Stephen Colbert, Doritos, and the Humor Challenged

CNN reports today that comedian Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report", who has announced his mock presidential candidacy, was today declared "favorite son" by the mayor of Columbia, South Carolina, and given the key to the city during what was called "Stephen Colbert Day". Colbert hails from Charleston, South Carolina. The appearance on the university campus drew a crowd of several hundred, where Colbert announced "I love South Carolina almost as much as South Carolina loves me."

Colbert is seeking both the Republican and Democratic nomination, and seeks to get his name included on South Carolina's January primaries. Colbert, a former mock "reporter" on "The Daily Show", best known for confronting serious people with facially ridiculous questions, told the crowd, ""I am here not only to accept the honor you have given me but to prove to everyone that this campaign is real, to put an end to the vicious rumors that this is not a serious candidacy." Colbert himself is the source of those "vicious rumors".

Colbert continued his comedy musings by saying, "In the 19th century, South Carolina was the first to secede. In the 21st we will the first to succeed. First to secede. First to succeed. I own the copyright on that phrase, if you use it you must pay me a royalty."

The mayor, although he paid homage to Colbert, supports Democratic candidate John Edwards. When asked about this seeming conflict, Edwards spokesperson Teresa Wells teased Colbert about his ties to the snack food industry, since Colbert has said his campaign will be sponsored by Doritos.

"What is more troubling than his quest for a status his own mother won't grant him (favorite son) are his ties to the salty food industry," Wells said. "As the candidate of Doritos, his hands are stained by corporate corruption and nacho cheese. John Edwards has never taken a dime from taco chip lobbyists and America deserves a President who isn't in the pocket of the snack food special interests."

While all of this is very amusing to some, others fail to see the humor. CNN's comments section is filled with comments from those who claim this is not the right time to launch a mock presidential campaign. Others deride the Doritos sponsorship, although the campaign isn't real and neither is the endorsement.

In other Colbert news, some believe he may run afoul of the Federal Election Commission, since his network show is sponsored by advertisers and it serves as a sounding board for his campaign. According to Lawrence Noble, a former general counsel for the FEC, "The real problem comes in the fact that he actually has his own show, talking about his campaign, paid for by a network. These are the kind of things on slow days you'd debate until the late afternoon at the FEC, but there are serious questions that come up. In theory, he could end up having some campaign finance problems." Comedy Central, however, feels sure this is not an issue, and will continue to run his show as a regular program.

Generally speaking, a candidate for the presidency is required to file with the FEC once they spend or collect $5000 for their campaign. What is unclear is whether a campaign parody candidate should be held to the same standards, if they are seeking ballot access.