"Well, after nearly...15 minutes of soul searching, I have heard the call. Nation: I shall seek the office of the President of the United States!"
--Stephen Colbert, The Colbert Report, October 16, 2007

Tim Russert grills comedian and Comedy Central fixture Stephen Colbert on the rationale behind his effort to run in the South Carolina Presidential primaries, and his corresponding book, I Am America (And So Can You!).

Says Colbert, "I think our country is facing unprecedented challenges in the future, and I think that the junctures that we face are both critical and unforeseen. And the real challenge is how we will respond to these junctures, be they unprecedented or unforeseen; or, God help us, critical."

Subjects covered include pensions and Social Security ("Why do you get paid after you stop working?"), the war in Iraq ("Once again, God won the War. He just doesn't occupy very well."), parenting, Senator Larry Craig as running mate, and gay marriage.

"Marriage," says Colbert, "is the basic building block of society, and if gay men get married, that threatens my marriage immediately, because I only got married as a taunt toward gay men because they couldn't."

In the same segment, Russert asks Colbert, "Would you consider Senator Larry Craig as your running mate?"

"I would," replied the talk show host.

"Have you had conversations with him?" asked Russert.

"Define 'conversation'," said Colbert.

"Have you spoken to him?" asked Russert in a follow-up.

"No, no," the presidential candidate explained.

In the exchange that follows, Colbert explains the extent of his "communication" with the senator who pleaded guilty to charges that resulted from a sex sting in the Minneapolis, MN airport.

"All I need is--enough votes on the Democratic side to get one delegate, and I'll feel like I have won," says Colbert, "because if, at the Democratic National Convention, somebody has to stand up and say: 'The proud state of South Carolina, the Palmetto State, the home of the greatest peaches and shrimp in the world, casts one vote for native son Stephen Colbert,' I say I've won."

The entire exchange, which also delves into Colbert's "Jesus beard" and his love for former President Richard Nixon, can be viewed below, as broadcast on October 21, 2007.