“Thanks for taking time off from being a black woman to talk to us!” That sign-off by Stephen Colbert about says it for the substance of his televised conversation with 9th District congressman Steve Cohen. Seen Thursday night on Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report,” the dialogue put Cohen, a ready man with a quip, in the position instead of trying to force common sense into the plugged-up ear canals of pretend-reactionary Colbert.
Topics included Cohen’s efforts while a state senator on behalf of a potty parity bill, his long-running sponsorship of lottery legislation in Tennessee, and the fact of his having won an ethics award (a circumstance which had Colbert suggesting a conflict of interest in that the plaque might be worth something).
“Everybody has his price,” Colbert suggested. “That’s not true,” Cohen answered firmly. Sometimes the ideal last word needn’t be a punchline.
