Colbert for President? - Political Forum

FRYandBENDER · 10-17-2007, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Colbert announces presidential pursuit
By JAKE COYLE, AP Entertainment Writer Today at 4:51 am

Stephen Colbert announced his candidacy for president on "The Colbert Report," tossing his satirical hat into the ring of an already crowded race.

"I shall seek the office of the President of the United States," announced Colbert on his Comedy Central show Tuesday, as red, white and blue balloons fell around him.

Colbert had recently satirized the coyness of would-be presidential candidates by refusing to disclose whether he would seek the country's highest office -- a refusal that often came without any prompting.
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Shortly before making the announcement, Colbert appeared on "The Daily Show" (the show which spawned Colbert's spin-off) and played cagy, claiming he was only ready to consider a White House bid. He entered the studio set pulled by a bicycle pedaled by Uncle Sam and quickly pulled out a bale of hay and a bottle of beer to show that he was "an Average Joe."

Colbert said his final decision would be announced on a "more prestigious show," which turned out to be his own.

"After nearly 15 minutes of soul-searching, I have heard the call," said Colbert.

His recent best-seller, "I Am American (And So Can You!)" allowed him to mock the now-standard approach to a White House run, complete with a high-profile book tour.

Colbert said he planned to run in South Carolina, "and South Carolina alone." The state, one of the key early primaries, is also Colbert's native state. Earlier this week, South Carolina public television station ETV invited Colbert to announce his candidacy on its air.

Exactly how far the mock conservative pundit planned to stretch his impression of a presidential candidate wasn't clear. Colbert rarely breaks character on camera, including at his memorable speech at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner last year.

The Comedy Central host has often mobilized his fans ("Colbert Nation"), encouraging them to vote to have a Hungarian bridge named after him, for example, or to vandalize Wikipedia.com with his version of "truthiness" and "wikiality."

The comedian said he would run as both a Democrat and Republican. He earlier explained the strategy: "I can lose twice." He claimed three running mate possibilities: Colbert-Huckabee, Colbert-Putin or Colbert-Colbert.

Minutes after announcing his presidential pursuit, Colbert welcomed CBS political analyst Jeff Greenfield to ask how he had changed the race.

"This is going to be one for the books," said Greenfield.

A spokesman for Colbert said he would be unavailable for further comment Tuesday evening.

In a guest column for Maureen Dowd in Sunday's New York Times, Colbert wrote: "I am not ready to announce yet -- even though it's clear that the voters are desperate for a white, male, middle-aged, Jesus-trumpeting alternative."

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Watch out Hillary.

How far do you all think this can go? I'm sure he could secure a pretty good number of votes, but seeing as how you can't take anything this guy does seriously, will he just quit after a while? Or will he ride it out?

I'm interested to see how far he takes it.

American Fighter · 10-17-2007, 11:45 AM

Thats right Steven Colbert is now in the 2008 election.

so join the Colbert nation at
ColbertNation.com
and remember to vote for Colbert.

Izzibeth · 10-17-2007, 11:53 AM

Hehe, as much as it would great... I don't think Stephen would want that kind of bs.
I'd vote for him, though.

American Fighter · 10-17-2007, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Izzibeth

Hehe, as much as it would great... I don't think Stephen would want that kind of bs.
I'd vote for him, though.

He just announced it on his show last night he is running for real.

apawllo · 10-17-2007, 02:06 PM

I'd vote for him before I voted for Hillary or Giuliani.

Izzibeth · 10-17-2007, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by American Fighter

He just announced it on his show last night he is running for real.

Yeah, but I don't think he would actually want it. It's such a shitty job.

But, like I said, I would vote for him. At least then I wouldn't feel like my vote went to waste.

Bradgriff · 10-17-2007, 04:58 PM

Colbert's gonna spend a lot of time challenging people to debates, and asking to be in the debates, God that would be the funnest thing ever. And yes, I would definitly vote for Colbert in real life

iTaliAN_ICe · 10-17-2007, 05:22 PM

Lol... I don't know if I'd vote for him; I haven't seen him out of character enough to know what his actual political beliefs are.

Seer · 10-17-2007, 05:43 PM

For me it’ll depend who the two winning candidates are. If it’s goanna be another douche vs. a turd sandwich, Colbert is my man.

counterpointing · 10-17-2007, 06:21 PM

Colbert is the next president. The other candidates are a joke. His campaign will sweep aside the petty efforts of the competition.