That's Not Dowd, It's Colbert (We Think)

Maureen Dowd turned over her column to faux conservative Stephen Colbert today in the New York Times—or it's her own clever parody on a master of the form. Either way, it's a fun read, with Colbert hinting he'd like to run for president. But unlike Newt, Colbert won’t force his supporters to raise $30 million. “I would run for 15 million. Cash.”

Colbert said his new book might be testing presidential waters, like tomes from John Edwards, Barack Obama, and O.J. Simpson. He recently told Larry King he might run in both parties. “It’s clear that the voters are desperate for a white, male, middle-aged, Jesus-trumpeting alternative,” Colbert writes. “I’m just an Average Joe like you—if you have a TV show.” (More Stephen Colbert stories.)