Sunday Roundup (POLITICS)
This week brought two very different goodbyes. First, we said adios to 54 years of Cuban isolation policy, with President Obama lifting bans on travel and trade and resuming diplomatic relations. The other goodbye was to The Colbert Report. After nine years and 1,447 episodes, Stephen Colbert signed off in appropriate fashion, with Santa, a unicorn, Abe Lincoln, and a chess match with Death. Then, he was joined by dozens of former guests -- including Big Bird, Henry Kissinger, George Lucas, Katie Couric, James Franco, Cory Booker, Willie Nelson, and myself -- for a bittersweet version of "We'll Meet Again." After nearly a decade of Colbert, it's clear that what's truly special about him isn't his amazing wit, incredible timing, or even how staggeringly funny he is; it's his heart. Underneath his blowhard character, his humor consistently came from a place of compassion and truth (in the guise of truthiness) -- exactly what we need in these polarized times. Thankfully, we'll all be resuming ties with Colbert again soon.