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Crisp, cool crowded, sunny funny day
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by YankeeJim | October 30, 2010 at 08:20 am
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OK, underwhelming after a week of hype. I would say there are 60,000 people out there shuffling along the walkways to see at a great distance two specs, Jon and Steven. It is much better on television.
There truly is no significance to this event other than to have a good time. Americans deserve that.
Sarcasm and jaded behavior are expected from a disappointing political performance by a lethargic Democratic Congress that finds it easier to make promises than to deliver “change we can believe in.”
President Obama made promises that he alone could not possibly keep given the circumstances. Yet, progress has been made, calamity and complete collapse avoided. It is hard to get back into the game when you have been so beaten down, but the American public perseveres.
The people who made it to the National Mall today have jobs. They are among the “elite.” They have cable TV and can watch Comedy Central.
American Government, by contrast, has never been so taxed by demanding circumstances and desperately needed reform and reengineering to fix systemic errors. I don’t think voters grasp the magnitude and difficulty of the task.
You can’t address systemic problems by tinkering and constantly changing the team. One thing I see in President Obama is seriousness about the responsibility. Jimmy Carter had that seriousness as did Bill Clinton. They keep working at it while some of the population snipes and beefs.
In the end, the nation will only get better when people pull together as one team, on people, addressing our common needs for security and health. Everything else is a luxury.
“Stewart, Colbert Set to Hold 'Non-Political' Rally in Washington Ahead of Midterms
Published October 30, 2010
Associated Press
In this Oct. 2, 2010 file photo, Stephen Colbert, left, and Jon Stewart appear on stage at Comedy Central's 'Night Of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Concert For Autism Education' at the Beacon Theatre in New York.
WASHINGTON -- A "sanity" rally blending laughs and political activism drew thousands to the National Mall on Saturday, with comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert casting themselves as the unlikely maestros of moderation and civility in polarized times.
Organizers insisted the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, just days before the congressional elections Tuesday, wasn't about politics. Still, supporters and left-leaning advocacy groups hoped it would rekindle some of the voter enthusiasm for Democrats seen in 2008, particularly among young adults.
Festive crowds swarmed on to the mall hours in advance, stickers and signs reflecting the call for people to chill out. "Vote sanity," stickers said. Slogans urged "relax."
But also: "Righties, don't stomp on my head," a reference to a Republican rally in Kentucky at which a liberal activist was pulled to the ground and stepped on.
Stewart, host of Comedy Central's "Daily Show," is popular especially with Democrats and independents, a Pew Research Center poll found. Colbert of "The Colbert Report" poses as an ultraconservative, and the stage Saturday was stacked with entertainers associated with Democratic causes or President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign.
Even so, Stewart said the day was about toning down anger and partisan division. "Shouting is annoying, counterproductive and terrible for your throat," he said on his website.
The list of entertainers included musicians Sheryl Crow and The Roots. Actor Sam Waterston and Don Novello, who years ago played Father Guido Sarducci on "Saturday Night Live," were also expected to appear.
The rally generated extensive buzz on the Internet, with more than 226,000 people on a Facebook page created for the event saying they would attend. The liberal Huffington Post was sending a caravan of 10,000 people on 200 buses from New York, while Oprah Winfrey expressed her support by providing travel expenses to a "Daily Show" studio audience of about 200 members so that they could attend.
Comedy Central's park permit puts the crowd estimate at 60,000. There were plans for satellite rallies in cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver and Honolulu.”
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (5)
at 11:49 on October 30th, 2010
The main point of the rally is lost some statements within this opinion article. Near the end of the rally there was clip..... It made valid point in comic style as only STewart or Colbert could do. The point is that the divisiveness is killing us. STOP already... Of course every President including Obama takes it seriously. Democrats nor Republicans do not have any corner on the market in being serious as Presidents; while wanting to lead America leaving their mark in history, that is positive. It would be insane to be of any other mindset.
at 17:04 on October 30th, 2010
Stewart and Colbert did everything they ridiculed Beck for doing. All the people who attended the event also joined in on that ridicule during both Stewart's and Colbert's tv shows. The hypocrisy of the progressives knows no bounds. Left-leaning advocacy groups set up shop on the periphery, representing causes of gay rights, marijuana legalization, abortion rights and others. Organizing for America, Obama's political operation based at Democratic National Committee headquarters, had a "Phone Bank for Sanity" to urge people to vote. It was wrong for Glen Beck. It's good for Obama. LOL. And then we wonder why the rest of the world doesn't trust us as we stand firm defending our hypocrisy and make a value out of of ideological exceptionalism.
at 17:35 on October 30th, 2010
For me, both Beck and Stewart-Colbert held entertainment events that appealed to their base. I think Stewart and Colbert are smart and funny -- my kind of humor. Beck is humorous in his own way, but he actually takes himself seriously, I think.
Anyway, I am pleased that everyone enjoyed themselves at both events and I hope everyone votes.
at 06:29 on October 31st, 2010
Beck, in my opinion, is a dangerous and inaccurate as an anchor and commentator; as is most of the idiots on FOX News ( Fix news ). They twist and prevert almost every aspect of specific political news for political gain. Slanting the news for the U.S. Republican Party in general.
Stewart and Colbert are idiots also but as you say YJ, don't take themselves seriously and refer to themselves as comedians first. They mix comedy and politics. They have a different political agenda than Fix news.
at 06:32 on October 31st, 2010
Systemically slanted, Fox News is a propagandist corporation and should be prohibited by the FCC from calling itself a news organization because that is fraud.