I feel like Colbert is hamming it up like he always does — it’s weird when people take his actions seriously. This is the guy who testified in front of Congress in character.
Stewart, on the other hand, I feel has devolved over the last few months into some sort of hyper-jaded political junkie. There’s this thin slice of the population, who are mostly sick of politics, mostly disengaged, that he resonates with. People seem to see his rally as a sort of “pregame,” a way to get that demographic off their couches and doing something right around election time so that more of them are likely to vote. But I don’t think Stewart cares whether or not they vote; he’d rather see them reject the whole system. I see it more as an “anti-prom,” the kind people would host in high school. The goal isn’t to pump up the vibe, it’s to keep people away from the actual event. There’s an implied mockery of the Common-Folk Morons who are still naive enough to go and vote instead of hanging out with us Cool Kids and making fun of everyone’s dresses.
I don’t know. Maybe I’m just old and grumpy.
ditto.
