| | It's hard to get a grasp of what Colbert's actual political philosophy is, because he almost never breaks character, playing this over-the-top blowhard conservative pundit whose buffoonery gives a knowing wink to liberal sensitivities. But, he clearly does understand what libertarians, Objectivists, conservatives, and liberals all stand for, he's repeatedly said he's neither a conservative nor a liberal, and in at least one episode he said he was a libertarian.
My take on Colbert is that he's a bit like Gail Wynand, the newspaper mogul in The Fountainhead. I get the impression that Colbert's a closet left-libertarian-leaning person playing to an audience largely composed of hardcore modern liberals, and that while he might try to stealthily introduce his audience to a more libertarian perspective, ultimately the demands of his show force him to pander to the worldview of his audience and spread their philosophy. Like Wynand, I suspect Colbert may think he's in charge, but in reality the audience controls the message, and any serious attempt to deviate from their POV would result in precipitous declines in viewership.
That said, I enjoy the Colbert Report way more than Stewart's The Daily Show, since Stewart is clearly locked into a hardcore liberal mindset and thus frequently makes asinine, cringeworthy remarks in his interviews and generally fawns over the statists he interviews. Whereas Colbert gives all of his guests ample opportunity to make an ass of themselves.
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