The Serious Candidate: Colbert on 'Meet the Press.' PHOTO: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Expertinent is a regular Stumper column featuring interviews with experts on the news of the day.
Talk about deja vu. On Oct. 13, 2006, the movie "Man of the Year" arrived in theaters. "The story," according to Wikipedia,
opens with Tom Dobbs (Robin Williams), a comedian and host of a satirical talk show who is able to tap into people's frustrations with the sharply divided, special-interest driven political climate. During his warm-up act, an audience member suggests that he run for President. At first, Dobbs laughs off the idea, but following a popular groundswell of support, later announces on the air that he will stand as a candidate.
Sound familiar? A year later, fiction became fact when Stephen Colbert announced last week that, after "nearly 15 minutes of soul-searching," he had "heard the call" to launch his own quixotic bid for the White House. Now, with Colbert wooing Larry Craig as a possible running mate and backers working to get him on the Democratic and Republican ballots in South Carolina, Stumper talked to "Man of the Year" writer and director Barry Levinson ("Diner," "Rain Man," "Good Morning, Vietnam") about the appeal of a comedian candidate--and the one thing Colbert shouldn't do if he wants to, um, win.
(Don't laugh. Colbert currently has 530,000 supporters on Facebook--or 150,000 more than Barack Obama. On second thought, laugh.)
To the interview ...
What did you think when you heard that Stephen Colbert was running for president?
It was inevitable. It's all based on our complete and utter disillusionment with our political figures. We might as well have a laugh, because we certainly can't get any constructive work done.
Was it like your movie had come true?
Yeah. When I did "Man of the Year," I read some reviews that said it was a satire. I never thought it was a satire, because the probabilities of it all actually happening seemed so great. I just took existing elements and said, "We're literally steps away from this falling into place." And now it has.
Why exactly?
We have more trust in comedians than we do in politicians. Because comedians have to find some kind of kernel of truth and poke fun at it. There's a credibility--it seems insane to say--but there's a credibility at this point in time that comedians have over politicians. Because we know that politicians have to do all kinds of nonsensical things to be reelected. We know it's not our interests that they're concerned with as much as it's about them maintaining power or getting to some degree of power.
Was the movie was actually inspired by "The Daily Show," on which Colbert was a correspondent? Has it come full circle?
It has, really. The movie mentions it--more people are getting their news from fake news shows than real news shows. You take that and push it along, and that's how "Man of the Year" evolved. We're so inundated by this stuff, we just keep tuning out. Then you say, "Oh, well, a comedian--at least the guy's going to be honest."
Although, with Colbert, you can't really tell when he's being Stephen Colbert and "Stephen Colbert," the O'Reilly-like character ...
But we don't care, do we? Whether it's left or right, it doesn't matter. He's telling the truth.
Is there any chance that someone like Colbert, or "Man of the Year"'s Tom Dobbs, would make--I hesitate to say it--an effective president?
[Laughs.] Well, compared to what?
I can't go there, but maybe you can...
It's a little bit like, him against FDR, I don't think so. But where we are right now, why not?
When you sat down to write the movie, you had to figure out what would happen if a comedian actually ran for president. Assuming that Colbert could actually make a run for the White House--and wants to--what advice would you give him? Things to watch out for, potential pitfalls?
In the movie we actually read the campaign laws. There's a ruling in there that allowed our character to run in various states because he demonstrated "seriousness of purpose." That's how the character was able to continue. And that's an actual term. I didn't make it up. It's straight out of the rulebooks.
They actually have to determine if he's "serious"?
Right. But my advice to Colbert would be, "Don't get too serious." [Laughs.] That's all it is. It's not based on content. Reality is, you have to put content aside. Content has almost no validity in what goes on when we elect people.
Even when they're politicians?
No content. No longer a valid issue. Everybody has learned all their lines. They know all their research. They know what they're supposed to say. Blah, blah, blah. Colbert's strength is in being a humorist. If you lose your sense of humor, then you disappear in the pack.
