Red Sox Nations? F That! Its a Colbert Nation!

You know, say what you will about Colbert's run for president ("he's just rehashing a joke that has been done by many satirists before him" "would you really want him to be your president?" "are you fucking stupid?"), there is a lot of insight to be gained from watching what happens.

First off, Colbert himself said in an interview he doesn't want to be president, he just wants to run for president.

Secondly, the effect he has had, and the news he has generated from announcing a (mock) bid. Pundits talking about his chances. Lawyers asking whether it is legal. People actually doing polls on it.

And have you checked the facebook group that got made a few hours after he announced? 1,000,000 Strong for Stephen T Colbert? Its been up for almost 8 days now....and has over 800,000 members. Did I join? yes. Is it a fad? yes. But the Barack Obama group and anti-Hillary groups on facebook have been up for months, and don't have as many (382,424 and 492,950 respectively), and they more than certainly were in style for a long time.

Do I really want him to be the President? (read: i find it interesting that the term "my President" is no longer used. Its been out of common use since Vietnam. And i find that sad) Of course i don't want him to be. But he is making a point about the extreme theatrical aspect of politics.

Take, for example, his timing. He published his book, went on a book tour, and stirred up buzz for it by appearing on talk-shows...and inevitably getting asked if he is going to run for president. Sound familiar? I'm looking at you, Obama. Its a common political balloon test. Is it a ridiculous (yet sadly effective) way to get your message out, make money, and test the waters? Like i said, sadly, yes. But thats not really the point.

After announcing his bid, Colbert went on Meet the Press. Now, Tim Russert is one of the most respected interviewers and pundits on Capitol Hill. He is considered the Man when it comes to asking politicians tough questions, debating with them, forcing them to actually, i dont' know, talk. Now, when i heard that it occured, i went online and streamed it from an archive of it. Russert decided to "play along" with his joke-persona of a guest. bad move.

There was a moment when Colbert was asked why he was running. His response was something along the lines of, because the nation is at a dynamic junction, or something. And it got a laugh, because, come on, its Colbert running for president...who actually says things like that?

But just think: If it had been Guilliani, Romney, Clinton, Obama, Edwards...any of the nominees saying that, would anyone have blinked an eye, let alone gotten a laugh? 5 bucks says Russert would have accepted that explanation and moved on to the next question. But with Colbert, because its a mock-persona, he delved deeper into what exactly Colbert meant by that, and ended up looking foolish.

Colbert did what he does best: lampooning the political machine and coaxing it into revealing just how much play-acting is involved. (i'm looking at you, every single person who reacted with indignit, righteous anger at the MoveOn.org General "BetrayUs" ad).

And I laugh at every pundit and blog that is surprised by the interest in Colbert's run; I laugh at every blog and pundit that is shocked when they learn that there are indeed a great swath of high-school and college aged kids who get most of their news from John Stewart and Stephen Colbert. It shows the disconnect of the generation above us (the one that runs the nation, btw) and our generation...even though they are the generation that claimed the same thing in the 60's and 70's.

Its no longer "My President."

Btw, as I write this...that facebook group for Colbert? 900,151. and counting.

~M