Having a writing staff may get you part way there. Colbert is really smart and equally thoughtful and passionate, and I think these are the qualities that lead to his work never appearing "phoned in."
[disclosure, I guess: I once interned at The Daily Show and absolutely loved my experience, so I'm probably biased toward Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert]
Now that we've got you here, prepare for my one question AYA (ask you anything).
So Colbert has tried several times in the past to run as a presidential candidate, etc. What is your take on this, knowing him? How serious are these attempts, if he was to gain traction? In the alternate universe where all voters were college kids that actually voted, and he won, what do you think would actually happen?
He wasn't really trying before. It was a joke. To me activities like the RSA speaking are political activities. And they do not simply represent Colbert's personal views. This is probably the extreme edge of the leftish faction that still has influence and is connected to power. It is extremely critical of existing power and yet stays within "mainstream" parameters. If that group can see a realistic path towards political office that would provide more influence than the TV show and is likely to succeed in Colbert's person then he will be encouraged and quite possibly actually pursue a political office. That's my outsiders guesstimate of this.
[disclosure, I guess: I once interned at The Daily Show and absolutely loved my experience, so I'm probably biased toward Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert]