Comedy Central is re-playing Friday's episodes of the Daily Show and the Colbert Report, which includes Stephen Colbert's interview with Lori Lippman Brown of the Secular Coalition for America. It's interesting to see that she doesn't really fare any better than any of the religious nutjobs he's had on in his various interview segments, in more or less the same way:
I doubt there's really any way to not look somewhat silly, given his whack-job act and good video editing, but it's always a little surprising just how unprepared a lot of his interview subjects are. You'd think they'd have some idea of what they were getting into, but there's a point in almost all of his interviews where the person being interviewed throws a panicky look off to one side, as if to say "Get me away from this crazy person!"
Which makes me (and Kate, who brought this up at dinner) wonder: How do they set these up, anyway? I remember hearing that the appearances for the Borat movie were arranged under false pretenses (fake production company names, etc.). Do the Colbert people do the same thing, or do people just consistently underestimate him?
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Since much of his satire is directed at theocratic types, if you're the Secular Coalition for America (and you don't watch the show much), you might go into the interview thinking he'll be on your side. It's an interesting contrast with the Huckabee appearance last week; Huckabee's definitely up there on the crazy-o-meter but knew he was in hostile territory and was savvy enough not to give Colbert an opening to make him look ridiculous.
Given that I now live about 100 feet from Colbert's studio, I should go to a taping one of these days...
I figure that even if you carefully study Colbert's interviews, and you know what to expect, it's still extremely hard to prepare for. Like any interview for a news outlet, except much worse.
When you try to come across in dignified and portentous way it is very easy to get skewered. The only way to withstand this kind of mischef is to be be prepared to look silly and contradicting yourself. If it was me defending the atheists I would gladly take oath to Bible, and made a light of it. The best way to fight back is by being as glib as Colbert, and answer his 'innocuous" questions with counter-questions.
I don't know - obviously she was aware of the show, as she's wearing one of Colbert's wrist awareness bracelets. And with the exception of the bizarre digressions into art and hermaphroditism, she had the right response. When Colbert goes off on a crazy tangent, you sit there silent and bemused until he comes back to earth.
(I recall reading someone writing about their appearance on the show, and saying that Colbert was quite polite and upfront before the show, telling the guest he plays an complete buffoon and to expect that sort of questioning. That may only apply to his in-studio guests, however.)
And she is, after all, still a professional lobbyist. A single-issue political operative. So, probably not entirely undeserving of a little public humiliation.
Here's a blog post by a former guest which explains a little of what you're wondering
Short answer to your main question, as once explained by John Stewart: "I want to be on the TV."
Early on, I imagine some people did not know what "The Daily Show" was or even who the stars were. Even now, after handling a dozen book tour interview requests from X of "The Y Show", would you really notice one of the Daily Show sidekicks by name?
If the interviewer starts pissing cherry Kool-Aid into your coffee cup you have a choice: Either drink it or piss Hanson's Kiwi-Strawberry into his. Victims of Colbert's nimble free association simply can't dance to the beat.
Kool-Aid started as "Fruit Smack." Take the hint.
I used to wonder about that, too, but as CCPhys said above, people want to be on television. But they don't just want to show up, they want to be good television. Beating Colbert at his own game is not good television. Acting the pompous blowhard and getting blindsided by a crazy man, now that's good television. You look stupid, sure, but you sell some books.