Aug 19, 2009 1:54 pm US/Mountain
Rep. Polis Says He'd Go On Colbert's Show Again
Good Question: Why do politicians go on entertainment shows?
Written By Alan Gionet
WESTMINSTER, Colo. (CBS4) ―
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Rep. Jared Polis talks with CBS4's Alan Gionet
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"Terrible ... kind of funny though."
That's what one constituent told CBS4 as he watched Rep. Jared Polis' appearance on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report.
"It's good clean fun. I had a blast doing it. He interviewed me for close to two hours to get five minutes of tape," Polis said.
What came out was a segment called "Even Better-er Know a District," in which Colbert ridicules Colorado and Polis.
Among the highlights; Colbert in a fake ski video calling Boulder the nation's tea capital and incorrectly indicating there are grizzly bears in Colorado. He also asked Polis about his weight loss in a joking mix-up with the Jared of Subway sandwiches. He went on to get into a debate over the origins of homosexuality with the "Gay Polis" and then talked Polis into drinking from a beer bong.
Polis drinking from a beer bong didn't go over so well with some of the people we talked with.
"That's not what I would expect from my congressman," said one man.
But Polis had his defenders as well. One woman said of the beer bong guzzling, "I would rather see them do something like that than do some of the illegal stuff that some of the other ones do."
"You know what's not funny about a congressman drinking from a beer bong? You know that's a pretty funny concept no matter what," Polis said. "It was Colorado beer, it was Coors. Of course I don't regret it," Polis said.
Polis is not the first congressman to go on the show. Even his predecessor in the 2nd District that stretches from Boulder out to Vail, current Sen. Mark Udall has been on The Colbert Report.
Looking good on the Colbert Report is hard to do. It makes viewers wonder why politicians do it.
"I think those guys really challenge them and it makes them think on their feet, and that's part of being a politician," said one man in Westminster.
"Since when have politicians ever had sense?" said comedian Louis Johnson. "They want to be perceived as cool and funny."
Johnson watched what sometimes appeared to be a twisting of Polis.
"Apparently he hadn't watched the show that much. Because there's no way any smart politician would sit down with Colbert at all," Johnson said.
Johnson went on to point out that Colbert and his writers planned ahead. It's something he says comedians live for.
"You've got to remember we enjoy this. We thrive on breaking them up, getting them out of their box," he said.
Despite the ribbing, Polis said he would do it again.
"It's a comedy show. Before I went on I looked at the pieces they did with a number of other members of Congress," Polis said.
He also suggested there's a longer lasting benefit.
"You know I've gotten about 30 Facebook comments already (and) they loved it. I've gotten 40 e-mail comments including people I went to high school with. They said I haven't seen you in 15 years -- I saw you on Colbert -- I loved it."
In addition, he believes shows like the The Colbert Report allow him to gain exposure to the politically apathetic.
Talk show and comedy show appearances have become standard for members of Congress and even presidential candidates. Remember John McCain's infamous row with David Letterman last year? Letterman chewed McCain out for a late cancellation. Both presidential candidates, McCain and Barack Obama, appeared on the The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Saturday Night Live appearances have become a way to seek out younger voters.
"It's just a continuation of this egalitarian trend of politics. You can't expect everybody to come to politics to read the paper to read the op-ed pages to see what I'm writing there. We have to go to them. Yes they're watching Letterman and Leno now they're watching some of their news from those shows," Polis said.
He may have a point there. A 26-year-old University of Colorado graduate who watched the video says he's never voted and now lives in Polis' district.
Even with pointing out it was a spoof, he said, "After watching that, I'd probably take more of an interest in where he comes from and where he's going. At least now I know who he is whereas before I had no idea."
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