There's one less foreigner taking a job away from a red-blooded American right here in the good ol' U.S. of A.
No, Craig Ferguson hasn't lost his position as host of CBS's "Late Late Show." But he's no longer a resident alien. He's a U.S. citizen.
The native of Scotland passed his citizenship test last week and was sworn in as one of the newest Americans.
Ferguson is a smart guy, so it's not a surprise that he got 100 percent on his test. It is, however, a bit of a surprise that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services let him videotape his test for "The Late Late Show."
(Good for the USCIS! And for adjudicator Julie Rosenthal, who seemed to take it all in stride.)
A few viewers probably learned a few things, too. Like when Ferguson showed us his green card, which is actually white.
"All of you people born here, if you had to take that test — well, Canada would be building a fence right now," Ferguson told viewers.
The questions he was asked in his citizenship test (and his answers) were:
1. Where is the White House? (Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C.)
2. What month is the president inaugurated? (January.)
3 What is the legislative branch of our government? (Congress.)
4. Name two senators from your state. (Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein. "Both lovely women.")
5. What are the two major political parties in the United States today? (Republicans and Democrats.)
6. What are some of the basic beliefs of the Declaration of Independence? ("That all men are created equal, and I have the right to pursue life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.")
7. Who is the chief justice of the Supreme Court? (John G. Roberts Jr.)
8. Who wrote "The Star Spangled Banner"? (Francis Scott Key. "And Puff Daddy.")
9. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do? (Freed the slaves.)
10. And what is the supreme law of the United States? (The Constitution.)
"Am I in?" Ferguson asked.
"You are in. You're approved," Rosenthal said.
"That test is hard!" Ferguson said. "C'mon, how many of you knew about that supreme justice guy? None."
A few of us might have. But everyone should be happy to welcome one of TV's best talk-show hosts as one of America's newest citizens.
Let's just hope he remains the same funny, quick-witted guy who's pulled nearly even with Conan O'Brien in the late, late-night ratings.
"There's no question my life will change when I become an American citizen .... I'll have to stop wearing Speedos in public. I'll have to shower. There's the whole teeth thing," Ferguson said. "I have to lose the ridiculous accent."
MARIE OSMOND has, as expected, signed on to host her own daytime talk show. She's hot off a stint on "Dancing with the Stars" last year, but the talk show — tentatively titled "Marie" — won't debut in syndication until the fall of 2009.
(Assuming, of course, enough stations buy it to make it financially viable.)
According to Osmond, the show will focus on women's issues. And it won't feature her brother, Donny, with whom she hosted a daytime talk show from 1998-2000.
DANCE AUDITIONS: Don't forget — you can audition for the Fox show "So You Think You Can Dance" on Monday at the Capitol Theatre, 50 W. 200 South.
Registration begins at 8 a.m. Those traveling from out of town should make arrangements to stay for at least two days following their initial auditions in the event of a call-back.
For more information, you can log on to www.fox.com/dance.
E-mail: pierce@desnews.com