While Colbert moves on to the Late Showon CBS sometime in 2015, the Stephen Colbert political pundit persona slips into the aether. What becomes of him? Will we ever see him again? Only time will tell.
Till then, let’s reflect on 5 of the greatest Colbert moments from The Colbert Report.
1. Defining truthiness
Colbert made his mark on the zeitgeist from the get go. On his very first show in 2005, Colbert coined the term “truthiness,” which Colbert defined as “truth that comes from the gut, not books.” Merriam-Webster made it official in 2006 - naming it the word of the year and adding it to the dictionary. The official definition: "the quality of preferring concepts or facts one wishes to be true, rather than concepts or facts known to be true."
2. Entertaining those White House correspondents
If you’re a casual fan of Colbert, you likely have some recollection of Colbert’s work as host of Washington’s annual White House Correspondents Dinner. The dinner traditionally invites a popular comedian or television personality as host. Humor is a key ingredient of the entire event. Even the President of the United States gets in on the act, delivering a joke-filled speech at the end of the night.
When Colbert hosted, George W. Bush was the POTUS and the U.S. was questioning its role in the Iraq War. Colbert chose to have the Colbert persona host, and the speech Colbert delivered was laced with biting humor and politically charged commentary - more than any speech before or since. What most people forget is that Colbert hosted only a year after starting his show.
3. Supporting the troops
While The Colbert Report is often viewed as left-wing (true fans know Colbert takes a bite out of all comers), fans also know Colbert is an ardent supporter of American troops. In 2009, Colbert showed that support by shipping his entire program overseas to entertain the troops with support of the U.S.O.
While Colbert made headlines for having his head shaved by General Ray Odierno, the quiet behind-the-scenes news was that The Colbert Report was the first full-length, non-news program to film, edit and broadcast from a combat zone in U.S.O. history.
4. Rallying supporters and running for president
Part Colbert’s social commentary through the years included throwing back the curtain on American politics. Rather than comment on what we all assume to be a complicated and closed-off system, Colbert showed us either how easy it was to become a part of the system and to have a voice in the system.
With his Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, in conjunction with The Daily Show and Jon Stewart, Colbert demonstrated how organizations create talking points by hosting elaborate, entertainment filled events, inviting folks to come on down to the rally, and then inflating and reporting on those numbers in order to garner headlines. The event was in response to a politically-charged event hosted by right-wing pundit Glenn Beck.
Colbert also proved how easy it is to run for president. In 2007, he threw his hat in the ring as a presidential candidate on the Democratic ticket in his home state of South Carolina. He eventually was denied a spot on the ballot by the Democratic party. Though he flirted with an independent run, he eventually dropped his bid.
5. Creating the Colbert SuperPAC
By far my personal favorite and what I believe is the greatest achievement of The Colbert Report: the creation of the Colbert SuperPAC (follow the link to be shocked and amazed), "Citizens for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow."
SuperPACs, as we learned from Colbert, are political action committees that are meant to have no coordination with candidates, but are often organized and managed by people close to the candidates, such as former staffers, business partners and close friends. Donors can fund SuperPACs without limits. Colbert’s SuperPAC raised more than $1 million.
He won a Peabody Award, which recognizes excellence in television and radio broadcasting, for his SuperPAC coverage. And an Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania survey discovered that viewers of The Colbert Report knew more about campaign finance issues than viewers of standard news programs.