Fresh from the AP wire: Stephen Colbert, thwarted presidential contender and pundit-in-chief at the Colbert Report (and ex-Daily Show correspondent), has convinced the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. to temporarily display his portrait ‘in what the museum considers an “appropriate place” — right between the bathrooms near the “America’s Presidents” exhibit’:

After the work was rejected by the National Museum of American History, Colbert eventually made his way to the portrait gallery. Bentley said Colbert wasn’t begging so much as “making his case.” She said they welcome the conversation about whose portraits are included in the gallery’s collection. It was just not Colbert’s time, she said.

“Who’s the competition? Who do I need to knock out of here to get me up?” Colbert asked gallery director Marc Pachter.

Colbert argued he was more deserving than athletes Lance Armstrong or Andre Agassi and pulled out his Hacky Sack for a few kicks in the art gallery to prove it. “You do realize I’m in big trouble if you hit any of these portraits,” Pachter said.

Still, Colbert said he thinks his “sack work” ultimately won Pachter over for the temporary display.

In this season of American electioneering and political bickering, it’s nice to see the Smithsonian taking a stand for freedom.