Tonight’s Word: President

Published October 30, 2007

The Champion of Truthiness Steps into the Political Arena

By Alex Townsend

For years many have been arguing that the government and most of America’s politics are just one big joke. Many a comedian has made a career out of mocking our administration, but one man, Stephen T. Colbert, has taken it even further. Yes, as of last week this famous and infamous parody pundit and host of the popular Colbert Report, officially announced that he was going to run for the presidency of the United States.

The news came as a total shock to some and as only a mild surprise to others, but no matter how expected Colbert’s candidacy was, it has certainly raised some questions. First and foremost: is he serious? Is the character of Stephen Colbert actually going to be running a campaign and adding his name to our ballots? Is this just a big joke? Well, it almost certainly is a joke, but it’s also very real. If all goes according to plan, Colbert’s name will be found on the ballots of every state, from South Carolina to…well that’s it actually.

In a curious twist Colbert has announced that he will be running only in South Carolina, an important early primary state but not enough to win him the presidency. Perhaps this is just an extra comedic twist on what is clearly not meant to be a serious campaign, but there might be another reason. Colbert’s fans have proven themselves to be rabidly devoted time and time again, once even going so far as to outvote the entire population of Hungary to name a bridge after Stephen. Is it possible that the real Colbert (not the character) is worried that he might actually stand a chance of winning the election if he runs in more states?

On the other hand, he does seem fairly determined to win in his beloved home-state. Colbert has also announced that he will be running in both the Democratic and the Republican primaries in South Carolina. It’s a move that many the political spheres have found surprising and some have even wondered if it’s a legal move. Thus far no law officials have challenged Colbert though, making it look like he may just get away with this jab at traditional politics.

Another important question that has already come up about Stephen Colbert’s candidacy is what exactly is Colbert’s motivation? It seems unlikely that he is legitimately trying to win the presidency, though some political analysts have started evaluating him in complete seriousness. The more popular theories say that Colbert is either just doing this as a promotional stunt, or that he is planning to mock the political process from within.

A plan to ridicule politicians on their own turf would certainly fit Colbert’s M.O. His notorious speech at the 2006 White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner is still a frequently googled video clip. It seems fairly likely that he wouldn’t be afraid to do the same sort of thing again, though only time will tell how jaw-dropping his upcoming speeches will be.

Some have been calling Colbert’s presidential bid a joke taken too far. What’s important to note, though, is that he’s not the first comedian to make a run for the oval office. In 1968 and then again in 1972, 1980, 1988, 1992, and 1996 the popular funny-man Patrick Paulsen ran his own presidential campaigns. Paulsen didn’t really have the same sort of persona that Colbert has, rather his candidacy was trying to make a point in addition to making a joke. Paulsen ran his campaign with a series of obvious lies, double-talk, and tongue-in-cheek, using these methods to point out the hypocrisies of the legitimate candidates. His slogan was “Just a common, ordinary, simple savior of America’s destiny.”

So, what will be the result of another mock-politician joining in the race to the White House? Are we looking at an important shift in the way our politics are run? Right now it seems dangerous to be so hopeful; there is only so much that one man can do. Still, in a country where the government seems to have become largely an act in comedy, at least Stephen is giving us a joke that we can feel happy laughing about.

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