East Texas

By CINDY MALLETTE Staff Writer CANTON -- Canton's leaders want comic Stephen Colbert to visit their "quintessential all-American town" before he decides to add to his recent ridicule of the city.

"Before you make a statement, you really ought to know what you're talking about," said City Manager Andy McCuistion.

Colbert, of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report," has aimed jokes at towns named "Canton" ever since presidential candidate Sen. John McCain visited Canton, Ohio, for a campaign stop in late July. So far, the unfortunate towns included in the ongoing gag are Canton, Ga., Canton, Kan., Canton, S.D., and, most recently, Canton, Texas. On Tuesday, Colbert apologized to the residents of Canton, S.D., for calling the town "North Dakota's dirty ashtray" and shifted his target south.

"Come on guys, Canton, South Dakota, is great," Colbert said. "At least you're not an incorporated outhouse like Canton, Texas."

"What does that sucker know about it? He's never been here anyway," said City Councilmember John Fuller, a resident of Canton for 37 years. "I wouldn't live anywhere else. The people here are genuine and friendly." McCuistion, who moved to Canton last year from Waxahachie and grew up in West Texas, said Canton is a great town and invited Colbert to see for himself.

"The folks are nice and friendly here, and there's a lot of beautiful countryside," McCuistion said. "We've got a lot of economic development going on here. It's a fine place to raise a family and work in the Metroplex. The location's great."

He said Colbert should time his visit to correspond with the town's world-famous First Monday Trades Days.

"That'd be the time he'd need to come down," McCuistion said. "Canton is known worldwide. You can go anywhere in the world, and people will say, 'Canton? Yeah, I know where that is. It's where that big flea market is.'" Fuller said he would invite Colbert to visit Canton, too, for entirely different reasons.

"If he comes down here, I'll mash his nose," Fuller said, laughing.