Comedian Colbert Reaches Double Digits As Third-Party Candidate

[Newsjock]

Source: Rasmussen Reports

Comedian Stephen Colbert is not a threat to win the presidency, but the odds are that that his satire will win plenty of laughs and maybe even some votes.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that Colbert is preferred by 13% of voters as an independent candidate challenging Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Rudy Giuliani. The survey was conducted shortly after Colbert’s surprise announcement that he is lusting for the Oval Office.

The result is similar when Fred Thompson is the Republican in the three-way race. With Thompson as the GOP candidate, Colbert earns 12% of the vote.

... Colbert does particularly well with the younger voters most likely to be watching his show and therefore most aware of his myriad presidential-like qualities. In the match-up with Giuliani and Clinton, Colbert draws 28% of likely voters aged 18-29. He draws 31% of that cohort when his foes are Thompson and Clinton. In both match-ups, Colbert has more support with young voters than the GOP candidate.

Read more: http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/comedian_colbert_reaches_double_digits_as_third_party_candidate

[Freedomofspeech]

1. Trust me,,,

I have a great sense of humor, but I don't find this funny. Our country is falling apart, and this presidential election is critical. This is not a joke. Sorry if my lack of humor about the elections offends anyone.

[Newsjock]

2. Oh, trust me ...

... I don't find it the least bit funny, either. It's sorta sad.

[CranialRectaLoopbak]

21. It's a sad, sad situation

What's sad is thinking that you can't be President because you are a comedian. We already have a joker for President. Why not elect someone with a brain?

[baldguy]

38. And Colbert would be 1000% better than the sad sick son-of-a-bitch occupying the White House now.

Welcome to DU

[UpInArms]

4. somehow I do think that Colbert would make decisions more in

line with the general populace.

He would definitely be assassinated.

[Alter Ego]

30. What would be even funnier

is if he gave every speech, every press conference, in character.

[DeepModem Mom]

6. I'm with you. I won't even go into the scenario, given my paranoia, I worry about...

as the end result of this "joke."

[Newsjock]

7. Here, let me

Electoral vote totals, November 2008:
Clinton -- 269
Giuliani -- 265
Colbert -- 4 (Rhode Island)

Pleasant ... dreams?

[DeepModem Mom]

23. That's it!

:scared:

[Divine Discontent]

59. ah.. don't fret

it's a comedian being a comedian. we can't stop having them just because our country is in the shitter, so to speak. comedy is what has helped us all get through a lot (and faith!), but I'm not worried. yes, it'd be incredibly shocking if he somehow prevented our candidate from getting in, but it's not going to happen (although he does have that bullshit politico attitude about him which could take away 10% of the GOP vote if he kept talking up GOP talking points in his campaign! hehe, now THAT would be funny, but I think the FEC will step in soon to tell him to stop)

[KamaAina]

45. Can we substitute Hawai'i for R.I.?

also 4 EVs.

I was hoping to be his running mate, thereby sewing up those crucial 4 EVs -- but I cannot abide Nacho Cheese Doritos. :puke: Thus, I cannot in good conscience continue on the Colbert/KamaAina ticket. Feel free to sell your Colbert/KamaAina memorabilia on eBay.

edit: both HI and RI are extremely Blue states. We would be taking those EVs from the Dem column. What we need is a nice Red state with 4 EVs (Larry Craig's Idaho?) to go Colbert.

[high density]

8. Well he's just continuing his satire

Right down to his announcement of an announcement that he was thinking about running on "The Daily Show." This primary season is a farce anyway, with lots of joker candidates being forced out to the front by our inept media.

[iaviate1]

9. What's sad is that he would probably do a better job than HRC or the Republicon. n/t

[LakeSamish706]

11. That was pretty much my point! n/t

[Gato Moteado]

13. i think he's just running in SC

and, let's face it.....SC is a joke. they're voting repuke anyway.

presidential elections are critical, you are right. unfortunately the last two were rigged by big corps to make sure their puppet boy got in. so something as benign as stephen colbert running as a joke on the SC ballot is hardly worrisome. the fact that he's at double digits in a redneck state is actually a positive thing.

hell, if i had the money i'd try to get larry the cable guy or jeff foxworthy on the ballot in every red state to try to suck dumbass voters away from the repukes.

[Stargleamer]

14. Lighten up! It's just the primaries in S. Carolina. . .

that he would be "running" in, and he might be "running" in the same the same sense Pat Paulsen ran for President.

[BB1]

25. Haven't the elections been a joke

for as long as only rich folks get to become president?
Seems to me a 'political party of good humour' is a good idea...

[Zhade]

28. Let's not forget his performance that made him infamous.

He PWNED the WH and the press.

[MLFerrell]

43. That was some distilled pwnage right there.

[AngryOldDem]

29. It's not funny

I was thinking just the other day how NICE it would be to have a viable third-party candidate; a third option who So What? and Who Cares? I wasn't banking on a modern-day Pat Paulsen to mock the system. Hell, even Paulsen was semi-serious about running back in the day.

I think if Colbert gains more traction a Draft Bozo the Clown movement should be put in play. Why the hell not?

[Buns_of_Fire]

61. I think I could get behind a Bozo the Clown candidacy.

India nukes Pakistan...
Bozo to India: "Now, that's a Bozo No-No."
India to Bozo: "Cram it, clown."

Iran develops viable nuclear weapons...
Bozo to Iran: "Now, that's a Bozo No-No."
Iran to Bozo: "Cram it, clown."

Venezuela announces all oil exports to the US are to be stopped...
Bozo to Venezuela: "Now, that's a Bozo No-No."
Venezuela to Bozo: "Cram it, clown."

Well, maybe not. Too much like we have today. Maybe a Zippy 4 President movement? Campaign buttons all over the country, saying:

"Are We Having Fun Yet?"

[EFerrari]

3. Good. He's easily better than anyone in the run.

[LakeSamish706]

5. Now how the hell could he be any worse than what we have right now, and in most ...

cases what we are faced with as far as front runners go? I would vote for him in a heartbeat over HRC, and a good number of others... Like I said in one of my posts of last nite, If Dennis Kucinich had a hope in hell of being elected.. I would be in seventh heaven.

[Plucketeer]

10. A cadaver

in the oval office would be better than what we've got - and I'm NOT kidding!

[Lisa]

22. "The Weekend-at-Bernie's Administration" -- yes, you've got a point there! (n/t)

[annabanana]

48. A corpse would do less damage, for sure.... . .n/t

[rucky]

12. If this weren't really happening...

it would make a great movie!

[John Gauger]

15. I will honestly be writing in Colbert's name.

I think I'll spread a petition around campus and see if I can get his name on the ballot.

[aquart]

17. I'm pretty sure Stephen Colbert won't thank you.

Well, he might bring you on the show and make much of you, for comedy. For a laugh. But to treat your vote so lightly? He's way too serious a man to appreciate anything so stupid.

[John Gauger]

18. Voting is already a joke.

Do you really expect the votes to be counted fairly? I live in one of the most conservative areas of the country (central Pennsylvania) and the votes in my precinct are counted in a church. Considering further that I voted on a Diebold machine, I think my vote took a nice trip down the memory hole.

Furthermore, all the other candidates are jokes as well. I don't take any of them seriously. Lastly, I honestly believe that Colbert has the best judgment of any of those that have thrown their hats in the ring. Do you remember back in 2004, during the debate when Bush lied about saying he didn't think finding Osama bin Laden was important? Colbert, on the "Daily Show," called bullshit. Can you name any "real" journalist that did the same? He may not be a professional politician, but he knows what he is talking about and he doesn't tolerate bullshit.

I contend that a vote for one of the "real" candidates is just as much throwing away my vote as a vote for Colbert.

[aquart]

47. Uh huh. You're wrong.

[John Gauger]

57. Nuh-uh. You are.

I am rubber and you are glue.

[nodehopper]

50. I feel you.

[HughBeaumont]

36. I'm not treating my vote lightly -

The powers-that-be (and the voters who think there's nothing wrong with this) who think it's just a great-skippity idea to have a Presidential election between a former ineffective mayor vs a triangulating former First Lady (is it a Banana Republic yet?), both of whom have less-than-democratic views on the economy and Bewsh's wars, aren't treating democracy with any kind of seriousness if you ask me. This election is already a comedy and the joke's on all of us.

[nodehopper]

51. I love the button in your signature...where is it from?

[HughBeaumont]

52. Truman Show.

That button is worn by an activist woman who infiltrated the set to try and tell him the show is a giant fraud. The memory of her face and the red sweater she drops (with that button on it) is what keeps hope alive for him.

I could watch that one over and over again and never get sick of it. It's really a metaphor for modern American life. You know, except for the creepy, out-of-left-field product plugs. And it requires a lot of suspension of disbelief.

[aquart]

16. He must be horrified by these numbers.

[enki23]

19. i predict he'll withdraw before long

[Tempest]

32. He hasn't even filed the paperwork to run

He can't withdraw if he never entered the race.

[enki23]

39. well then, there you have it. i was led to believe he had done so in his home state

.

[keopeli]

58. Not yet, and they must be filed by Thursday.

[rayofreason]

20. Pretty funny, but...

....perhaps not the joke Colbert intended.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=3766656&page=1

[annabanana]

49. ABC is Disney... the un-ironic kingdom. . . capitol of earnest syncophants..

NOT it getters.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

24. It shows voters don't like either of the frontrunners much

there's no passion for hill and rudy.
the door is wide open for a serious third party run on either side.

[ellisonz]

26. Stephen Colbert makes me proud to be an American.

:patriot:

[Anwen]

54. Same here!

:)

[MirrorAshes]

27. its ridiculous to think colbert would ever actually put the election in danger

knowing him, he'll probably pull out of the race in hilarious fashion sooner or later. he'd never let it get to the point where it could actually be dangerous.

[Turbineguy]

31. Oh, good.

Now Ralph Nader won't have to run.

[hedgehog]

33. What does this tell us about the rest of the polls?

Are people not paying attention or have that many people just given up?

[Peace Patriot]

34. We could do worse. nt

[goforit]

35. LOL!!! Shake up the Establishment Colbert!!!!! Growl like a bear!!!

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

37. What I think this means...

Based on another poll that showed Colbert barely a blip in the Republican Primaries, I think this means that about 10% of those polled by Rasmussen would like an alternative to Hillary. Not that they're necessarily going to vote for Colbert (he won't be on the ballot in 49 states), but they would definitely vote for a decent third-party alternative. It really would have been interesting to see the same poll done with Obama and with Edwards.

These are overwhelmingly Indepdendent and Democratic voters. We should all be worried about an independent third-party candidacy -- that would sink the Democratic Party in 2008 (assuming that Christian Conservatives don't put forward their own candidate).

[Neoma]

40. Awesome.

[allisonthegreat]

41. I am proud that he is from Charleston, go Stevie! n/t

[Vidar]

42. Go Stephen!

[MisterP]

44. but he's not SEEEEERIOUS! the cross-dresser, the Iran-bombers, the IWR enablers, the Reaganomists,

the gun nuts, the homophobes, and Lieberman's 2006 EmCees ARE, dammit!!!!1111~
:sarcasm:

[Chovexani]

46. "Cross-dresser?"

I'd like to know why you think cross-dressing is offensive enough to be lumped in with corporatist war criminals.

[dysfunctional press]

63. "the cross-dresser" refers to rudy guliani.

[CRH]

53. Anyone rememer Pat Paulsen ??? n/t

[Islander Expat]

60. I do, watch this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04BhAxBNWIo

[IndianaGreen]

55. One could argue that this shows how people feel alienated from the duopoly and the Beltway

and one can also add that people prefer an entertainer that tells a lot of truths disguised as humor, than a politician that tells a lot of lies disguised as truths.

[ozone_man]

56. And that's the truth.

I would vote for him in a heart beat, if those were my choices of duopoly candidates.

[underpants]

62. OMG LOL this is priceless.