Colbert needles 'Emperor' Obama on late-night TV - USA TODAY

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President Obama takes over as host for 'The Colbert Report' Monday night. VPC

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00:00 As you know I. Steven called winner. Have never cared
00:06 for president. Yeah. The guy is so arrogant. Nobody talks about
00:13 himself in the third person. He's stage of a serving as
00:19 president of the United States but Monday night Barack Obama stepped
00:22 into a different role on comedy central's the cold air. You've
00:27 been taking a lot of shots of my job. I decide
00:29 I'm going to take a shot yours Obama tickled they're out
00:32 of his seat in hosted a portion of the show with
00:34 some witty yet timely humor mound. Republicans control both the house
00:39 and the senate. They could pass a bill repealing obamacare. But
00:44 the president still has the veto. Guy is willing to use
00:49 that. Presents go on these kinds of shows for the same
00:52 reason that Hollywood celebrities go on there usually plugging something. In
00:57 Obama's case it's something a little bit more subtle with the
00:59 policy point or some message you want to get across. But
01:02 just the same he has specific audience that tends to be
01:05 younger. There it's different that at different audience than people who
01:09 usually watch the nightly news and so he can really sort
01:12 of narrowly. Targeted message to people who we want to reach.
01:16 OK let's get the settlement would you come here to plug.
01:19 This is not Obama's first Virginia last year he appeared on
01:21 the Funny or Die web series between two ferns with host
01:24 comedian Zach out and I can't. Obama's mission was to get
01:27 more young people to sign up for obamacare have you heard
01:30 of the affordable care. Oh yeah heard about that that's the
01:33 thing that doesn't work the video got millions of views in
01:35 the first 24 hours and the unconventional protests are to success
01:39 by the administration. Among Obama's other comedy show appearances and visit
01:42 with David Letterman in September 2012 to deliver a serious message
01:45 to people of the Muslim world we expect you. To work
01:50 with us to keep our people safe and immoral lighthearted stop
01:53 by the Tonight Show with Jay Leno back in October 2011.
01:55 But you're watching the GOP debates. I'm gonna wait until they're
02:00 both voted off the island. Obama is the first president to
02:04 really understand the the power of social media. 22 guys message
02:10 he's used it. Much better than any of its predecessors and
02:13 of course it's it's relatively new phenomenon. But Obama really understands.
02:18 That audience young people how they get their information how to
02:21 consumer entertainment and he's been very successful in. A using these
02:25 shows that to advance certain policy points he wants to make.
02:29 Money net uncle they're sure Obama managed to address several key
02:32 policy issues such as immigration the Keystone Pipeline. And the economy
02:36 opportunity you've employed a lot of people we had mostly as
02:39 secretary of defense well play.

President Obama and Stephen Colbert during a taping of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" in Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University on Dec. 8.(Photo: Pool, Getty Images)

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WASHINGTON — Talk show host Stephen Colbert mocked President Obama on Monday for making a special contribution to the nation's jobs picture.

"I'll give it to you. You've employed a lot of people," Colbert said. "Mostly as secretary of Defense."

"Well — that's boosted our numbers a little bit," Obama conceded just days after naming his fourth Defense chief in six years.

Obama's appearance on the satirical Colbert Report was his first in-person appearance on the show as president — and his last. The show wraps up its nine-year run on Comedy Central at the end of the month as Colbert prepares to take over the CBS Late Show next year.

Obama opened the show by taking on the role of Colbert's stage alter-ego, the conservative Bill O'Reilly-style pundit, poking fun at the host and himself while also promoting the open enrollment for the new, improved Obamacare website. "Remember the original HealthCare.gov website? I think that's where Disney got the idea for Frozen," Obama joked.

USA TODAY

Obama's on 'Colbert' tonight. Who'll get the last laugh?

During the free-wheeling interview that followed, Colbert quizzed the president about immigration, his use of executive power, the Keystone XL pipeline and his place in history.

Colbert: "You realize you're an emperor now; it has been declared. You are Barackus Maximus I. ... Why did you burn the Constitution and become an emperor?"

Obama: "You know, actually, Stephen, everything that we have done is scrupulously within the law, and has been done by previous Democratic and Republican presidents. ... We can't deport 11 million folks who are here, the vast majority of whom are good people who are just trying to get ahead and trying to make sure their families can get ahead. So instead of devoting a whole lot of resources on separating families, grabbing some mom who's working at a hotel or some dad who's working in a kitchen somewhere, and separating them out, let's focus on deporting felons."

Colbert: "Let's talk about the Keystone XL pipeline. ... The American people want it. It's going to create jobs. The State Department says it's not going to raise the pollution in the atmosphere. You're going to sign that, right?"

Obama: "We've got to make sure that it's not adding to the problem of carbon and climate change. We have to examine that, and we have to weigh that against the amount of jobs that it's actually going to create, which aren't a lot. ... Essentially, this is Canadian oil passing through the United States to be sold on the world market. It's not going to push down gas prices here in the United States. It's good for Canada."

Colbert: "Barack Obama — great president? Or the greatest president?"

Obama: "I think I'm going to let somebody else decide. Not you, but somebody who knows what they're talking about. ... It's hard to get perspective when you're in the middle of it. And hopefully, later down the road, people will take a look and they'll say, you know what, this guy woke up every day, he was working hard on behalf of the American people, and he got some stuff done."

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