Earlier today, TVNewser highlighted the unique, highly produced interview of Lou Dobbs on The Colbert Report last night. It turns out, the interview, like the idea that Stephen Colbert has a spanish-speaking alter ego named Esteban Colberto, was a farce.

Several tipsters raised the point that the interview was edited from a previous Lou Dobbs appearance on Colbert. It turns out, the interview was taken from almost a year ago. Here is a clip of the Dobbs appearance from January 24, 2007. The answers that Dobbs says are from this interview, while Colbert's questions (which he asked in Spanish during last night's show) are edited in.

The question is, did Dobbs know his year-old interview was going to be chopped up for the sake of comedy (and a lack of writers)? A CNN spokesperson tells TVNewser: "Yes, he knew about it — and according to Lou, 'he loved it.'"