Colbert Calls It Quits

Last Thursday, the South Carolina Democratic Executive Council voted 13-3 to keep Comedy Central talk-show host Stephen Colbert off the presidential ballot. Today, Colbert announced that he was officially withdrawing from the race:

In a statement today, Colbert said, "Although I lost by the slimmest margin in presidential election history — only 10 votes — I have chosen not to put the country through another agonizing Supreme Court battle. It is time for the nation to heal."

Colbert, who was raised on James Island in Charleston, S.C., filed his application last week with the state Democrats and paid the $2,500 filing fee before the noon deadline. After 30 to 45 minutes of debate and discussion, the council decided to reject his application. His check will be refunded.

Colbert's bid drew both strong negative and positive reactions from different media outlets across the country. Those who supported his run point out that the effort brought out the more ridiculous aspects of a White House bid and laid bare the processes behind getting one's name on the ballot that many people wouldn't know had Colbert chosen not to run. While the bid did bring the problems behind campaign finance issues to a larger audience, it's hard to not feel relief at Colbert's withdraw.

The coverage of Colbert's run was just another unneeded distraction in a presidential race that is shaping up to be one of the most important in recent history. Despite an abundance of serious issues and crises the country is facing, many newspapers and networks have opted to cover issues like Colbert's stunt, Hillary Clinton's cackle, John Edwards' hair, which candidate would be the scariest Halloween costume and Dennis Kucinich's UFO encounter.

The support for Colbert was especially high among college students, who, conditioned by late-night viewings of The Daily Show and Colbert's own report, have a tendency to view all things political with cynicism and apathy. Now that Colbert is temporarily off the air and out of the campaign picture, there should be a concentration on the real issues and legitimate problems that the country is currently facing.