Hackett preps for Colbert!

Forget my five minutes on C-SPAN this morning, check out Indian Hill lawyer, Iraq war veteran, former Senate candidate Paul Hackett on The Colbert Report (pronounced Co-berr Re-porr) this Thursday at 11:30 p.m!

For the un-initiated, The Colbert Report is Comedy Central's answer to the Bill O'Reilly-style talk shows. It features The Daily Show alumnus Stephen Colbert, who plays a conservative pundit enamored with anything to do with Bush or America or the Republican Party.

From time to time, he interviews members of Congress for his "Better Know A District" segment. To date, no lawmaker from the Cincinnati area has appeared on his show. Hackett, who lost out on being included in that segment when he was defeated in Ohio's 2nd District by Rep. Jean Schmidt exactly a year ago today, is the first Greater Cincinnati pol - or wannabe pol - to make the show.

Earlier today, a clued-in blog poster alerted us to this Hackett appearance, so we called Hackett up to see if he was ready for the fast-talking comedian, who lately has honed in on his talent for making anyone - everyone? - look like an utter fool.

"I've been training for this my whole life. Bring it on!" Hackett said, explaining that he's actually been watching the show nearly daily since he was booked to appear.

He's also already been on both The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (see the March 14 video here) and HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher (Read excerpts from the Aug. 19, 2005, show here).

But is he really ready for Colbert?

"He's good. I don't think I've seen anybody as quick on their feet. He just counterattacks immediately. It should be fun," Hackett said, adding that as part of his preparation, he made a list of the top 10 controversial comments he's ever made: gay marriage - check; "chicken hawk" - check. You get the idea.

"I'm not taking the challenge lightly," Hackett said. "But it'll be fun. What the hell? It's not like I'm running for anything anymore."

NOW OUR CHALLENGE TO YOU: Tell us how you think Hackett does on the show. For all those night owls out there and die-hard Colbert fans, you know who you are, we're looking for your opinion or comments after the show airs. You can post it here in the comment section.

For those who miss the show Thursday night, it also airs Friday morning at 8:30 a.m. And you can usually get clips from his Web site or YouTube.com.

In Hackett's words: "Bring it on!"