He may actually try to get on the ballot in South Carolina, and he may have a decent shot at a Pat Paulsen-like campaign that serves to highlight the absurdities of the American political process.

He’s going to try to get on both the Democratic and Republican primary ballots.  And apparently, there’s nothing to prevent him in the rules.  Oh, delicious!

He’s a native son of the state, he’s within his rights, and the SC Democrats are okay with it as long as he pays their low-low filing fee of $2500 or gets 3,000 signatures. They’re rather amused by the idea, probably because they’re big fans.

But the humor-impaired Republicans think he’d have more fun if he got a sports car and a girlfriend (they’re always about the red-blooded American heterosexuality, those guys). Also, that bunch of golf-playing carefully coiffed elitists will require a $35,000 filing fee. Philistines.

It wouldn’t be the first time that a bloviating blow-dried photo opportunist was elected President of the United States. Can you imagine the horror, though, if it happened? He’d be forced to drop the comic persona, and the joke would be ruined. Still… run, Stephen! RUN!

Stephen Colbert – Presidential Campaign – TV – New York Times

Stephen Colbert — who announced plans to run for the presidency, though only in South Carolina, on his Comedy Central show Tuesday night — is serious enough about the stunt that his staff reached out to the state’s Democratic and Republican committees in advance of his declaration.

[tags]Stephen Colbert, funny, President[/tags]