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Some viewers and interviewees have a hard time telling which Stephen Colbert they are witnessing, a fair confusion given that the man has two Wikipedia entries.

There's the mild-mannered gentleman actor from South Carolina. And then there's the unrepentant loudmouth of The Colbert Report, who harasses politicians like Barney Frank and Bob Kerrey into holding grudges.

"I was taught to be nice, so it's not in my nature to be a jerk," Colbert explained over the weekend at The New Yorker Festival. "But

I do enjoy it."

You can tell the fake newsman has fun berating alternative journos like Amy Goodman and Naomi Klein during his Comedy Central show, even though he's informed his audience beforehand that the character he's playing is a stone-cold idiot. He seems to have as much fun convincing right-wingers like Bill O'Reilly and Lou Dobbs that he might agree with them, even though the opposite is probably true.

This philosophical flux is what has made Colbert a cultural phenomenon. In an era where defining the opposition is key to dismantling its energy and support, his ability to slip in and out of the artistic and political traps set for him is the key to his success.

He says he divulges this reality about his alter ego every night, right before his hyper-real show gets rolling.

"I tell people, 'He's an idiot,'" Colbert told fans at the festival, where attendees gathered last weekend to hear chats with luminaries like Guillermo del Toro, Junot Diaz, Clint Eastwood, Oliver Stone and Tom Morello. "I say, 'Disabuse me of my ignorance.'"

*Photo: Wikipedia *

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