>> jon: that's our show, join us tomorrow night at 11:00. her is your moment of zone. >> tony blair's christmas card is trending for all the wrong reasons. the card features this photo of him of what some are called a forced grimas on

♪ >> stephen colbert presents "mr. colbert goes to washington, d.c. a later legislator: partisan is such sweet sorry " . a colbert victory lap 2014. ♪ (cheers and applause) captioning sponsored by comedy central (audience chanting "stephen") >> stephen: thank you, ladies and gentlemen! welcome to "the report"! welcome to "the report"! thanks so much, everybody! welcome to "the report"! great to have me with you! (laughter) tonight's broadcast emanates from our nation's capital. there's electricity in the air.

can you feel it? (cheers and applause) i think it's electricity. they just legalized pot here. (cheers and applause) last night, i got a contact high just walking down to street, and ended up in my hotel room binge-watching c-span.2v well, i think it was c-span. it might have been my shower curtain. we're at beautiful george washington university. (cheers and applause) george washington university, of course, named for our first president, george university. (laughter) d.c. has been "the report"'s second home. a part of me will always be here -- my portrait's in the smithsonian. my wax figure is in madame tussaud's, and my iphone is in the panda pen at the national zoo. cough it up, bao bao!

in 2010, jon stewart and i held the rally to restore sanity and/or fear. (cheers and applause) and the nation thronged to the washington mall to finally get some answers... about why we asked them to come to the washington mall. i can finally reveal it was a groupon thing. i needed a quarter million people to get 20% off a membership at soul cycle. (laughter) and because this is our natis capital, tonight, i'm proud to launch part one of my one-part series. better know "a" america. tonight, america: the fightin' us.! america began 270 million years ago as part of pangea, until it split off, thanks to jesus.

(laughter) it was a happy accident -- all he was trying to do is send an earthquake to punish gay dinosaurs. (laughter) then came the people with the feathers on their lends. then the people with the buckles on their hats. then, in 1776, america happened. the founding fathers gathered in philadelphia and unanimously declared -- we should really move the capital somewhere else. (laughter) famous residents of america include congressman john lewis, apple c.e.o. tim cook, and jeffery donovan of "burn notice." (applause) when visiting america, don't miss out on its signature dish: food. (applause) look for it under the melted cheese.

and who has the oval offices to represent this great nation? none other than two-term president barack obama. (cheers and applause) i recently sat down with president obama later on in tonight's show. (laughter) of course, the republican landslide in the midterms was a stinging rebuke of the president. i checked, he didn't get one vote. (laughter) and yet, right after the midterms, he issues an executive order shielding up to 5 million illegal immigrants. (cheers and applause) yeah. shielding them. he is shielding them. now he's making them s.h.i.e.l.d. agents? (laughter) nick fury must be... very angry. only word i could think of. then the president signed a climate change accord with china, pushed the f.c.c. to adopt net neutrality, and wants to put cameras on cops.

(cheers and applause) obama is totally out of control. he's like both guys in lethal weapon at once: a crazy renegade with nothing to lose and the black guy who's this close to retirement! (laughter) worst of all, i'm getting too old for this (bleep)! worst of all, obama is threatening to give us healthcare again, because from now until february 15th is the obamacare open enrollment period, when you can go online and select whichever death panel you prefer to smother you in your sleep. (cheers and applause) but don't fall for it. no! do not fall for it! or anything this guy says. he can't make things happen. the people with real power in this country are pundits like me and papa bear. >> i have more power doing what i'm doing, okay, than getting involved with the political process. plus, you have to kiss butt to get money. you know, 150 million to run for president.

i can get things done like that. and that kind of power i could never have in elected office. >> stephen: oh, yeah. o'reilly clearly has more power than the president. when's the last time obama sold self-lubricating catheters? (laughter) point is, i could be a politician like that -- (snap) -- but a politician could never do my job, which is why everyone should listen to my cure for obamacare, and that brings us to tonight's -- (cheers and applause) >> thank you, everybody. thank you. thank you. stephen. (cheers and applause) >> stephen: thanks so much! (cheers and applause) president obama, i'm thrilled

you here but i did not expect you for another three minutes. >> stephen, you have been taking a lot of shots at my job. i thought i'd take a shot at yours. (cheers and applause) what part of the segment are we in now? what were you going to be doing in. >> stephen: i was about to do "the word," sir. >> "the word." (cheers and applause) how hard can this be? i'm just going to say whatever you were about to say. >> stephen: okey-doke. okay. (cheers and applause) nation -- nation, instead of the

word, let's make this a little more presidential, which brings us to tonight's "decree"... (playing "hail to the chief," then clang) ... to health in a hand basket. nation, as you know, i, stephen colbert, have never cared for our president. (laughter) the guy's so arrogant, i bet he talks about himself in the third person. (laughter) (cheers and applause) but even i have to admit that obamacare is the law of the land. and while it's been politically divisive, there are things that =cple from both parties like about obamacare.

(laughter) for instance, that children can stay on their parents' policies until age 26. (cheers and applause) nearly 7 million people signed up last year and almost 1 million more have signed up in just the past few weeks. (cheers and applause) now, how do you stop something that more and more people are starting to like? (laughter) (applause) well, first off a, now that the republicans control both the house and the senate, they could pass a bill repealing obamacare. but the president still has the veto. and if i know that guy, he's willing to use it. (cheers and applause)

and even if republicans somehow did repeal it, they'd have to replace it with their own healthcare plan. (laughter) and once they touch it, they own it. then if anything goes wrong, suddenly everybody will be complaining about mitch mcconnell-care. (cheers and applause) of course, another strategy is taking obamacare to the supreme court and trying to get it thrown out. but last time we tried that, it didn't work. i believe there's only one sure fire way to kill this thing.

(laughter) (applause) we have to make signing up for obamacare unappealing to young people. (laughter) (cheers and applause) we can scare them away by reminding them that last year's web site rollout was a little bumpy. (laughter) remember the original healthcare.gov web site? i think that's where disney got the idea for "frozen." (laughter) now, the new web site works, and most young people can get covered for less than $100. but how's the president going to get that message out to the kids?

(applause) he could try to appeal to them directly through a speech or a press conference, but young people don't watch real news shows like this one. (cheers and applause) they watch comedy shows, and i just don't see the president going on one of those. they're beneath his dignity. (cheers and applause) besides, even if he did get his message across, young people don't think they need any insurance. after all, they're young! they don't realize that everyone

eventually grows older... some at a faster rate than others. (laughter) (applause) and that's the decree. we'll be right back with the leader of the free world. (cheers and applause) this is sean. we saw him holding a bud light, which means he's up for whatever happens... ...in this case, jimmy johnson. i, jimmy johnson, challenge you to a little football game. don't get nervous. are we ready?! yeeaaah! i'm ready. jimmy johnson has dominated the electric football circuit. yeah! look at the little jimmy run! he's hurt!

he's pushing through, he's pushing through. oh, wait a minute, wait a minute! bud light. the perfect beer for whatever happens.

when electricity is generated here's awith natural gasu: instead of today's most used source, how much are co2 emissions reduced? up to 30%? 45%? 60%? the answer is... up to 60% less. and that's a big reason why the u.s. is a world leader in reducing co2 emissions. take the energy quiz -- round 2. energy lives here.

>> stephen: welcome back, everybody! my guest tonight is the leader of the free world, and was recently named permanent guest host of the "the colbert report." please welcome president barack obama! (cheers and applause)

>> thank you! thank you! >> stephen: sorry. didn't mean to steal your thunder there, sir. sorry about that. >> i will have to say, i felt more powerful behind that desk. >> stephen: with great power comes medium cable ratings. (laughter) now, to speak of which, the leader of the free world. >> i am. >> stephen: finger on the trigger, steer the country through the worst financial crisis since the great depression -- (cheers and applause) >> stephen: -- i am the host of a cable show four nights a week. guys like us understand leadership. okay? (laughter) we understand leadership. are you still president after the midterms? because the republicans are quite surprised that you're doing anything at all (laughter) that shellacking didn't rattle the presidential seal off your podium? (laughter) >> look, the election didn't go as i would have liked...

(laughter) a correction there. i had a little thought bubble. (laughter) but as president, the only office where you're elected by people all across the country, you've still got a lot of responsibilities, and my intention is over the next two with years is to make sure, wherever possible, working with congress, we can get everything we can do done to help working families get ahead, to make sure young people can afford to go to college -- (cheers and applause) >> stephen: let's talk about the young people. >> yeah. >> stephen: we have a bunch of young people out here tonight. the young people did not turn out to vote for the democrats in the midterm elections. can we see a show of hands, how many people voted. (cheering) that's pretty good. >> not bad. >> stephen: though i have to say a crowd of young people raising their hands to their charismatic leader is

disturbing. (laughter) (applause) >> stephen: all right. why, sir -- and don't give them any hints -- why do you think the young people did not come out to vote? >> i think they felt discouraged about what was happening in washington. >> stephen: mm-hmm. when you look at the issues, young5ó people agree we should raise minimum-wage, have equal pay for equal work, they agree we should make sure a family, when the child gets sick, you can stay home without losing your job. they believe in making college affordable. they believe in these things. unfortunately, we had consistently house republicans blocking action on those items and at a certain point focus figured, you know what? it's just not going to make a difference. part of my job in the next two years and hopefully part of the job of mitch mcconnell and john boehner is to convince people that, even in divided government, we can still put the american people ahead of politics. (cheers and applause) >> stephen: well, you've got some good news.

you know, i'm firm but fair and you had good news this week i'd like to tell the people about. the jobs report came out for snov. 321,000 new jobs in november (cheers and applause) the economy is growing at a faster rate than in years. why didn't you fix the economy before the midterm elections? you know your job, and i would have done it before the elections so people were happy when they voted. and you win and then maybe you don't have to come on "the colbert report." >> actually, the economy had been on a pretty good run. we've had 57 straight months of private sector job growth, over 10 million jobs created, manufacturing strongest since the '90s. the auto industry has rebounded back. >> stephen: i'll give it to you, you've employed a lot of people -- >> we have. >> stephen: -- mostly as secretary of defense. >> well, that boosted our numbers a little bit. (applause) what we haven't been able to see enough of until recently is wages and incomes going up.

this last jobs report started to indicate some wage growth, but we've still got more work to do. >> stephen: let's talk about creating jobs and talk about our northern border. let's talk about the keyston thl pipeline. you're going to sign that, right? (audience booing) >> obviously, these young people weren't polled. >> stephen: no, they're chanting "dooo-it"! (laughter) >> keystone is going through an evaluation process now, being held up by a court in nebraska, making a decision about whether the route is legal or not. you know, in the first instance, i don't make the initial decisions. the state department evaluates it. >> stephen: but you're going to sign it when the bill comes to you?

>> what i said is i'm going to make sure that if we look at this objectively, we've got to make sure that it's not adding to the problem of carbon and climate change because, you know, these young people are going to have to live in a world where we already know temperatures are going up, and keystone is a potential contributor of that. we have to examine that and weigh that against the amount of jobs it's actually going to create, which aren't a lot. essentially, it's canadian oil passing through the united states to be sold on the world market. not going to push down gas prices here in the united states. it's good for canada. it could create a couple thousand jobs in the initial construction of the pipeline, but we've got to measure that against whether or not it is going to contribute to an overall warming of the planet that could be disastrous (cheers and applause) >> stephen: can i make a suggestion? i have a suggestion. i have a suggestion that i think

might kill two birds with one keystone here, all right? >> go ahead. >> stephen: this one's free. we don't take it to louisiana. we take it to the canadian border, build that pipe over the mexican border, the other end is open with a signed that says moocho jobso. the people take the thing all the way over the border, they end up in canada, and the canadians are too polite to kick them out and there's your immigration policy. taken care of. (applause) >> that sounds like a ridiculous idea. (laughter) but that's why you're where you are and i am where i am. (cheers and applause) >> stephen: can you stick around for just one moment? >> yes. >> stephen: we'll be right back with president barack

it's more than the driver. it's more than the car. for lotus f1 team, the competitive edge is the cloud. powered by microsoft dynamics, azure, and office 365, the team can gain real time insights and instantly share information around the globe. when every millisecond counts, staying competitive begins with the cloud. this is the microsoft cloud. what is it? is it what she wears? how he speaks? is it her timing? this guy's idea of a good time? or that one time he did...that. is it because she's a woman? c'mon now. how bout those moves? those looks. his style. is it because they scare us? surprise us? make us uncomfortable? like, really uncomfortable? whatever it is, you know it when you see it.

here's to being one of a kind. whaoh wow!t?! hello, humans. focus on me! focus on the guard. don't tell anyone what you've seen in here. have you seen what's in there? they have - intel. this is where it all changes.

(cheers and applause) >> stephen: we're back with the president of the united states! (cheers and applause) president barack hussein obama!

mr. president, thank you for being here. it's very exciting. you and i don't always see eye to eye on things -- >> i'm glad about that a, by the way. i would be worried if i saw eye to eye with you. >> stephen: i would like to look in your eyes but i'm only about 5'10 and a half." it's exciting to say the words president of the united states. do you ever get excited when you hear the words president barack obama? >> no. >> stephen: do you like the job? >> i love the job. (cheers and applause) it's an incredible privilege, but when you're in it, you're not thinking about a it in terms of titles, you're thinking about how do you deliver for the american people, and also when i go home, michelle, malia, sasha give me a hard time and there are no trumpets and they tease

me mercilessly for my big ears or my suits -- >> stephen: do you do normal things like leave your socks on the floor and stuff like that? >> i do. >> stephen: how does that go over? >> not well. (laughter) >> stephen: you have the nuclear launch codes, right? >> yes, i do. >> stephen: i'm not going to ask for them. >> good. >> stephen: can you tell me if there's a 5 in there? (laughter) >> no. >> stephen: all right, all right. speaking of trusting people with extraordinary power... (laughter) i want to go back one second to 2008. part of your campaign was believing that the president at the time had invested the executive with too much power. then you became president, and you seemed to have a whole lot of power. >> right. >> stephen: does that happen to every president, where you get into the office and you think, you know what? i might be the only one i trust

with this much power, so i'll hold on to it? laug(laughter) >> well, for the first time, you're asking a sensible question. (laughter) what is true -- (laughter) -- the structure of ourlx democracy is checks and balances, and every president, even if on the outside they were complaining, there's always the temptation to want to go ahead and get stuff done and democracy is messy and complicated. so the tendency is to say, well, let me see if i can get this done, just because things are so bottled up, especially at a moment when there's a lot of gridlock. what i've tried to do is to make sure that the office of legal council which weighs in on what we can and cannot do is fiercely independent. they make decisions. we work well within the lines of that. but my preference would be to