A political action committee (PAC) is any organization in the United States that campaigns for or against political candidates, ballot initiatives or legislation.^[1] At the federal level, an organization becomes a PAC when it receives or spends more than $1,000 for the purpose of influencing a federal election, according to the Federal Election Campaign Act.^[2] At the state level, an organization becomes a PAC according to the state's election laws.

History of PACs in the United States[link]

In 1947, as part of the Taft-Hartley Act, the U.S. Congress prohibited labor unions or corporations from spending money to influence federal elections, and prohibited labor unions from contributing to candidate campaigns (an earlier law, the 1907 Tillman Act, had prohibited corporations from contributing to campaigns). Labor unions moved to work around these limitations by establishing political action committees, to which members could contribute.

In 1971, Congress passed the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). In 1974, Amendments to FECA defined how a PAC could operate and established the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to enforce the nation's campaign finance laws. The FECA and the FEC's rules provide for the following:

• Individuals are limited to contributing $5,000 per year to Federal PACs;
• Corporations and unions may not contribute directly to federal PACs, but can pay for the administrative costs of a PAC affiliated with the specific corporation or union;
• Corporate-affiliated PACs may only solicit contributions from executives, shareholders, and their families;
• Contributions from corporate or labor union treasuries are illegal, though they may sponsor a PAC and provide financial support for its administration and fundraising;
• Union-affiliated PACs may only solicit contributions from members;
• Independent PACs may solicit contributions from the general public and must pay their own costs from those funds.

Federal multi-candidate PACs may contribute to candidates as follows:

• $5,000 to a candidate or candidate committee for each election (primary and general elections count as separate elections);
• $15,000 to a political party per year; and
• $5,000 to another PAC per year.
• PACs may make unlimited expenditures independently of a candidate or political party

In 2010, the United States Supreme Court held in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission that laws prohibiting corporate and union political expenditures were unconstitutional. Citizens United made it legal for corporations and unions to spend from their general treasuries to finance independent expenditures, but did not alter the prohibition on direct corporate or union contributions to federal campaigns; those are still prohibited.^{[3][original research?]} Such organizations seeking to contribute to federal candidate campaigns must still rely on traditional PACs for that purpose. However, they may spend money independently of campaigns without forming a PAC.^{[citation needed]}

See section Super PAC backlash

Categorization of PACs[link]

Federal law allows for two types of PACs, connected and non-connected.

Connected PACs[link]

Most of the 4,600 active, registered PACs are "connected PACs" established by businesses, labor unions, trade groups, or health organizations. These PACs receive and raise money from a "restricted class," generally consisting of managers and shareholders in the case of a corporation and members in the case of a union or other interest group. As of January 2009, there were 1,598 registered corporate PACs, 272 related to labor unions and 995 to trade organizations.^[4]

Non-connected PACs[link]

Groups with an ideological mission, single-issue groups, and members of Congress and other political leaders may form "non-connected PACs". These organizations may accept funds from any individual, business PAC or organization. As of January 2009, there were 1,594 non-connected PACs, the fastest-growing category.^[4]

Super PACs[link]

In 2010, a few weeks after the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled in SpeechNow.org v. Federal Election Commission that PACs that did not make contributions to candidates, parties, or other PACs could accept unlimited contributions from individuals, unions, and corporations (both for profit and not-for-profit) for the purpose of making independent expenditures. The result of the Citizens United and SpeechNow.org decisions was the rise in 2010 of a new type of political action committee, popularly dubbed the "super PAC". Officially known as "independent-expenditure only committees," Super PACs may not make contributions to candidate campaigns or parties, but may engage in unlimited political spending independently of the campaigns. Also unlike traditional PACs, they can raise funds from corporations, unions and other groups, and from individuals, without legal limits.^[5]

As noted, Super PACs were made possible by two judicial decisions. First, in January 2010 the U.S. Supreme Court held in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission that government may not prohibit unions and corporations from making independent expenditure for political purposes. Two months later, in Speechnow.org v. FEC, the Federal Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held that contributions to groups that only make independent expenditures could not be limited in the size and source of contributions to the group.^[6]

According to Federal Election Commission advisories, Super PACs are not allowed to coordinate directly with candidates or political parties. This is intended to prevent them from operating campaigns that complement or parallel those of the candidates they support or engaging in negotiation that could result in quid pro quo bargaining between donors to the PAC and the candidate or officeholder. However, it is legal for candidates and Super PAC managers to discuss campaign strategy and tactics through the media.^[7][8]

Super PACs may support particular candidacies. In the 2012 presidential election, super PACs have played a major role, spending more than the candidates election campaigns in the Republican primaries.^[9] As of early April 2012, Restore Our Future—a Super PAC usually described as having been created to help Mitt Romney's presidential campaign—has spent $40 million. Winning Our Future (a pro–Newt Gingrich group) spent $16 million.^[5] Super PACs are often run or advised by a candidate's former staff or associates^[10].

In the 2012 election campaign, most of the money given to super PACs has come not from corporations but from wealthy individuals^[9]. According to data from the Center for Responsive Politics, the top 100 individual super PAC donors in 2011–2012 made up just 3.7% of contributors, but accounted for more than 80% of the total money raised^[11], while less than 0.5% of the money given to “the most active Super PACs” was donated by publicly traded corporations.^[12] Super PACs have been criticized for relying heavily on negative ads.^[13]

The term "Super PAC," was coined by reporter Eliza Newlin Carney, "the first to imbue [the term] with its current meaning of 'political committees that may raise and spend unlimited money to independently support or oppose candidates.'"^[14] According to Politico, Carney, a staff writer covering lobbying and influence for CQ Roll Call, "made the first identifiable, published reference to 'super PAC' as it’s known today while working at National Journal, writing on June 26, 2010, of a group called Workers’ Voices, that it was a kind of '"super PAC" that could become increasingly popular in the post-Citizens United world.'"^[15]

Leadership PACs[link]

Elected officials and political parties cannot give more than the federal limit directly to candidates. However, they can set up a Leadership PAC that makes independent expenditures. Provided the expenditure is not coordinated with the other candidate, this type of spending is not limited.^[16]

Under the FEC rules, leadership PACs are non-connected PACs, and can accept donations from individuals and other PACs. Since current officeholders have an easier time attracting contributions, Leadership PACs are a way dominant parties can capture seats from other parties. A leadership PAC sponsored by an elected official cannot use funds to support that official's own campaign. However, it may fund travel, administrative expenses, consultants, polling, and other non-campaign expenses.^[17][18][19]

Between 2008 and 2009, leadership PACs raised and spent more than $47 million.^[20]

Controversial use of leadership PACs[link]

• Former Rep. John Doolittle's (R) leadership PAC paid 15% to a firm that only employed his wife. Payouts to his wife's firm were $68,630 in 2003 and 2004, and $224,000 in 2005 and 2006. The Doolittle home was raided on 2007.^[21] After years of investigation, the Justice Department dropped the case with no charges in June 2010.
• One Leadership PAC purchased $2,139 in gifts from Bose Corporation.^[22]
• Former Rep. Richard Pombo (R) used his leadership PAC to pay hotel bills ($22,896) and buy baseball tickets ($320) for donors.^[23]
• Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D) leadership PAC, Team Majority, was fined $21,000 by federal election officials "for improperly accepting donations over federal limits."^[24]

Keeping donor lists hidden from voters[link]

By January 2010, at least 38 states and the federal government required disclosure for all or some independent expenditures or electioneering communications, regardless of whether the speaker is a corporation.^[25] These disclosures were intended to deter potentially or seemingly corrupting donations,^[26].^[27]

Yet despite disclosure rules, most voters in the United States still go to the polls not knowing who contributed for various independent ads.^[28] Critics of PACs claimed they have exploited a technicality in the filing requirements to postpone disclosure.^[29] In federal elections, PACs have the option to choose to file reports on a "monthly" or "quarterly" filing schedule.^[30][31]This means monies may be collected and spent long before the required filing date of a disclosure. Alternately, donors may list an LLC instead of their personal name.^[32] One super PAC originally listed a $250,000 donation from an LLC that turned out to have been formed by an individual for that sole purpose.^[33]

Many have argued that Super PACs, while meeting the requirements for legal independence, are often not truly independent of the candidates they support.^[34] Super PACs are often managed by close associates, former staff, or a candidate's immediate family.^[35] This in turn has led the press to determine voter intent to support the efforts of a specific candidate according to which PAC a contribution is made.^[36] For example the press referred to a filing by Restore Our Future, Inc, that listed 3 large donations by coworkers of 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney, as being "Mitt Romney's FEC filing".^[37]

An alternate route to fund a PAC has helped some special interest organizations keep the names of its donors secret years after an election. This route involves donning to a 501(c) non profit, which in turn gives to the Super PAC. The PAC only needs to disclose the name of the nonprofit that made the donation, not donors to that non-profit. ^[38]

One organization, the National Organization for Marriage, operated two non-profit arms that received millions in donations from just a few donors. It in turn funded several different PACs and contested the release of names that gave to the non-profit.^[39] One former 2012 Presidential candidate, Fred Karger, maintained that the National Organization for Marriage was set up by the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) as a front group to funnel anonymous money to candidates that are against the legalization of same-sex marriage.^[40] In Washington State in February 2012, the organization vowed to follow through on a commitment to spend $250,000 to help defeat the Republican state senators who voted for a bill to give same-sex couples the right to marry should they seek office again.^[41]

The PAC backlash[link]

This section may stray from the topic of the article. Please help improve this section or discuss this issue on the talk page. (February 2012)

In the wake of the 2010 landmark case filed by Citizens United that allowed unrestricted financial contributions to Super PACs, Republican Senator John McCain, co-crafter of the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, said "there's going to be, over time, a backlash ... when you see the amounts of union and corporate money that's going to go into political campaigns".^[42] Attorney James Bopp Jr, who first stated “No one that matters cares”,^[43] has subsequently stated members of Congress may realize "they have cut their own throats."^[44]

This article contains weasel words: vague phrasing that often accompanies biased or unverifiable information. Such statements should be clarified or removed. (March 2012)

World-wide news organizations began asking in February 2012 if US democracy itself was being bought and sold.^[45]

Voter backlash, legal backlash, and congressional backlash are all occurring.^[46] Contrary to many opinions that voter backlash would occur, research early in the 2012 campaign indicated most voters found negative advertising informative and candidates benefited from negative advertising sponsored by PACs. ^[47]

Federal level backlash[link]

Three Federal rulings defending State election laws were apparent setbacks for PACs trying to keep donor names secret. On December 29th, 2011 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Family PAC, an organization that describes itself as "the leading pro-family, anti-tax" PAC.^[48] According to one scholarly article that reviewed the decision, the Court confirmed that PACs must conform with State of Washington election laws and were required to disclose the names and addresses for anyone contributing over $25.^[49][50] Within the ruling, the Court stated:

"The compelling State interest here is providing access to voters to information relevant to voting decision[s]....we do not agree with Family PAC’s contention that disclosure of small contributors does not provide information that enables the electorate to evaluate campaign messages and make informed decisions."^[51]

On January 31, 2012, the US First Circuit Court of Appeals rule against the National Organization for Marriage's attempts to continue to keep their donor list secret. The group had also previously lost a challenge to the state's political action committee laws and laws governing independent expenditures and advertising attribution and disclaimers.^[52][53] This court decision incorporated the "reasonable person in the circumstances," which is generally deemed an objective test. If a reasonable person receiving a solicitation would construe the funds they contributed to be for the purpose of funding a campaign to pass or defeat a ballot measure, then they clearly come within the reporting and disclosure requirements. Thus, the court found that the statute is not sufficiently ambiguous to raise constitutional concerns.^[54]

On May 16, 2011, the US Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals panel upheld Minnesota's disclosure laws and ban on corporate contributions.^[55]

Attorney James Bopp Jr. who argued on the behalf of all three groups against the state is attempting appeals in the US Supreme Court.

In a federal court case filed in Guam by Philip Maise. "Maise says super PACs have allowed for millions of dollars in campaign donations to fund an offensive against same-sex marriage legislation"^[56][57]

State level advisory requests pending[link]

Despite losses such as these, PACs in some instances, were contesting previous rulings, and current state election law in the midst of the 2012 election. In Minnesota, Human Rights Campaign pressed for an advisory ruling regarding anonymous PAC spending from the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Commission. The group claimed the National Organization for Marriage was systematically attempting across the country to oppose public disclosure.^[58]

Legal backlash at State level[link]

The second legal front in the challenges to PAC spending was occurring largely at the State level where States like Hawaii were attempting to defend the limitations they had imposed on giving to candidates. In February 2012 a Federal Court took under advisement final motions.^[59]

State spending limits are also under attack in Montana, where James Bopp Jr stepped in January 2012 to press at a Federal level claims for a group fighting Montana's law that lost in Montana's Supreme Court.^[60] North Carolina Right to Life’s independent expenditures committees filed suit against the State of North Carolina in September 2011 claiming their spending limitations were unlawful with representation by James Bopp Jr. An October 2011 lawsuit challenged spending limitations in New Mexico.

Super PAC backlash[link]

It was generally agreed in the 2012 campaign that the formation of a super PAC and the acceptance of large contributions was legal. However, a lingering question was whether super PACs are legal when examined on the basis of how they act. Two agreed-upon illegal actions that a super PAC could not make were to accept foreign funds and to coordinate directly with a candidate. Super PACs were seen in the press as a ready vehicle to allow the easy disguise of illegal foreign donations from both individuals and overseas companies.^[61] The concept of actions being illegal, when coordinated with a candidate, came out, in part, after a super PAC named American Crossroads requested permission to communicate to their favored candidate on an above-board basis. Federal Election Commission Program Director Paul S. Ryan's response was that “the Supreme Court has long recognized the importance of contribution limits to preventing corruption, and that expenditures coordinated with candidates must be treated as contributions in order to prevent easy circumvention of the limits."^[62]

Long term, at least one analyst has interpreted court decisions, and in particular Speechnow.org versus FEC, to mean super PAC spending was legal "as long as they're not in cahoots with campaigns".^[63][64]

Congressional backlash[link]

The third type of backlash is a congressional investigation. On February 2, 2012, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, Chairman of the Rules Committee, promised hearings on this issue and that "overwhelmingly" the bulk of contributions are going to support Republican candidates, owing in part to Democratic positions against continuing tax breaks to the wealthy.^[65]

Defending super PAC contributions[link]

Presidential candidate Romney stated in August 2011 that his ability to benefit from large contributions via PACs from individual donors helps him to equalize the influence of corporations and unions that can pool small contributions from many employees or union members. Romney stated “My own view is I don’t like all the influence of money in politics, but I don’t have a solution that’s a lot better than saying let people contribute what they will, then report it, let people know who gave what to who.”^[66]

Jim Messina, President Obama's campaign manager, stated: "With so much at stake, we can't allow for two sets of rules in this election whereby the Republican nominee is the beneficiary of unlimited spending and Democrats unilaterally disarm".^[67] According to press reports, in asking his top fundraisers to steer money to the main super PAC backing his reelection, Obama embraced a campaign vehicle he previously denounced.^[68]

James Bopp[link]

Much of the credit for the legal framework for PACs and 527 organizations to accept unlimited amounts of money is given to Republican attorney James Bopp, Jr. He fought 30 years and filed 21 cases to eliminate limits on campaign spending, and to keep donor lists private. According to the Center for Responsive Politics. "It’s safe to say that groups on the left and right have Jim Bopp to thank for their new-found freedom."^[69][70]

International comparison and response[link]

The leading democracies have different systems of campaign finance, and several have no institutions analogous to American PACs, in that there are no private contributions of large sums of money to individual candidates. This is true, for example in Germany, in France, and in Britain. In these countries, concerns about the influence of campaign contributions on political decisions are less prominent in public discussion.^{[citation needed]}

2008 Election[link]

In the 2008 elections, the top nine PACs by money spent by themselves, a total of $25,794,807 via their affiliates and subsidiaries as follows:

1. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers PAC $3,344,650
2. AT&T Federal PAC $3,108,200
3. American Bankers Association (BANK PAC) $2,918,140
4. National Beer Wholesalers Association PAC $2,869,000
5. Dealers Election Action Committee of the National Automobile Dealers Association $2,860,000
6. International Association of Fire Fighters $2,734,900
7. International Union of Operating Engineers PAC $2,704,067
8. American Association for Justice PAC $2,700,500
9. Laborers' International Union of North America PAC $2,555,350

2012 Election (estimates)[link]

As of February 2012, according to Center for Responsive Politics, 313 groups organized as Super PACs had received $98,650,993 and spent $46,191,479. This means early in the 2012 election cycle, PACs had already greatly exceeded total receipts of 2008. The leading Super PAC on its own raised more money than the combined total spent by the top 9 PACS in the 2008 cycle.^[71]

The 2012 figures don't include funds raised by State level PACs nor funds raised by national level non-profit groups that pool "soft-funds". Spending by non-profits, also called 527 organizations, exceeded $500 million in the 2010 election cycle with the two largest organizations being the Republican Governors Association $131,873,954 and the Democratic Governors Association $64,708,253 ^[72] Spending by the 527 organizations for the 2012 is expected to be double and much will be derived from donors kept hidden from voters.^[73]

See also[link]

• 527 group
• Issue advocacy ads
• Lobbying in the United States
• Money loop
• Politics of the United States
• Soft money

References[link]

External links[link]

• Federal Election Commission
  • Campaign Guide for Corporations and Labor Organizations
  • Campaign Guide for Nonconnected Committees
• Federal Judicial Branch
  • Ruling National Organization for Marriage versus McKee (Maine), United States Court of Appeals For the First Circuit
  • Speechnow.org v. Federal Election Commission
• OpenSecrets.org
• PoliticalMoneyLine

Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear in 2010
Birth name	Stephen Tyrone Colbert[1]
Born	(1964-05-13) May 13, 1964 (age 48) Washington, D.C., United States
Medium	Theatre, television, film, books
Nationality	American
Years active	1984–present
Genres	Sketch comedy, news satire, improvisational comedy, character comedy, political satire, observational comedy, blue comedy
Subject(s)	American culture, American politics, American conservatism, The Christian Right, political punditry, popular culture, current events, mass media/news media, egomania, xenophobia, anti-intellectualism, sexuality
Influences	Don Novello, Bill Cosby,[2] George Carlin,[3] Dean Martin,[4] Jon Stewart,[5] Steve Martin[6] Bill O'Reilly[7]
Influenced	Rob Corddry,[8] Ed Helms,[8] Aasif Mandvi[9]
Spouse	Evelyn McGee-Colbert (3 children)
Notable works and roles	Chuck Noblet in Strangers with Candy Stephen Colbert in The Daily Show and The Colbert Report Writer, I Am America (And So Can You!) Co-writer, America (The Book) Phil Ken Sebben and Myron Reducto in Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law Professor Richard Impossible in The Venture Bros.
Signature
Website	ColbertNation.com
Emmy Awards
Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program 2004, 2005, 2006 The Daily Show 2008 The Colbert Report 2010 The Colbert Report
Grammy Awards
Best Comedy Album 2010 A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!

Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( /koʊlˈbɛər/ or /ˈkoʊlbərt/;^[5] born May 13, 1964) is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.

Colbert originally studied to be an actor, but became interested in improvisational theatre when he met famed Second City director Del Close while attending Northwestern University. He first performed professionally as an understudy for Steve Carell at Second City Chicago; among his troupe mates were comedians Paul Dinello and Amy Sedaris, with whom he developed the critically acclaimed sketch comedy series Exit 57.

Colbert also wrote and performed on the short-lived Dana Carvey Show before collaborating with Sedaris and Dinello again on the cult television series Strangers with Candy. He gained considerable attention for his role on the latter as closeted gay history teacher Chuck Noblet. It was his work as a correspondent on Comedy Central's news-parody series The Daily Show, however, that first introduced him to a wide audience.

In 2005, he left The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to host a spin-off series, The Colbert Report. Following The Daily Show's news-parody concept, The Colbert Report is a parody of personality-driven political opinion shows such as The O'Reilly Factor. Since its debut, the series has established itself as one of Comedy Central's highest-rated series, earning Colbert three Emmy Award nominations and an invitation to perform as featured entertainer at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in 2006. Colbert was named one of Time's 100 most influential people in 2006.^[10] His book I Am America (And So Can You!) was No. 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list.

Early life[link]

Colbert was born in Washington, D.C.^[11] and grew up in Charleston, South Carolina, on James Island, the youngest of 11 children in an Irish Catholic family.^[5][12][13] Colbert and his siblings, in order from oldest to youngest, are James ("Jimmy"), Edward ("Eddie"), Mary, William ("Billy"), Margo, Thomas ("Tommy"), Jay, Elizabeth ("Lulu"), Paul, Peter, and Stephen.

Many of his ancestors immigrated to North America from Ireland in the 1800s before and during the Great Famine.^[14][15]

His father, James William Colbert, Jr., was the vice president for academic affairs at the Medical University of South Carolina. His mother, Lorna Colbert (née Tuck), was a homemaker.^[14][16] In interviews, Colbert describes his parents as devout people who also strongly value intellectualism and taught their children that it was possible to question the Church and still be Catholic.^[17] The emphasis his family placed on intelligence and his observation of negative stereotypes of Southerners led Colbert to train himself to suppress his Southern accent while he was still quite young. As a child, he observed that Southerners were often depicted as being less intelligent than other characters on scripted television; to avoid that stereotype, he taught himself to imitate the speech of American news anchors.^[18][19]

Colbert sometimes comedically claims his surname is French, but his family is actually of Irish, English, and distant German descent.^[5][20] Originally, the name was pronounced /ˈkoʊlbərt/ in English; Stephen Colbert's father, James, wanted to pronounce the name /koʊlˈbɛər/, but maintained the /ˈkoʊlbərt/ pronunciation out of respect for his own father. However, James offered his children the option to pronounce the name whichever way they preferred.^[12] Stephen started using /koʊlˈbɛər/ later in life when he transferred to Northwestern University, taking advantage of the opportunity to reinvent himself in a new place where no one knew him.^[5] Stephen's brother Ed, an intellectual property attorney, retained /ˈkoʊlbərt/; this was shown in a February 12, 2009 appearance on The Colbert Report, when his youngest brother asked him, "/ˈkoʊlbərt/ or /koʊlˈbɛər/?" Ed responded "/ˈkoʊlbərt/", to which Stephen jokingly replied, "See you in Hell".^[21]

On September 11, 1974, when Colbert was ten years old, his father and two of his brothers, Peter and Paul, were killed in the crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 while it was attempting to land in Charlotte, North Carolina. They were en route to enroll the two boys at Canterbury School in New Milford, Connecticut.^[13][22] Shortly thereafter, Lorna Colbert relocated the family downtown to the more urban environment of East Bay Street in Charleston. By his own account, Colbert found the transition difficult and did not easily make new friends in his new neighborhood.^[12] Colbert later described himself during this time as detached, lacking a sense of importance regarding the things with which other children concerned themselves.^[19][23] He developed a love of science fiction and fantasy novels, especially the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, of which he remains an avid fan. During his adolescence, he also developed an intense interest in fantasy role-playing games, especially Dungeons & Dragons,^[23][24] a pastime which he later characterized as an early experience in acting and improvisation.^[4]

Colbert attended Charleston's Episcopal Porter-Gaud School, where he participated in several school plays and contributed to the school newspaper but, by his own assessment, was not highly motivated academically.^[23] During his time as a teenager, he also briefly fronted a Rolling Stones cover band.^[25] When he was younger, he had hoped to study marine biology, but surgery intended to repair a severely perforated eardrum caused him inner ear damage. The damage was severe enough that he was unable to pursue a career that would involve scuba diving. The damage also left him deaf in his right ear.^[12][26] For a while, he was uncertain whether he would attend college,^[27] but ultimately he applied and was accepted to Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, where a friend had also enrolled. There he continued to participate in plays while studying mainly philosophy;^[2][23] he found the curriculum rigorous but was more focused than he had been in high school and was able to apply himself to his studies. Despite the lack of a significant theater community at Hampden-Sydney, Colbert's interest in acting escalated during this time. After two years, he transferred to Northwestern University as a Theater Major to study performance, emboldened by the realization that he loved performing even when no one was coming to shows.^[23]

Early career in comedy[link]

Stephen Colbert and his wife Evelyn McGee-Colbert at the 2006 Time 100

While at Northwestern, Colbert studied with the intent of becoming a dramatic actor; mostly he performed in experimental plays and was uninterested in comedy. He began performing improvisation while in college, both in the campus improv team No Fun Mud Piranhas^[28] and at the Annoyance Theatre in Chicago as a part of Del Close's ImprovOlympic at a time when the project was focused on competitive, long form improvisation, rather than improvisational comedy. "I wasn't gonna do Second City", Colbert later recalled, "because those Annoyance people looked down on Second City because they thought it wasn't pure improv—there was a slightly snobby, mystical quality to the Annoyance people".^[4] After Colbert graduated in 1986, however, he was in need of a job, and a friend who was employed at Second City's box office offered him work answering phones and selling souvenirs.^[23] Colbert accepted, and discovered that Second City employees were entitled to take classes at their training center for free.^[4] Despite his earlier aversion to the comedy group, he signed up for improvisation classes, and enjoyed the experience greatly.

Shortly thereafter, he was hired to perform with Second City's touring company, initially as an understudy for Steve Carell. It was there he met Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello, with whom he often collaborated later in his career. By their retelling, the three comedians did not get along at first—Dinello thought Colbert was uptight, pretentious and cold, while Colbert thought of Dinello as "an illiterate thug"^[29]—but the trio became close friends while touring together, discovering that they shared a similar comic sensibility.^[23]

When Sedaris and Dinello were offered the opportunity to create a television series for HBO Downtown Productions, Colbert left The Second City and relocated to New York in order to work with them on the sketch comedy show Exit 57.^[23] The series debuted on Comedy Central in 1995 and aired through 1996. Despite only lasting for 12 episodes, the show received favorable reviews^[30][31] and was nominated for five CableACE Awards in 1995, in categories including best writing, performance, and comedy series.^[32]

Following the cancellation of Exit 57, Colbert worked for six months as a cast member and writer on The Dana Carvey Show, alongside former Second City cast mate Steve Carell, as well as Robert Smigel, Charlie Kaufman, Louis C.K., and Dino Stamatopoulos, among others. The series, described by one reviewer as "kamikaze satire" in "borderline-questionable taste", had sponsors pull out after its first episode aired, and was canceled after seven episodes.^[33] Colbert then worked briefly as a freelance writer for Saturday Night Live with Robert Smigel. Smigel also brought his animated sketch The Ambiguously Gay Duo to SNL from The Dana Carvey Show; Colbert provided the voice of Ace on both series, opposite Steve Carell as Gary. Needing money, he also worked as a script consultant for VH1 and MTV, before taking a job filming humorous correspondent segments for Good Morning America.^[23] Only two of the segments he proposed were ever produced, and only one aired, but the job led his agent to refer him to The Daily Show's then-producer, Madeline Smithberg, who hired Colbert on a trial basis in 1997.^[34]

Television career[link]

[edit] Strangers with Candy

During the same time frame, Colbert worked again with Sedaris and Dinello to develop a new comedy series for Comedy Central, Strangers with Candy. Comedy Central picked up the series in 1998 after Colbert had already begun working on The Daily Show. As a result he accepted a reduced role, filming only around twenty Daily Show segments a year while he worked on the new series.^[23]

Strangers with Candy was conceived of as a parody of after school specials, following the life of Jerri Blank, a 46-year-old dropout who returns to finish high school after 32 years of life on the street. Most noted by critics for its use of offensive humor, it concluded each episode by delivering to the audience a skewed, politically incorrect moral lesson.^[35] Colbert served as a main writer alongside Sedaris and Dinello, as well as portraying Jerri's strict but uninformed history teacher, Chuck Noblet, seen throughout the series dispensing inaccurate information to his classes. Colbert has likened this to the character he played on The Daily Show and later The Colbert Report, claiming that he has a very specific niche in portraying "poorly informed, high-status idiot" characters.^[13] Another running joke throughout the series was that Noblet, a closeted homosexual, was having a "secret" affair with fellow teacher Geoffrey Jellineck despite the fact that their relationship was apparent to everyone around them. This obliviousness also appears in Colbert's Daily Show and Colbert Report character.

Thirty episodes of Strangers with Candy were made, which aired on Comedy Central in 1999 and 2000. Though its ratings were not remarkable during its initial run, it has been characterized as a cult show with a small but dedicated audience.^[36] Colbert reprised his role for a film adaptation, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2005 and had a limited release in 2006. The film received mixed reviews. Colbert also co-wrote the screenplay with Sedaris and Dinello.^[37]

[edit] The Daily Show

Stephen Colbert joined the cast of Comedy Central's parody-news series The Daily Show in 1997, when the show was in its second season. Originally one of four correspondents who filmed segments from remote locations in the style of network news field reporters, Colbert was referred to as "the new guy" on-air for his first two years on the show, during which time Craig Kilborn served as host. When Kilborn left the show prior to the 1999 season, Jon Stewart took over hosting duties, also serving as a writer and co-executive producer. From this point, the series gradually began to take on a more political tone and increase in popularity, particularly in the latter part of the 2000 U.S. presidential election season. The roles of the show's correspondents were expanded to include more in-studio segments, as well as international reports which were almost always done in the studio with the aid of a greenscreen.^[23]

Unlike Stewart, who essentially hosts The Daily Show as himself,^[38] Colbert developed a correspondent character for his pieces on the series. Colbert has described his correspondent character as "a fool who has spent a lot of his life playing not the fool — one who is able to cover it at least well enough to deal with the subjects that he deals with".^[23] Colbert was frequently pitted against knowledgeable interview subjects, or against Stewart in scripted exchanges, with the resultant dialogue demonstrating the character's lack of knowledge of whatever subject he is discussing.^[7][23] Colbert also made generous use of humorous fallacies of logic in explaining his point of view on any topic. Other Daily Show correspondents have adopted a similar style; former correspondent Rob Corddry recalls that when he and Ed Helms first joined the show's cast in 2002, they "just imitated Stephen Colbert for a year or two".^[8] Correspondent Aasif Mandvi has stated "I just decided I was going to do my best Stephen Colbert impression".^[9]

Colbert has appeared in several recurring segments for The Daily Show, including "Even Stevphen" with Steve Carell,^[39] in which both characters were expected to debate a selected topic but instead would unleash their anger at one another. Colbert commonly hosted "This Week in God", a report on topics in the news pertaining to religion, presented with the help of the "God Machine". Colbert filed reports from the floor of the Democratic National Convention and the Republican National Convention as a part of The Daily Show's award-winning coverage of the 2000 and 2004 U.S. Presidential elections; many from the latter were included as part of their The Daily Show: Indecision 2004 DVD release. In several episodes of The Daily Show, Colbert filled in as anchor in the absence of Jon Stewart, including the full week of March 3, 2002, when Stewart was scheduled to host Saturday Night Live. After Colbert left the show, Rob Corddry took over "This Week in God" segments, although a recorded sample of Colbert's voice is still used as the sound effect for the God Machine. Later episodes of The Daily Show have reused older Colbert segments under the label "Klassic Kolbert". Colbert won three Emmys as a writer of The Daily Show in 2004, 2005, and 2006.^[40]

[edit] The Colbert Report

Since October 17, 2005, Colbert has hosted his own television show, The Colbert Report, a Daily Show spin-off which parodies the conventions of television news broadcasting,^[18] particularly cable-personality political talk shows like The O'Reilly Factor and Glenn Beck.^[4][41] Colbert hosts the show in-character as a blustery right-wing pundit, generally considered to be an extension of his character on The Daily Show. Conceived by co-creators Stewart, Colbert, and Ben Karlin in part as an opportunity to explore "the character-driven news", the series focuses less on the day-to-day news style of the Daily Show, instead frequently concentrating on the foibles of the host-character himself.

The concept for The Report was first seen in a series of Daily Show segments which advertised the then-fictional series as a joke. It was later developed by Stewart's Busboy Productions and pitched to Comedy Central, which greenlighted the program; Comedy Central had already been searching for a way to extend the successful Daily Show franchise beyond a half hour.^[42] The series opened to strong ratings, averaging 1.2 million viewers nightly during its first week on the air. Comedy Central signed a long-term contract for The Colbert Report within its first month on the air, when it immediately established itself among the network's highest-rated shows.^[43][44]

Much of Colbert's personal life is reflected in his character on The Colbert Report. With the extended exposure of the character on the show, he often references his interest in and knowledge of Catholicism, science fiction, and The Lord of the Rings, as well as using real facts to create his character's history. His alternate persona was also raised in South Carolina, is the youngest of 11 siblings, and is married.^[45] The actual Colbert's career history in acting and comedy, however, is often downplayed.

Politics[link]

2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner[link]

On Saturday, April 29, 2006, Stephen Colbert was the featured entertainer for the 2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. Standing a few yards from U.S. President George W. Bush^[46]—in front of an audience the Associated Press called a "Who's Who of power and celebrity"^[47]—Colbert delivered a searing routine targeting the president and the media.^[48] In his politically conservative character from The Colbert Report, Colbert satirized the George W. Bush Administration and the White House press corps with such lines as:

Colbert received a chilly response from the audience.^[50] His jokes were often met with silence and muttering, apart from the enthusiastic laughter of a few in the audience.^[51] The major media outlets paid little attention to it initially. Washington Post columnist Dan Froomkin and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism professor Todd Gitlin claimed that this was because Colbert's routine was as critical of the media as it was of Bush.^[52][53] Richard Cohen, also writing for The Washington Post, responded that the routine was not funny.^[54] The video of Colbert's performance became an internet and media sensation,^[55][56] while, in the week following the speech, ratings for The Colbert Report rose by 37% to average just under 1.5 million total viewers per episode.^[57] In Time magazine James Poniewozik called it "the political-cultural touchstone issue of 2006".^[58] Writing six months later, New York Times columnist Frank Rich referred to Colbert's speech as a "cultural primary" and called it the "defining moment" of the 2006 midterm elections.^[59][60]

2008 Presidential bid[link]

Wikinews has related news: Colbert officially withdraws Presidential bid; Obama supporters pressured South Carolina

Under his fictional persona in The Colbert Report, Colbert dropped hints of a potential presidential run throughout 2007, with speculation intensifying following the release of his book, I Am America (And So Can You!), which was rumored to be a sign that he was indeed testing the waters for a future bid for the White House. On October 16, 2007, he announced his candidacy on his show, stating his intention to run both on the Republican and Democratic platforms, but only as a "favorite son" in his native South Carolina.^[61] He later abandoned plans to run as a Republican due to the $35,000 fee required to file for the South Carolina primary,^[62] however he continued to seek a place on the Democratic ballot and on October 28, 2007, campaigned in the South Carolina state capital of Columbia, where he was presented with the key to the city by Mayor Bob Coble.^[63]

After announcing his presidential ticket, he asked his viewers to cast their votes by donating to DonorsChoose.org, an online charity connecting individuals to classrooms in need.^[64] Colbert's promotion inspired $68,000 in donations to South Carolina classrooms, which benefited over 14,000 low-income students.^[65] Colbert teamed up with DonorsChoose.org again in 2008 by asking supporters of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to do the same. As a lead-up to the Pennsylvania primary, he created a "straw poll that makes a difference", where people could donate to Pennsylvania classroom projects in honor of their favorite candidate.^[66] Colbert viewers donated $185,000 to projects reaching 43,000 students in Pennsylvania public schools.^[67]

On November 1, 2007, the South Carolina Democratic Party executive council voted 13–3 to refuse Colbert's application onto the ballot. "The general sense of the council was that he wasn't a serious candidate and that was why he wasn't selected to be on the ballot", stated John Werner, the party's director. In addition, he was declared "not viable",^[68] as he was only running in one state.^[69] Several days later he announced that he was dropping out of the race, saying that he did not wish to put the country through an agonizing Supreme Court battle.^[70] CNN has reported that Obama supporters pressured the South Carolina Democratic Executive Council to keep Colbert off the ballot. One anonymous member of the council told CNN that former State Superintendent of Education Inez Tenenbaum had placed pressure on them to refuse Colbert's application despite his steady rise in polls.^[71]

Though Colbert's real-life presidential campaign had ended, current Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Joe Quesada established in an interview on The Colbert Report that Colbert's campaign was still going strong in the fictional Marvel Universe, citing the cover art of a then-recent issue of The Amazing Spider-Man which featured a Colbert campaign billboard in the background. Background appearances of Colbert campaign ads continued to appear in Marvel Comics publications, as recently as August 2008's Secret Invasion #5 (which also features a cameo of an alien Skrull posing as Colbert). In October 2008, Colbert made an extended 8-page appearance webslinging with Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man issue #573.^[72]

2010 Congressional testimony[link]

On September 24, 2010, Colbert testified in character before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Security. He was invited by committee chairwoman Zoe Lofgren to describe his experience participating in the United Farm Workers' "Take Our Jobs" program, where he spent a day working alongside migrant workers in upstate New York.^[73][74][75] At the end of his often-humorous testimony, Colbert broke character in responding to a question from Rep. Judy Chu, D-CA, and explained why he cares about the plight of migrant workers:

Democratic committee member John Conyers questioned whether it was appropriate for the comedian to appear before Congress and asked him to leave the hearing.^[77] Though Colbert offered to depart at the direction of the committee chairwoman, Rep. Lofgren requested that he stay at least until all opening testimony had been completed, whereupon Conyers withdrew his request.^[78]

Conservative pundits took aim at his Congress testimony not long after.^[79]

2010 Washington D.C. rallies[link]

In September 2010, following Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor rally, a campaign developed that called for Colbert to hold his own rally at the Lincoln Memorial.^[82] On the September 10, 2010 episode of the Daily Show^[83] and the Colbert Report Stewart and Colbert made preannouncements of a future event. On September 16, 2010, Stewart and Colbert announced competing rallies on the Washington, DC Mall on October 30, 2010, Stewart's "Rally to Restore Sanity", and Colbert's "March to Keep Fear Alive". Both were eventually merged into the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.

Super PAC and 2012 Presidential campaign[link]

In May 2011, Colbert filed a request with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) asking for a media exemption for coverage of his political action committee, ColbertPAC, on The Colbert Report.^[84][85]

In June 2011, during a public meeting, the FEC voted 5-1 to grant The Colbert Report a limited media exemption. The exemption allows unlimited donations of airtime and show resources to promote the Colbert Super PAC without requiring disclosure to the FEC, but only for ads appearing on The Colbert Report. Following the hearing, Colbert formally filed paperwork for the creation of his Super PAC with the FEC secretary.^[86]

After the 2012 New Hampshire primary, a poll for the subsequent South Carolina primary taken by Public Policy Polling (of 1,112 likely GOP voters, Jan 5-7, 2012) was reported to place Stephen Colbert at 5%, one point ahead of Jon Huntsman polling at 4%, in spite of the fact that Colbert was not on the ballot. This poll showed Colbert to be closely behind Rick Perry's 7% and Ron Paul's 8% (with Romney at 27%, Gingrich 23% and Santorum at 18%). On the January 11 episode of the Colbert Report, Colbert asked his audience if he should run for President in South Carolina, to which he received strong applause. He then stated that he would be making a "Major Announcement" during the next day's show. On January 12, Colbert started his show by discussing his role in the Presidential campaign, then addressed the law preventing him from being a Presidential candidate while running his Super PAC. With the help of his lawyer Trevor Potter, he then signed over control of his Super PAC to Jon Stewart, with the organization title then being referred to as "The Definitely Not Coordinating With Stephen Colbert Super PAC".^[87] Immediately after this legal block was out of the way, Colbert announced that "I am forming an exploratory committee to lay the groundwork for my possible candidacy for the President of the United States of South Carolina. I'm doin' it!" He reiterated in the interview portion of that show that "I'm still in the exploratory phase" of his Presidential campaign.

On the January 16, 2012 episode, Colbert encouraged his viewers to vote for Herman Cain in the South Carolina primary. As Cain was still on the ballot, despite having recently dropped out of the race, Colbert announced that he would consider any votes cast for Cain to be in direct support of his own possible candidacy.

Other work[link]

Stephen Colbert is co-author of the satirical text-and-picture novel Wigfield: The Can Do Town That Just May Not, which was published in 2003 by Hyperion Books. The novel was a collaboration between Colbert, Amy Sedaris, and Paul Dinello, and tells the story of a small town threatened by the impending destruction of a massive dam. The narrative is presented as a series of fictional interviews with the town's residents, accompanied by photos. The three authors toured performing an adaptation of Wigfield on stage the same year the book was released.^[88]

Stephen Colbert during an appearance at Florida State University

Colbert appeared in a small supporting role in the 2005 film adaptation of Bewitched. He has made guest appearances on the television series Curb Your Enthusiasm, Spin City, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent,^[89] and on the improvisational comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway?. He voiced the characters of Reducto and Phil Ken Sebben in the Adult Swim's Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law but left the show in 2005 to work on The Colbert Report. His characters were both killed, though he returned to voice Phil for the series finale. Colbert also has provided voices for Cartoon Network's The Venture Bros., Comedy Central's Crank Yankers, and American Dad!, as well as for Canadian animated comedy series The Wrong Coast. He appeared as Homer Simpson's life coach, Colby Krause, in the Simpsons episode "He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs".^[90][91]

Colbert at the launch of his show's book, I Am America (And So Can You!).

Colbert filled in for Sam Seder on the second episode of The Majority Report on Air America Radio, and has also done reports for The Al Franken Show. He appeared on a track on Wig in a Box, a tribute album for Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Colbert read the part of Leopold Bloom in Bloomsday on Broadway XXIV: Love Literature Language Lust: Leopold's Women Bloom on June 16, 2005 at Symphony Space in New York City.^[17] He appeared in a series of TV commercials for General Motors, as a not-too-bright investigator searching for the elusive (and non-existent in real life) "Mr. Goodwrench". He also portrayed the letter Z in Sesame Street: All-Star Alphabet, a 2005 video release.

Colbert is a producer of The 1 Second Film, the world's largest nonprofit collaborative art film. His video request that IMDb list his credit for The 1 Second Film ("it is as valid as most of my credits") enabled thousands of the film's producers to be listed in the massive movie database until they were removed in early 2007.^[92]

Colbert has released one book associated with The Colbert Report, I Am America (And So Can You!). It was released on October 7, 2007 by Grand Central Publishing. Grand Central Publishing is the successor to Warner Books, which published America (The Book), written by The Daily Show staff. The book contains similar political satire, but was written primarily by Colbert himself rather than as a collaboration with his Colbert Report writing staff.^[93]

On November 23, 2008, his Christmas special, A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!, aired on Comedy Central. It was released on DVD in November 2008.^[94]

In January 2010, Colbert was named the assistant sports psychologist for the US Olympic speed skating team at the 2010 Winter Olympics.^[95][96] He was also invited to be part of NBC's 2010 Winter Olympics coverage team by Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Universal Sports.^[97] In April 2011, Colbert performed as Harry in the revival of Stephen Sondheim's musical Company, presented by the New York Philharmonic at the Lincoln Center.^[98] The show, featuring Neil Patrick Harris in the starring role, ran for four nights and was filmed for later showings in movie theaters, which began June 15.^[98] In May 2011, Colbert joined Charleston to Bermuda Race yachting race, as the captain of ship "the Spirit of Juno".^[99] He finished second, five miles behind leaders "Tucana".^[100]

Personal life[link]

Colbert with his sons, Peter and John, at the Tribeca Film Festival

Although, by his own account, he was not particularly political before joining the cast of The Daily Show, Colbert has described himself as a Democrat according to a 2004 interview.^[101][102] In an interview at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard Institute of Politics, he stated that he has "no problems with Republicans, just Republican policies".^[103] Colbert is a practicing Roman Catholic and a Sunday school teacher.^{[17][104][105][106]}

Colbert lives in Montclair, New Jersey with his wife, Evelyn McGee-Colbert, who appeared with him in an episode of Strangers with Candy as his mother. She also had an uncredited cameo as a nurse in the series pilot and a credited one (as his wife, Clair) in the film. McGee-Colbert actually met Jon Stewart, later a good friend of Colbert, before she met her husband in 1990. She is the daughter of prominent Charleston civil litigator Joseph McGee, of the firm Buist Moore Smythe McGee. The couple has three children: Madeleine, Peter, and John.^[107] Colbert prefers, however, that his children not watch his show, The Colbert Report, saying that "kids can't understand irony or sarcasm, and I don't want them to perceive me as insincere".^[19]

Awards and honors[link]

In 2000 Colbert and the other Daily Show writers were the recipients of three Emmy Awards as writers for The Daily Show and again in 2005 and 2006. In 2005 he was nominated for a Satellite Award for his performance on The Colbert Report and again in 2006.^[40]

He was also nominated for three Emmys for The Colbert Report in 2006, including Best Performance in a Variety, Musical Program or Special, which he lost to Barry Manilow. Manilow and Colbert would go on to jokingly sign and notarize a revolving biannual custody agreement for the Emmy on the Colbert Report episode aired on October 30, 2006. He lost the same category to Tony Bennett in 2007 and Don Rickles in 2008.

In January 2006, the American Dialect Society named truthiness, which Colbert coined on the premiere episode of The Colbert Report, as its 2005 Word of the Year. Colbert devoted time on five successive episodes to bemoaning the failure of the Associated Press to mention his role in popularizing the word truthiness in its news coverage of the Word of the Year.^[108][109] On December 9, 2006, Merriam-Webster also announced that it selected truthiness as its Word of the Year for 2006. Votes were accepted on their website, and according to poll results, truthiness won by a five-to-one margin.^[110]

Colbert at Knox College

In June 2006, after speaking at the school's commencement ceremony, Colbert received an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts degree from Knox College.^[111] Time named Stephen Colbert as one of the 100 most influential people in 2006 and^[10] in May 2006, New York magazine listed Colbert (and Jon Stewart) as one of its top dozen influential persons in media.^[112] Colbert was named Person of the Year by the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado on March 3, 2007^[113] and was also given the Speaker of the Year Award by The Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) on March 24, 2007 for his "drive to expose the rhetorical shortcomings of contemporary political discourse".^[114]

Colbert was named the 2nd Sexiest TV News Anchor in September 2006 by Maxim Online, next to Mélissa Theuriau of France and was the only man featured on the list.^[115] In November 2006, he was named a "sexy surprise" by People in the Sexiest Man Alive honors^[116] and in the December 2006 issue of GQ he was named one of GQ's "Men of the Year".^[117]

He was nominated for a TCA Award for The Colbert Report by the Television Critics Association in 2006 and also received two Peabody Awards for his work on The Daily Show: Indecision 2000 and Indecision 2004. In February 2007, Ben & Jerry's unveiled a new ice cream flavor in honor of Colbert, named Stephen Colbert's AmeriCone Dream. Colbert waited until Easter to sample the ice cream because he "gave up sweets for Lent".^[118] Colbert will donate all proceeds to charity through the new Stephen Colbert AmeriCone Dream Fund, which will distribute the money to various causes.^[119]

After the Saginaw Spirit defeated the Oshawa Generals in Ontario Junior League Hockey, Oshawa Mayor John Gray declared March 20, 2007 (the mayor's own birthday) Stephen Colbert Day, honoring a previous bet with Stephen. At the event, Mayor Gray referred to the publicity the bet brought the city, remarking, "This is the way to lose a bet".^[120]

Colbert was honored for the Gutsiest Move on the Spike TV Guys' Choice Awards on June 13, 2007 for his performance at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner.^[121] In August 2007, Virgin America named an airplane. "Air Colbert", in his honor.^[122] On October 28, 2007, Colbert received the key to the city of Columbia, South Carolina from Mayor Bob Coble.^[123]

On December 20, 2007 Colbert was named Celebrity of the Year by The Associated Press.^[124] On April 2, 2008 he received a Peabody Award for The Colbert Report, saying in response, "I proudly accept this award and begrudgingly forgive the Peabody Committee for taking three years to recognize greatness".^[125]

In 2008 Colbert won the Emmy award for writing again, this time as a writer for the Colbert Report. Colbert delivered the Class Day address to the graduating class of Princeton University on June 2, 2008, and accepted the Class of 2008 Understandable Vanity Award, consisting of a sketch of Colbert and a mirror.^[126] He also has been announced as the Person of the Year for the 12th annual Webby Awards.^[127]

In 2008, East Carolina University associate professor Jason Bond named a species of trapdoor spider Aptostichus stephencolberti in honor of Stephen Colbert.^[128] In January 2010, Colbert received the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for his album A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!. He also announced the nominees for Song of the Year while toting a pre-released Apple iPad.^[129] Colbert was the 2011 commencement speaker for Northwestern University, and received an honorary degree.^[130]

COLBERT Treadmill[link]

Wikinews has related news: Comedian Stephen Colbert wins NASA space station name contest

In 2009 NASA engineered a new treadmill for the International Space Station. It was brought to the ISS by the Space Shuttle Discovery during the STS-128 mission in August 2009. The complex machine is now used eight hours daily by astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station in order to maintain their muscle mass and bone density while spending long periods of time in a zero gravity environment. While engineers at NASA were constructing this treadmill it was simply called T-2 for more than two years. However, on April 14, 2009 the treadmill became the most famous piece of exercise equipment in the world when NASA renamed it the "Combined Operational Load-Bearing External Resistance Treadmill", or COLBERT.^[131] NASA named the treadmill after Colbert,^[132] who took an interest during the Node 3 naming census for the ISS module, Tranquility.

Colbert urged his followers to post the name "Colbert", which upon completion of the census received the most entries totaling 230,539, some 40,000 votes more than the second-place choice, Serenity.^[133] The COLBERT is expected to last the life of the ISS and will have seen about 38,000 miles of running when the Space Station is retired in 2020 but was also built with 150,000 mile lifespan if needed till 2028 or longer. Colbert realized he was the recipient of an extremely rare honor when astronaut Suni Williams came on The Colbert Report to announce that NASA had named the treadmill after him. Despite being an acronym, the COLBERT is the only piece of NASA engineered equipment in space that is named after a living human being.^[134]

• 

  C.O.L.B.E.R.T logo being applied to the Combined Operational Load-Bearing External Resistance Treadmill at NASA before Launch

• 

  Launch of Discovery Mission STS-128, which delivered the COLBERT to the ISS

• 

  Cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov exercises on COLBERT in the Harmony Node Of The International Space Station

• 

  The crew who delivered Stephen Colbert's honorary space treadmill

Filmography[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Colbert, Dinello, Sedaris. Wigfield: The Can-Do Town That Just May Not (Hyperion, May 19, 2004) ISBN 0-7868-8696-X
• America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction (Warner Books, September 2004) ISBN 0-446-53268-1
• I Am America (And So Can You!) (Grand Central Publishing, October 9, 2007) ISBN 0-446-58050-3

Discography[link]

• A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All! in 2008
• Stephen Colbert with the Black Belles — Charlene II (I'm Over You) in 2011

References[link]