86.3%

GO VOTE!

That's how Stephen ended the show. But let me start at the beginning.

Of course you all know about the Colbert Super PAC, Building a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow. Well who do you think said this?

"We can begin a better tomorrow, tomorrow." Oh, you won't believe who it was. Stephen seemed pleased, ("He used our slogan!") but I can tell you, I am steamed. Stephen made up that slogan and it belongs to the Colbert Super PAC and all the fine folks over at Colbert Nation and to the The Colbert Report. So here's who said it: Mitt Romney.

Really, plagiarism, that's how it's going to be? That does it. I'm going against all the conservative ideas Stephen has been preaching all these years and endorsing Barack Obama. There. I said it. Stephen has worked so hard every hour of every day building his Colbert Super PAC. Now to have the slogan, well the last four words of it, used in a speech by someone else,... well forgive me if I cry on my computer and make the words run off the screen.

Whew, deep breath, calm down. Okay. I'm feeling better. Maybe not that big of a deal. Moving on.

Stephen did a somber impression of Maya Angelou and then a more upbeat impression of Kid Rock. They are sort of the poets for each of the presidential campaigns. You decide which poet belongs to which candidate. Stephen also mentioned an excellent documentary that CNN did on bears a few years back. I missed that documentary but it sounded like it was quite informative.

Sasha Issenberg chatted with Stephen briefly and told him what was a very surprising piece of information. Based on everything that is known about Stephen Colbert, there is a 94% chance that he will support Obama. Now you know why polls and surveys and predictions can be so "iffy." Everyone knows Stephen Colbert is a conservative. And he's supporting Obama! Wow - do fish swim? Is the Pope Catholic? I could go on, but you get the idea. Stephen Colbert votes for Obama. Please. Really, please.

Tomorrow is the... The Election. The race is "razor tight" according to nearly everyone. With that said, Stephen talked about his upcoming guest, Nate Silver, New York Times Polling Jedi and author of the Five Thirty Eight blog. In 2008, Nate Silver correctly predicted 49 out of 50 states.

One of the first things Stephen said is that even a stopped clock is right 98% of the time. So, a good introduction to percentages. Nate Silver is now predicting that Barack Obama has a 86.3% chance of being re-elected! He is so sure of it that he even had a famous bet with Joe Scarborough about the outcome of the presidential election.

Stephen, along with many other people, is skeptical of Nate Silver's predictions. In fact, this is what Stephen said on the subject:

"I am not the only one tarnishing Silver's sterling reputation."

(I'll wait while you let that clever quote sink in. Stephen was oh-so-pleased with himself.)

So, Nate Silver was on. He was on four years ago and received the famous "Colbert Bump" and since then has a pretty cushy job over at New York Times. Most likely thanks to Stephen. Nate has a book out, looks quite interesting if you judge a book by its cover and also by the words inside. The book is, "the signal and the noise: why so many predictions fail --- but some don't." No, I was not too lazy to capitalize the words. They are all in lowercase on the book cover. I think that means the book is more down to earth and not as uppity as some people's books are. So, again, it sounds like a good book.

Stephen ended the show with these words:

GO VOTE!

Sound advice. Be sure to vote tomorrow. The lines my be long. But this is important. Your family is counting on you to vote. Your country is counting on you to vote. And Stephen Colbert is counting on you to vote. Don't make him cry.