Ariana Huffington on the Colbert Report

Ok, I'm not a regular blogger, but after watching the April 18th episode of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report", and not finding a lot of commentary on the interview between Mr. Colbert and Ms. Huffington, (aside from a series of glowing reactions on the H. Post itself), and after being in a bit of a huff after watching Colbert's possible drubbing, I felt compelled to launch a few comments into the swirling vortex of the internet. In summary: I was perplexed as to why Ariana was so vicious to Mr. Colbert on his show. Her body language, complete with rolling eyes, shaking head, pursed lips, and head-in-hand, and her tone of voice, made the interview difficult to watch, not to mention the 9 poignant and rather pointed personal attacks on Colbert, about half of which consisted of simply lording the Pulitzer over Colbert. An analogy might be, kicking someone while they're down (or maybe a smidge lower), spiking the ball in the end zone, etc.  Of course, the final analysis is Colbert's to make.  Will Ariana make his "On Notice" board?  Well, I recommend you simply judge for yourself.

(http://www.colbertnation.com/full-episodes/wed-april-18-2012-arianna-huffington)

Below is a summary of my post to the Huffington Post.

Hm.. I actually had a somewhat different take on the Colbert Report exchange with Ariana. I found Ariana rude and condescending to Mr. Colbert. If you watch the complete interview on comedy central, probably 60 - 70% of the exchange consisted of Ariana personally attacking Mr. Colbert in a rather agressive and haughty manner. I rewatched the clip and have 9 quotations from Ariana that exemplify this:

1. I have a feeling you’re bitter and jealous
2. You just won a mere Peabody.
3. Deep in your subconscious you wish you won a Peabody.
4. I just think you need a little therapy
5. Who needs a Peabody when you have a Pulitzer?
6. I’m glad I’m here because you need to stop aggregating the H. Post.
7. Who’s writing your questions, Joe the Plumber?
8. You’re just so behind the curve.
9. I highly recommend you read before you aggregate.

The final analysis: while Colbert was playful, Ms. Huffington came across as arrogant, bitter, and entitled. You won a great award Ms. Huffington, Mr. Colbert is giving you the opportunity to publicize yourself - the least you could be is a gracious guest. If you want to beat someone up, do it on Fox or any number of conservative radio shows. Don't beat people up who are on your side.

Finally, if you watch the last 2 seconds of the Report, where Colbert waves goodbye, you can catch a glimpse of a rather sour expression in the last moment as Colbert turns away. I don't believe he was happy with the exchange either.