Yesterday in her New York Times op-ed column, Maureen Dowd presented one of her signature imaginary dialogues. But instead of imagining her own little Sunday morning playhouse production about the head of Lehman Brothers talking to the Monopoly Guy on a bread line or whatever, she outsourced the effort to her ex-boyfriend, West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin.

This isn't the first time Ms. Dowd has relied on someone else to write her column: On October 14, 2007, she had Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert write I Am an Op-Ed Columnist (And So Can You!) for her.   read more »

News now from Comedy Central (via Stereogum) that the Colbert Report will be puttin’ on one hell of a Christmas special this year. The November 23rd show will feature Feist, Elvis Costello, John Legend, Willie Nelson, even “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” Toby Keith—all singing tunes written by Fountains of Wayne’s Adam Schlesinger. Except for Feist and Keith, each will sing accompanied by Colbert himself, and all will take part in the show’s own rendition of “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding.” Here’s what Santa’s bringing this year:

• "Another Christmas Song" – Stephen Colbert
• "Have I Got A Present For You" – Toby Keith
• "Little Dealer Boy" – Stephen Colbert and Willie Nelson
• "Hannukah" – Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart
• "Nutmeg" – Stephen Colbert and John Legend
• "Please Be Patient" – Feist
• "There Are Much Worse Things to Believe In" – Stephen Colbert and Elvis Costello
• "(What's So Funny 'bout) Peace, Love And Understanding" – Stephen Colbert, Elvis Costello, Feist, Toby Keith, John Legend and Willie Nelson

The photos from the already-taped episode—one of Feist in an angel custom blowing Stephen a kiss, the other of Colbert and Costello at the piano (the former looking like Lawrence Welk, the later like Abe Lincoln)—are just priceless.  read more »

Governor David Paterson is set to appear on the Colbert Report tomorrow, according to his official schedule.

Paterson's predecessor Eliot Spitzer appeared on the show, and tried to out-funny the faux-conservative anchor, leading to a profoundly unamusing segment.

In practical terms, it should be a chance for Paterson to grab some of the national exposure he sort of missed out on at the Democratic convention last week, at which a) Chuck Schumer forgot to introduce him at a breakfast in front of the New York delegation, b) he was reportedly asked to focus his 4 p.m. convention remarks on people with disabilities rather than the economy, his hot issue back home, and c) he got edged out of CNN's camera shot during Hillary Clinton's big moment on the floor during roll call.

Last week, Media Mob offered a flashback of the late Stephanie Tubbs Jones appearance on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report. In presenting that clip, we praised Congresswoman Tubbs Jones for her good comedic timing in her interview with Mr. Colbert.

Last night, Mr. Colbert paid tribute to the late Congresswoman by showing some great footage of her improvising an imaginary courtroom show called Judge Tubbs with him. In the bit, a defendant named Bramlet Abercrombie (played by Mr. Colbert) sued his girlfriend, Sharon Applebaum (Mr. Colbert again) for setting his couch "afire."

Playing herself, Congresswoman Tubbs Jones nailed it.

Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Democratic representative of Ohio's 11th district, died yesterday from a ruptured brain aneurysm at age 58. The Associated Press, CNN, CBS, Fox News and The Washington Post jumped the gun, reporting that Congresswoman Tubbs Jones had died several hours before her doctors confirmed the news.

On Nov. 3, 2005, Congresswoman Tubbs Jones appeared on Comedy Central's then-nascent Colbert Report in the third part of his 435-part series, "Better Know a District."

Mr. Colbert's show had only been on a few weeks, so his blustery persona was still developing: In the taped segment, his hair appears cow-licked; his suit not yet sharply tailored.  read more »

Tonight, HBO will air a documentary by Rory Kennedy about White House press room mainstay Helen Thomas called Thank You, Mr. President. While less sexy than other HBO fare such as Heidi Fleiss: The Would-Be Madam of Crystal and probably less controversial than Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, it promises to offer journalism buffs some insight into Ms. Thomas' incredible 47-year (and still going strong) career.

The New York Times' Susan Stewart says:

Ms. Kennedy, who conducted the interview at her mother’s Hickory Hill estate, doesn’t ask the kind of hard-hitting questions that her subject is known for and never brings up the more extreme statements Ms.  read more »

Last night, Bill O'Reilly tried to prove that viewers of The O'Reilly Factor are more intelligent than those of his satirical nemesis Stephen Colbert's Colbert Report.

"Little Stevie Colbert's ratings have been flat lately, even though he's gotten increasingly nasty. And a recent article in The San Francisco Chronicle that Colbert's audience is smarter than the Factor audience," Mr. O'Reilly said. "Of course, that is false."

As Mr. O'Reilly continued, "According to a Pew Research study, a whopping 83 percent of Factor viewers have a high or moderate knowledge of current events, as opposed to 79 per cent for little Stevie.  read more »

Last night on The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert waxed Keith Olbermannian and earnestly refused to mock Robert Novak for his hit-and-run assault on a homeless pedestrian because the syndicated columnist has been diagnosed with a brain tumor.

"Wow," the host said after wishing Mr. Novak well. "I'm pretty impressed with myself right now." Adding, "I am deeply moved by me."

With the time blocked out for a segment about Novak, Mr. Colbert was forced to improvise, leaving him feeling like "I'm up on a high wire with my junk flapping in the breeze." The next three minutes were taken up with fake phone calls praising his restraint and asking Mr. Colbert if he'd do the same for Ted Kennedy ("That is completely different!") and plugging The Colbert Report's Special Report, "Silent Night: Stephen Colbert's Heroic Refusal to Discuss Robert Novak."

Yesterday, The Observer's Bharat Ayyar reported on MoveOn.org and rapper Nas' protest outside of Fox News headquarters in Manhattan.

Last night, Nas appeared on The Colbert Report to explain himself. When asked by Mr. Colbert why he thinks Fox is racist, Nas (real name Nasir Jones) said, "It's obvious. Everybody that has eyes and ears can see that this guy [Bill O'Reilly] is out of control. He knows what he's doing, you know what I mean? It's out of line. The things he's saying is worse than the worst rap lyrics I ever heard."

The rapper also told the host, "I think O'Reilly's afraid of me.  read more »