debunkingdebunkers]

Tim Russet is a jackass does he not know Colbert is a comedian. He's mad colbert called him and all the journalist cowards.

[PVFF87]

Or maybe you missed the satire on satire. : P

[Shaqfan32]

Wow! That pic of Stephen at the end. He did look like a cult leader. But a cute one at least. LOL

[faifaalelei]

Colbert is fuckin hillarious. The sesame street thing and the state amphibian comebacks is brilliant. holy shit.

[Caroliney27]

what a fucking asshole this guys is . . .

man i feel so embarrassed for him . . .

[faifaalelei]

which one? If your referring to Russert, well hes dead, but if your referring to colbert, then you obviously dont know Colbert at all.

[oobah2]

wow. tim russert just takes him way too seriously. even bill o'reilly, as narrowminded as he is, knew not to take colbert this seriously.

[Ivan951]

This guys a dick... he's dead though, who's got the last laugh now! ha!

[01RoboDemon]

Marriage is a social, religious, spiritual, or legal union of one male and one female.

[01RoboDemon]

Clearly your no Colbert fan whats with the description seems your more of a Meet the Press fan you mongoloid.

[01RoboDemon]

ahahah Colbert is fucking hilarious. Russet "Yet ANOTHER ATTEMPT AT HUMOR Mr. Colbert" AHAHAHAHAHA you fat fuck . whats the state Amphipian "Its my dog Cookie she swims and goes on land" ahahaha

[fherlinn]

what are you talking about? this is funny.

[exeter123rules]

brill

[timpipe]

This approaches British humor, dry, wry, understated, some don't get it.

[mastgrr]

I thought this interview was hilarious in every way. Russert's trying to push Colbert over the edge. It's absolutely awesome.

[vp1981ad]

I would strongly recommend that ColbertFan2008 reconsider the title and blurb for this clip. This interview is a brilliant back-and-forth comedic interaction between Russert and Colbert! It's exactly in Colbert's style, with him coming up with deliberately inane arguments to defend his deliberately inane opinions.

[fixxxer928]

He didn't bomb. Don't let him taint your thoughts and judgement with what he implies

[davethedrummercancun]

I am so glad that this is posted, but based on the title - the "up-loader" would also hate the historical documentary "This is Spinal Tap".

If U don't get it - U never will! :-)

I made the mistake of trying to eat a meal while watching this interview... I choked again and again.

:-)

They both were great in this bit. Tim played his part very well and Colbert is a master on the fly.

Russert is missed but his boy is walking in those shoes very well. Damn good kid and reporter.

[cosmosspring]

Where is part 2?

[ns12123]

Um, how did Colbert bomb this? Russert is an idiot for taking him seriously. Colbert is satire and Russert is too dumb to figure it out. Colbert's reactions are priceless; he is mastering the conversation and Russert doesn't know it.

[budthesmoke85]

ns12123, Tim Russert is dead you jackass. Show some respect.

[liam679]

russert is clearly joking in this aswell....in what way was he serious? he fuckin held up a bert doll for christs sake

[Sirwastealot]

Anyone who thinks russert was serious is seriously dumb.

[Incredibus]

Oh my God Russert nailed him - this was fucking hilarious; especially at the end with the cult thing.

[disneywasafascist]

How did he bomb? This shit is HILARIOUS!!!

[Niadivedct]

Roo-sair.

Rofl.

[AngerPersonified]

He did pretty much perfectly, the funniness imo is that...colbert is an actor, an actor in character who is running for president. Obviously the interviewer take it seriously on him was funny, he really played the part great, even the doll thing at the start...that was amazing, it was just...funny.

The whole joke is based on taking him totally seriously as a president candidate, they grilled him in a serious way, the book being taken seriously...its just perfect really XD

[jimmbo13]

o cmon, russert was in on it - get real, it was hilarious - in fact, russert was great for playing it so dead pan

[DrySweat]

Russert is in on the joke guys. He's not serious. Chill the fuck out.

[matsubishii]

Anyone who thinks this fucker is making any kind of serious point in any way is obviously a fool. He's smart literate guy who knows very well what's going on, and isn't intimidated by a camera into making a dumb arse statement about something he doesn't think is relevant. Bravo, I say....

[da9el1]

seriously?? LOL ROFL

[silentthriller]

oh yeah "Colbear" was on it!

[kavewolf]

lol he doesnt fail, just russet refused to play along, he wanted him to break his character but colbert refused to, so in my opinion colbert won this one, just noone was around to laugh.

[Pwells1]

dude, Russert was playing along the whole time. It was very dry humor, and Russert played it completely straight. Sorry there was no slapstick or canned laughter to clue you in

[espkh02]

colbert just wasnt going to break character, no matter what russert threw at him, and that was pissing russert off (god rest his soul).

[1RacecaR2]

If anyone thinks this is a serious interview, then you're too dumb to reason with. Colbert is obviously trying to get a laugh out of this, but Russert is too uptight to see.

[bexlikexGob]

he didnt bomb it he took it as a total joke and russert took it way to seriously. he pulled up stuff from when he was in college and thats all he could do, which was stupid

[forrenz]

"I actually don't have a group of people where I could just snap my fingers and have them attack people."

I can say, with great certainty, that he soon will have that power...

Heck, I would do it :)

"Sick 'em, Nation! Bwahahahahahaha!!"

[FistInTheAir420]

Tim Russert was one of the few people in the media who had the balls to call politicians (Left & Right) on their bullshit.

He was no Kronkite. But certainly a step up from the schmucks they've got filling his spot on msnbc since he died.

[varghejo]

" ...thats his choice...ask him I dare you"

thats funny stuff russert was cool in this too.

[preposterous3637]

tim russert takes himself too seriously. i don't like him

[Booyaka9000]

Well... Tim Russert is dead now.

[preposterous3637]

are you serious? well, now i feel bad.

[Booyaka9000]

Yeah, he died mid june of a heart attack unfortunately. I read somewhere that he came across tougher in this interview because he was worried about Colbert taking the piss and partly because Colbert wanted it to look as authentic as possible. Russert was usually more relaxed.

[jahuda1]

bomb? you kidding? this is hilarious

[smellslikejackie]

russert is brilliant haha

he has much more class than o'reilly

russert is playing off of colbert's character

[ge0vanny01]

just awesome.

[jdunman]

I don't think this is a bomb at all. They're both playing it exactly like a normal Meet the Press candidate interview, except lightly tuned for Colbert's character. I think it's a great job by both Colbert and Russert.

[marley5600]

Wow, I used to like Tim Russert. But he looks like a fool here. He thinks he's getting tough on issues when it's all sarcasm. Epic fail on Russert's part.

[ge0vanny01]

dude, it's sarcasm. on both their parts.

[h8bigbro]

Either that or he's just doing his job. What's wrong with that?

[Lsquared321]

no he didnt bomb..

[pwnttothemax]

i don't think russert has ever seen his show

props to colbert for never breaking character!

[tacklebeast]

The interview was staged, everyone knows about his "character." It wouldn't have been entertaining if he didn't pretend to act serious.

[Boutoille7PM]

He didnt really bomb he was being over sarcastic at attempts at humor... it's all good.

[bdriz16]

That was just an attack on Stephen. Tim Russert is such an asshole.

STEPHEN RULES!!!

[elizalalala]

Russert was in on the joke and deliberately asking questions that let Colbert make political points. I'd be surprised if he wasn't fascinated by Colbert's use of the system to make a statement.

[theradiothom]

Colbert didn't bomb. This guys' a dumbass and doesn't realize that Colbert is not a politician nor a pundit. He's an actor and a comedian and he's making fun of right-wing jackoffs with everything he does. He's developed a character in "Stephen ColBEAR" much like Sacah Baron Cohen did on his television show. This guy is a dumbass and he's a fool and was FOOLED like everybody else. I love it that this guy gets to have an opinion even though it's based entirely on false information used as a joke.

[tacklebeast]

The interview was staged... he's not a dumbass, it would not have been as entertaining if he didn't act serious.

[noahfor]

Maybe ColbertFan2008 is unable to recognize something as being comedic without its being accompanied by some kind of canned laughter or audience laughter.

[RockyBalboa211]

God bless Colbert, also I was thinking dosen't he hate bears yet his name sounds like bear in the end.... Iam just wondering about that, South Carolina awesome, next to Texas. lol

[larma7]

The guy, "ColbertFan2008", is a phony. His only videos are of only when he thinks Colbert "bombed"??? Check out his/her page.

[tomer21today]

I guess I'm unfamilier with young people slang: "Bombed" means "was hilarius and generally did a very good job". right?

umm... and "Sadly" means... "."?

[Driven000009]

True, I think by "Bombed", he means that Colbert was THE BOMB. And by "Sadly", he means he laughed so much he cried!

[dalg20]

BOMBED!? no way... amazing.... as always.

[MaxPollard]

that was hilarious, what do you mean buy?

[Lunakid360]

bombed? Where?

[MadMoll]

timmeh.. pundit without a clue....

[TheGreenRooster]

"I only got married as a taut to gay men"

lol!

[tanna17]

"that's a cult leader!"

lol

"i don't actually have a group of people who i can snap my fingers and have them attack people"

[caffeinepirate]

Colbert is my here, lol! I am reading his "I Am America" book right now. It's humorous, but not nearly as good as seeing his videos and his show.

[earthdome111]

bombed??

that s&#t was SO funny!

you're warped!

[zguynn]

bombed? I've always wondered whether people were dumb enough to take colbert seriously. Ladies and gents, we found the village idiot.....

[eat4]

this is funny. not bombed. your dumb.

[tgbotg]

check out his charlie rose interview. his voice is different than when he is on his show. here theres no clear distinction. at first hes serious, later, when he has to defend his book, hes not. he wants to say something like "i cant believe youre taking this seriously" and he does in the form of another joke. blah

[tgbotg]

yeah he didnt do so hot. but i think at first he was taking it very seriously, but mr russert didnt realize his book was a joke or that there are two sides to Colbert: his character and his real self. and Colbert wasnt prepared to be in character, but he had to defend his book. you can tell when hes in character and when hes not.

[dfs414]

he didn't bomb you idiot...what a lame ass.

[treatyourselftolunch]

Bombed? What the hell are you talking about? This was absolutely hilarious, some of the funniest Colbert stuff I've seen to date. Russert played the dogged straight man perfectly as well, to hilarious results.

[quixoto]

I don't know if "bad" or "good" really apply to this interview, but hilarious definitely does. Hopefully you're not getting confused by the lack of a studio audience and Russert's perpetual expression of bewilderment to think that this was a failure.

[shurl07]

This was actually really clever. I especially liked his opening response: how will we respond to these junctures, be they unprecidented or unforseen or, God help us, critical. He's funny because he's a reflection of the gazillion, power-hungry idiots running for president right now.

[takki777]

did you join youtube a week ago just so you can try to sound dumb in front of the world?

[takki777]

get outta here you so-called colbertfan

you have an intelligence comparable to a poodle

[colomblanco]

This is titled with the same sense of humor that Stephen Colbert uses. I wouldn't be surprised if He posted this himself.

[jamesecash]

"ColbertFan" created this account for sole purpose of attaching a lame title to this work of comedic genius.  Obviously not a fan of Stephen Colbert.

[detp3]

Colbertfan.... Have you ever watched Colbert's Show?

[famguy231]

you might as well remove "sadly" from the title because clearly you are not a true fan of colbert. if you were and for most people even if you are just familiar with him you would know that he did exactly what he wanted to do and does do on his show every night. do you know what he tells his children? he tells them that he is "professionally ridiculous." you should not even be allowed to post videos relating to colbert.

[claymon99]

how did he bomb? it was both of them playing along to his character, quite funny. i guess idiots need a laugh-track to get this...

[PanEclectic]

Colbert handled this in a genius way. He allows the viewers that have no idea about the joke, to think this is real. The political system is such a joke, many people will view him as just another candidate. Had Colbert done what he usually does, it would have made it obvious. He's a genius.

[abbazabba12345]

Colbert is joking.

Russert knows this.

It's a joke.

You're stupid.

[shadywai]

The only thing people should be amazed is there are so many people trying to be smart asses and showing their apathy to all things. By teasing people to make themselves feeling better, I sincerely think that these people's existences are simply pathetic.

[darthsbane]

this is so funny to watch. i don't see how people can say Colbert "bombed" in this interview. Russert took everything he said seriously which is the wrong thing to do..

Colbert '08!

[RGannon2005]

I love the fact that people take Stephen seriously...it really makes me realize how fucking stupid people are...

[akenny47]

you're not a fan. i hope your children die.

[okmujm]

no matter where i go its the same! stupid pple seem to abound. it was all a big joke, which both men were in on. a joke, repeat after me- A- J-O-K-E! if bert, gay marrage and the hair questions did not make this clear to you, then you are truely not very bright or politically aware. i just feel sorry for you and your kids.

[okmujm]

i can't believe how stupid people are...it is a joke, both men are joking!!! this is why i believe that most ppl should not be allowed to vote! i cant believe how dumb and uniformed people are. my god wake up people!!

[dptmpt]

If Colbert was really running for president, then yes, he definitely put his foot in his mouth. But since he isn't he just made a real news show look like joke. As hard as Russert tried to make Colbert uncomfortable, he still cracked a chuckle in the middle of the interview.

[nightnightlytv]

Apparently you didn't see the NBC web extra, which is essentially part 3- where he talks OUT of character

[ColbertFan2008]

On 10/21/07, Stephen Colbert sadly bombed on Meet The Press. Tim Russert was allowed to stay in continued control of the interview, Colbert often relied on amateur slapstick type jokes, and there was no telling-truth-to-power "moment" like there was at his 2006 White House Correspondents Dinner speech. Many of his biggest fans were let down.

[shadywai]

You are not even a fan of colbert, you are just using the name of ColbertFan2008 and trying to have us losing faith in him. You know, there may be tens of people using hundreds of hours before the interview and trying to nail him in MTP. However, he just answered all questions perfectly with humor OFF THE CUFF!!!

[ColbertFan2008]

Stephen Colbert sadly bombed on Meet The Press. Tim Russert was allowed to stay in continued control of the interview, Colbert often relied on amateur slapstick type jokes, and there was no telling-truth-to-power "moment" like there was at his 2006 White House Correspondents Dinner speech. Many of his biggest fans were let down.

[dantyrant]

Dude, Colbert was great on MTP. Russert was the interviewER, and Colbert was the interviewEE. It's deadpan humor. And he did great.

[elgringosalsero]

Agreed. I'm a big fan of Colbert and I thought he did a great job of doing what he does best--ridiculing our mass media through satirical comedy. The fact that MTP even allowed Colbert to appear proves just how ridiculous our media has become. He's a fictional character, people! Russert might as well have interviewed Mickey Mouse.

[insidiousnick2]

It's nice to see another comic genius out there who can use their Colbert-like? Colbert-ish? sense of humor to comment about this interview. Because it's so painfully obvious that he didn't bomb, that it's funny to say that he did. Brilliant!! You're awesome! I like free, critical thinking individuals who don't need to be spoon fed humor or poignancy by an audience or laugh track in order to understand it.

[GHuling]

I don't think his goal here was to make Russert look like an idiot. His goal was to play it straight, and just show how unsubstantial the typical Sunday morning show interview with a presidential candidate is.

[GoinPostalx]

a dead give away was what he said about gay married "why would i get married if it wasnt tor ub it in the face of gay people"... if there was a live audience everyone would b laughin their asses off

[KingKrio]

Where did he bomb? He made Russert look stupid and stuffy.

[bennykamikaze]

Wow this is brilliant. Everything Colbert says is complete satire, and the interviewer doesn't seem to get any of it. Colbert even managed to make fun of him. Go Colbert!

[Xenodeity]

"i changed my name because i know there's people out there who need Ts" that sir is not bombing. That's f***ing genius, that's what that is.

[DrTart]

Wow - people are actually threatened by a comedian making a joke run for President that they'll sign up on YouTube specifically (last night in fact) to run spin on his TV appearances?

God help you if Alfred E. Newman opts to run again.

[ggunk8]

idiot....he didn't bomb...this is satire