Smithsonian Enshrines Colbert

Stephen Colbert has finally been enshrined as the “national treasure” he insists he is. His portrait now hangs in the Smithsonian, the LA Times reports. OK, so it’s next to the Portrait Gallery bathroom, but that just means that, in Colbert’s words, “There has never been a better time to take a whiz in Washington.”

The Smithsonian’s American History museum turned the faux pundit down, but the Portrait Gallery agreed to a 6-week showing, which has drawn big crowds. The traffic is mostly 20-somethings snapping Facebook shots near the bathroom. “The lines have been extraordinary,” said the museum’s director, who is stepping down soon. “A friend e-mailed that it was good I was leaving with my dignity.” (More Stephen Colbert stories.)