Stephen Colbert -- A Candidate Whose Time has Come?

When Stephen Colbert announced that he would run as a favorite son in the state of South Carolina, we all had a good laugh and moved on -- or did we? Apparently national polls suggest that Colbert is picking up 12% of the voters -- meaning that he's out polling other more "legitimate" candidates.
What is the meaning of this? Patt Morrison reminds us that this isn't the first time that such a candidacy has emerged. Will Rogers got significant support in 1932 -- in the midst of the Depression. In 1968 comic Pat Paulsen ran -- in the midst of Vietnam. Now we have Colbert.

Colbert is the comedian of this moment, crusading for "truthiness," whatever the facts. Colbert told fans to change the Wikipedia entry for African elephants to reflect Colbert's "truthy" belief that the elephant population had not declined but tripled in six months. They did. A Bush administration political appointee ordered Interior Department scientists to alter facts in reports on imperiled species. FEMA staged a fake news conference to congratulate itself on its performance in the California wildfires. Truthiness in action.

The question of the moment is -- do the American people know the difference between a send up candidacy and a real one? Are we Colbert's punchline? In the end, certainly 12% of the nation won't pull the lever for such a candidacy, or would they? Or have things gotten so dark that we're reaching out for a lifeline?

Comments

Anonymous said…
Colbert is only running in S.C., so he'd have to be a write in anywhere else. And, SC seems to think his corporate sponsorship (Doritos) violates the rules--so he probably won't appear on their ballot, either.
Robert Cornwall said…
I read this morning in the LA Times that the Democrats have refused to let him run on their side and the GOP fee is much too steep. So no humor in this race!!!

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