‘The Daily Show’ pre-announcement

‘The Colbert Report’ real announcement

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Colbert for President ’08

Stephen Colbert is officially running for president. In South Carolina.

In what might be the most inspired publicity stunt since Dennis Rodman showed up to a book signing in a wedding dress, Colbert, the host of Comedy Central’s ‘The Colbert Report,’ will be entering his home state’s presidential primary.

First, on Tuesday’s ‘The Daily Show,’ he announced his intention to consider announcing that he was running for president. Colbert played with the fact that he ‘hasn’t made a final decision yet,’ asking the audience whether he should. Their answer was a resounding ‘yes.’

That same day on his own show, Colbert made the announcement official while taking potshots at his former boss, tossing a Stewart/Colbert ’08 bumper sticker, and scoffing at a Colbert/Stewart one. He listed his possible running mates as Mike Huckabee, Vladimir Putin and Stephen Colbert.

According to an ABC report, Colbert has filed papers to enter both the Democratic and Republican primaries in South Carolina, a state where Colbert considers himself a ‘favorite son.’ As his show, as well as real media outlets, follow this attempt, the line between fiction and reality will blur, which is something both Stewart and Colbert have been doing since their shows began.

Yeah, it’s been done before (poorly) in ‘Man of the Year.’ Yeah, it’s just a publicity stunt with no real chance of making a difference. But this is bound to be a ray of light in the bleak reality of our political process.

– Eric Meyers, asst. copy editor

Published on October 17, 2007 at 12:00 pm