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Obama’s Supporters Lobby to Keep Colbert Off Ballot
By Bill | November 6, 2007 | Email This Post
As you probably heard, South Carolina Democratic officials voted last week 13-3 to keep their fellow citizens from voting for the state’s favorite son in the upcoming election. Colbert reacted with the easy grace of the born statesman that he is: “I am shocked and saddened, [but…] it is time for this nation to heal.” Well said, Stephen. Well said.
However, the plot thickens: CNN is reporting that at least two prominent supporters of Barack Obama called officials to urge them to keep Colbert off the ballot; one of those officials has admitted that he felt “pressured” not to allow Colbert’s name to appear. The reason, as attributed to former State Superintendent of education Inez Tennenbaum? “… it wouldn’t be fair to the other candidates. That he [Colbert] wouldn’t be sincere. That he was only running in one state.” Stop and think about the precedent this sets… denying candidates the opportunity to run based on the perception of their sincerity of a candidate in election season. The entire political process just ground to a complete halt.
The real reason, according to another quote in the article: “A lot of Obama’s support is among younger, college-educated folks, and a lot of Colbert’s watchers are younger, college-educated folks…. I understand that Obama might potentially lose some voters.” That one I buy. In a race that may be decided by the narrowest of margins, Obama is unwilling to lose even those voters who would vote for Colbert to make a statement. Smart on his part. But South Carolinians deserved the chance to decide for themselves how much of a joke the campaign was. My guess? Colbert would not have won, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if he had placed well ahead of, say, Mike Gravel. And, all in all, he should have.
Topics: Barack Obama, Colbert |