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I definitely want to talk to you about your controversial performance at the White House Correspondents' Dinner —
I definitely don't want to talk to you about it, but go ahead.

Were you surprised that it attracted so much attention and became the stuff of Internet legend?
I'm surprised at the reaction it got. I went down there and did exactly what I wanted. I didn't expect it to be some sort of cultural-political line in the sand. I did the style of jokes I'd been doing for six months. The fact that anybody found it surprising or alarming that I would do that was educational to me. I just want to say when you're playing to a crowd of 3,000 people, it's just so easy to please everyone. That's what I learned.

Do you look back at it as a gutsy thing?
You know what? I had a really good time. The President was so charming at the party beforehand and so nice to my mom. He wasn't in any way an imposing figure — he was just a very, very warm guy. And I had a lot of jokes that I wanted to say, so those two things together made it a very pleasant evening for me. I don't want to take anything away from the people who really liked it. I'm glad they liked it. I liked it. The experience of doing it in the room was a real honor, and I really like the reaction I got. I can't buy into it being a scandal or heroic. It's what I did. It's what I do.

Let's talk about an even bigger controversy: Your loss to Barry Manilow at the Emmys. What was your first thought when his name was announced?
I called it that afternoon. I said to Ryan Seacrest on E!, ''This is Manilow's night. The guy has been all over the press talking about his hip-replacement surgery. I mean, I can't fight with that. That is just solid gold publicity.'' They had to give it him. He actually had to use part of the Emmy to replace his hip.

And then he appeared as a guest on your show. Wasn't that the least he could do?
I knew immediately I wanted Barry on my show. My sister Margo called me the next morning and she goes, ''Listen, I would've loved for you to have won. But I gotta tell you, Barry puts on a great show. And taking nothing away from you, the guy is an entertainer.'' So I said, ''She's right. I should be big about this, and have Barry come on and give him the opportunity to apologize for having stolen my Emmy.'' And he was a pro. He came on and it was great. I got to sing ''I Write the Songs'' with Barry Manilow. I owned that album as a child. And now, I own the moment.

So, really, 2006 couldn't have gotten any better for Stephen Colbert. Are you not America's sweetheart?
I think I might be the new Meg Ryan... All I ask is for the world to understand that I'm going to expect more from them next year. I'm a love junkie. Keep it coming.

What are your goals for 2007?
The world hasn't changed as much as I like. The world and I had an agreement: I would come on, and it would be fixed. But the world dropped the ball on this one I'd like to see my wife and kids more. Maybe put on five pounds of muscle. I'd like to bulk up. Get ripped. Jacked up. I'm doing a lot of protein shakes.

Seeing that you're always coining new words like truthiness (Merriam-Webster's ''Word of the Year'') and Wikiality, would you give us a peek into the future and reveal the next great Colbert-ism?
Colbertainment.

And what's the definition of that?
I leave that to the experts at Entertainment Weekly. Oh, sorry — Colbertainment Weekly.