Where Have I Been?

It's been six months and three days since my last post! My apologies for not being around! There is so much I've meant to write, but little time to do it. I've had ideas brewing in the synapses of my brain over this long absence and would like to share them all, but I'll start with my latest obsession: Stephen Colbert.

Stephen Colbert is the epitome of America. He was born and raised in North Carolina as the youngest of eleven children. He lost his father, James Colbert, and two of his brothers, Peter and Paul, in a plane crash when he was 10-years-old in 1974. Raised as an Irish Catholic, Colbert still teaches Sunday school and is married with three kids. He's a family guy and prefers his kids not to watch his Comedy Central hit, The Colbert Report. His career, in many ways, is the polar opposite of his personal life.

Colbert plays an intriguing right-wing pundit on his nightly newscast. He crafted this character from his stint on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart when he played the role of a correspondent. Colbert also won two Emmys for his writing work on The Daily Show. Today, on The Colbert Report, Colbert colorfully criticizes American politics and media. The scripts to his show are pointed and sardonic, especially "The Word." And his interview segments are a true display of his rapid-fire wit and intellectual cunning, which brings me to why I believe he is one of America's most valuable voices.

Colbert tells it like it is in his new book, I Am American (And So Can You!), a daring display of his character's hutzpa in print. He also isn't afraid to tell it like it is to anyone else. Take the 2006 White House Correspondent Dinner as an example. Or, more recently his October 14 op-ed in The New York Times, where he wrote Maureen Dowd's column on an issued challenge. In all moments, outside of The Colbert Report, Colbert remains true to his character, seldom just being "Stephen."

His recent grab at a chance to be the "favorite son" of North Carolina, was both entertaining and culturally significant. Colbert announced his presidential candidacy on October 16, 2007. On October 15, he appeared on Larry King Live and alluded to his candidacy. He also skimmed the topic in his NYT op-ed on October 14. As the "favorite son" of North Carolina, Colbert proposed to be on both the Republican and Democratic ticket.

He campaigned in North Carolina the weekend of October 29, mixing with the locals, receiving a key to the North Carolina state capital, Columbia, and winning over the hearts and minds of his fellow Americans.

In order to process his applications for the ballot, Colbert forked over $2,500 of his own cash to the Democrats, but dropped off the Republican radar when he refused their $35,000 fee. In order to maintain his campaign and not be snagged by federal campaign laws, his entire campaign needed to be less than $5,000.

On November 1, Colbert was crushed to learn--on his show--that he didn't make the Democratic ticket and was voted down 13-3. Colbert officially announced his drop out of the race on November 5.

An action packed 22 days! Colbert was really gaining some popularity in the race though I doubt his campaign would have truly succeeded. However, I do believe the campaign did its part in getting people to pay attention to what is going on for Election 2008. He had people talking.

The Comedy Central Message Board for The Colbert Report is largely a milieu of one-time-only posts. During his candidacy, there was one post in particular that caught my attention expressing that Colbert should drop out of the race. What this naive poster didn't understand was that Colbert's stunt was an effort to get folks talking about this race. There are far too many people out there who don't know enough about the candidates, their stances, and what they could do for America if elected. I believe Colbert took a step in the right direction by motivating them to learn more.

To wrap up this long-winded, rambling post, I'd just like to say that it is important that we inform ourselves about the candidates. Next November's Election Day will be here faster than we know and if the 24-hour news networks give you a headache, tune into Colbert. He'll give you the highlights and do it with the sarcasm that politics is all about.