Colbert Claims Laura Ingraham's Baby-Back Ribs Jokes Are 'The Most Hideous, Hackneyed Racial Stereotypes'

Conservative talk-show host and The Obama Diaries author Laura Ingraham appeared to promote her book Wednesday night on The Colbert Report on Comedy Central. Fake-conservative Stephen Colbert suggested the Republicans didn’t have a visible agenda. But he really went after Ingraham in claiming it was somehow one of “the most hideous, hackneyed racial stereotypes” to joke that Michelle Obama ate baby back ribs.

What? All those Chili’s “I want my baby back, baby back, baby back” ads were only designed for black customers? Obviously, there are more hackneyed culinary stereotypes than that. Ingraham was clearly trying to mock how Eat Right Michelle (if you’re not lost in one of those “food deserts”) probably pigs out on less healthy food in private. Colbert ripped the author’s “diaries” as horribly written (Video below the cut):

COLBERT: What are the odds that Barack Obama’s private musings would completely and perfectly match up with the narrative the right is trying to push about him?

 

INGRAHAM: We’re totally right. As usual, conservatives are right about how these things are crafted, how these things are thought about, and it’s been masterful. I mean, he went from basically being a community leafletter to a few short stints in the state Senate and the U.S. Senate, to running the biggest economy in the world. You don’t get there because you’re dumb, I never think he’s dumb and never say that.

COLBERT: I don’t know....I’ve read a fair amount of this book and I know he’s not supposed to be a dumb guy, but this writing is terrible! (Laughter and cheering) I mean it is the most, the most banal turns of phrase, the most – listen like to what he says about his wife.

Barack writes about Michelle's food intake. “Michelle’s...lunch was baby back ribs. Afternoon snack: more ribs. Bedtime snack: the last three ribs.” I thought it was supposed to be a post-racial America. Obama is making the most hideous, hackneyed racial stereotypes in here.

Ingraham shot back that when Colbert insulted her just last Wednesday as “Ichabod Crane’s banshee widow,” it could be seen as a racial insult. Then Colbert shifted into Joe Biden looking at Laura at a journalists’ gathering as if he wanted to kiss her. (Colbert thought that was incredibly self-serving, no doubt.) But she started telling a real story about Biden:

INGRAHAM: He approached me at George Will’s annual baseball party. He grabbed me by the shoulders, said “God’s honest truth, Ingraham. You’re my favorite one of all those, uh, you know, those right-wingers. God’s honest -- Look in my eyes.” Like this [pointing with two fingers at her eyes], “look in my eyes.” I’m like “Is there a Secret Service agent around here? What are you doing here? It was hilarious.

COLBERT: The diary said he wanted to kiss you. He’s the vice president of the United States. Speaking for me, I’d go second base. What about you?

INGRAHAM: I don’t want to reveal anything more. They should read it for themselves, and figure out what chemistry there was there. I mean, there was a moment.

COLBERT: Anyway, buy the book. It’s called The Obama Diaries. It’s the number one bestseller. It is full of tales of horror. And you know horror, because you dated Keith Olbermann for a while, didn’t you? Laura, thanks for joining me.

PS: Since these shows are pre-taped and edited, do you ever wonder whether conservatives get some of their slams edited out before the show is aired? Have you ever seen Stewart or Colbert successfully swatted by a conservative? Ingraham's interview had some slice-and-dice in it, I think.