A number of websites are running with the meme that Stephen Colbert's ratings are plunging into the "disaster" category and that it's because his Liberal humor is turning off Conservatives. I doubt he's in that much trouble or that the stated reason is the whole cause of his descent to third place in his time slot. (One other big reason: For his first few weeks, he had Thursday Night Football as his lead-in once a week and now he doesn't.)
The thing I think some people don't get is that late night is a marathon, not a sprint. CBS is committed to Colbert for the long haul. The guy has a history of winning and they're not going to chuck him out until he has ample opportuity to refine his show, make the format his own and maybe start winning. His show is cheaper than Letterman's was and it's owned by CBS (not the host) and it attracts younger demos — so even in third place, it's probably more profitable than what it replaced. They can afford to stick with him for a long while.
Most of us recall how Jay Leno's Tonight Show was headed for cancellation (sayeth certain "experts") when Mr. Letterman went on CBS opposite him and began getting much higher ratings. Insofar as I can tell, no one at NBC even began discussing possible replacements for Leno. They stuck with him, he rebuilt his show and went on to win the time slot for the rest of his run. I doubt Colbert will ever dominate the way Leno dominated but he'll have the same opportunity.
I wouldn't be so certain the political content is harming him. Most of it has amounted to trashing Donald Trump and the sheer size of the Republican field. Insofar as I can tell, most Republicans are unhappy with Trump and the number of candidates even if they differ as to which ones they'd like to see drop out. A friend of mine suggests in an e-mail that the right-wingers who don't like Colbert are merely feeling betrayed because they're just now realizing he was never one of theirs.
I think his show is very smart. That may be the problem with it for some people. But I'll also admit that he hasn't done enough yet to differentiate himself from what came before — and yes, I know that on some forums, former Letterman fans are griping that he isn't offering a close replica of Dave's show but they just need to accept that that's over. I can't think of a thing Stephen's done yet that really breaks the talk show mold. He does a bit of a monologue, he does desk pieces, he talks with guests and he introduces a musical act most of us don't watch at the end.
I still like the program a lot and I'll stand by my prediction that he'll succeed big over time…though that amount of time may be longer than I think. The guy was so innovative on Comedy Central that I figure he has to eventually turn his format inside-out or upside-down or in some new direction. Until he does though, I'm happy to watch what still strikes me as the best late night show since early Conan…or maybe even early Dave.