Video: Another Unhappy Moment For The Edelman Clan

"Poor" in America - Peter Edelman

www.colbertnation.com

Maybe the Edelman men should just avoid cameras for a while. Last night on the Colbert Report renowned anti-poverty advocate Peter Edleman (father of Jonah) seemed unwilling or unprepared to do battle with the host, who pestered him with questions suggesting that the poor aren't really poor and ended by asking:  "Did you bring any poor people with you? I was hoping this was going to be one of those Jack Hannah segments where bring me a baby poor for me to hold."  It was pretty intense stuff, though not all that unusual for Colbert. Edelman seemed miffed and walked offstage immediately upon the conclusion of the segment despite Colbert's encouragement to stay with him. 

Comments

[ken]

Peter strikes me as a rather serious guy, and the topic he studies (poverty) is extremely serious. Maybe the Colbert Report isn't the best venue for him. Certain topics - poverty, joblessness, the lack of social supports - don't lend themselves to jokes, and Peter might have been seen as insensitive or crass if he played into Colbert's jokes (ie "checking the traps" for poor people).

Jonah might have a few good reasons to stay out of the spotlight for a bit, but I would very much like to see Peter on more serious programs.

[Jonathan]

Or, just maybe, someone who's spent a lifetime engaged in the real battle against poverty doesn't find it a topic for silliness and ridicule. (Peter Edelman is an extraordinarily skilled debater and lawyer, so it's probably not a question of whether he's game for some back-and-forth.) So, was the mistake going on Colbert in the first place, considering his silly (though highly entertaining) schtick? perhaps.

[Doug]

I like Colbert and he is only playing a part as a "Rush, Glenn Beck type" but even I thought it was in very bad taste.

Lets have some cripple jokes or Holocaust jokes next. Are they funny?

[Maria]

I don't, I thought Edelman looked like he was having fun.