Our Favorite Colbert Moments

Stephen Colbert has been picked to take over the show that David Letterman has hosted for decades, adding his name to the short list of funny people to send America to sleep in a good mood. Would we have liked an LGBT host? Or a woman? Or a person of color? Yes, of course. But Stephen Colbert is a fine choice nonetheless (though days may be numbered for the Colbert Nation, as we know it, since he's going to drop his fake-conservative act to take over Late Show in 2015). For the uninitiated (or those who just love watching videos of Stephen Colbert), here are 15 of our favorites. But there are plenty more from his career! Tell us your favorite Colbert moments in the comments below.

The notorious roast of President Bush at the 2006 White House Correspondents Dinner. I mean, we liked Stephen Colbert before this happened, but this just proved the guy's got guts...

"We're here, we're sheared, get used to it..."

Remember the hot mess that was the crazy Proposition 8 ad, "A Storm Is Coming," from the National Organization for Marriage? The Colbert Coalition's ad was the equally preposterous answer to that one, as marriage legislation was introduced in New York State in 2009...

Here's Colbert with gay teenage scientist Jack Andraka, who demonstrates the test he developed to detect several types of cancer. The cute thing is that he genuinely makes Colbert laugh...

Colbert went to Congress to talk about migrant workers and immigration; those House members were not happy about it...

"Oopsie-Daisy Homophobe," Colbert's answer (with an assist from Alan Cumming) to Brad Paisley and LL Cool J's uncomfortable "Accidental Racist..."

Colbert went to the Vancouver Olympics Pride House with Qmunity executive director Jennifer Breakspear. This is a two-parter, with a glimpse into the setup of "Stephen Colbert..."

Colbert got fresh with gay tennis icon Billie Jean King right before she headed to the Sochi Olympics as part of the American delegation. Their rapport is pretty adorable...

Can't everyone watch this, um, colorful liturgical dance to King of Glory over and over for an hour and still crack up? Or is that just us?

Colbert on how to ruin gay marriage -- this gets real, guys...

Right before the Supreme Court heard arguments about the Defense of Marriage Act, Colbert put the moment in context. "We're living in a golden age of being gay. These days, a gay couple can get married from Seattle to Boston, and one other place in between..."

An excerpt from Colbert from his book I Am America (And So Can You) on the Roman Catholic Church, or "church" for short...

In case you didn't know, Colbert is a big Lord of the Rings/Hobbit fan, so he completely geeked out when Sir Ian McKellen appeared on his show...

Colbert on ex-gay reparative therapy: So much in-character shade is thrown, it's insane...

Colbert on Jason Collins's coming out: "Now when I hoop it up with my basketbros, I can't use expressions like, 'Take it to the hole' or 'jamming the rim' or 'hey, let's touch each other's penises...'"

Colbert on gay weddings at the Grammys: "Officially it was only 33 couples, but who knows how many people were inadvertently gay married last night? It's just like a Gallagher concert. The first two rows are in the gay splash zone..."

Colbert's interview with transgender author and advocate Janet Mock is pretty great, compared to her previous (and insanely uncomfortable) appearance on Piers Morgan Tonight...

Hey, Colbert on Letterman in 2010. How cute...