I have a story in today's paper previewing what might be Sen. Hillary Clinton's toughest challenge of the week — appearing on "The Colbert Report."

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is about to walk into the lion's den.

The Democratic presidential hopeful will appear on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" tonight, braving host Stephen Colbert's dry humor and his arguably Sen. Barack Obama-friendly audience for the first time.

The comedian, who fashions himself as a straight-laced Bill O'Reilly fan, calls the Clinton-Obama battle "Democralypse Now! The delightful dismemberment of the Democratic hopescape."

"I spy with my little eye a political party eating itself," Mr. Colbert said recently of the Democratic race, which he gives updates on nightly.

Read the full story here. In the piece I explore how late-night appearances have given Clinton a boost in the past, but detail Colbert's treatment of the race and note that he seems to have more fans from the pro-Obama crowd.

For example, as I blogged about earlier this month, Obama supporters trounced Clinton fans when donating to Colbert's "Donors Choose" project for Pennsylvania schools.

The piece also notes Michelle Obama's stop on "The Colbert Report" this week.

Here's Colbert's take on Obama's latest endorsement from last night's show:

Maybe Clinton can get the famed "Colbert bump," which has helped many presidential hopefuls, including Ron Paul and some members of Congress.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times