Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report"-- who also says he's running to be "President of the United States of South Carolina" -- rushed onstage singing "This Little Light of Mine" before thanking a handful of conservative South Carolina politicians not in attendance, and making fun of the current GOP presidential field.
After a lengthy introduction, he brought in Herman Cain -- his co-host and, as he put it, "the man we're all gathered here to see introduce me." (This assessment ultimately proved accurate.)
Cain, Colbert hammed, is similar to him in many ways: "We both flout convention when it comes to things like taxes and debt and how many Ubekis there are in stan-stan."
But, he added, "he possesses the one thing I don't think I will ever have: A place on the South Carolina primary ballot."
Taking to the stage for his share of the spectacle, Cain was unapologetic about participating in an event that, ostensibly, means to make a mockery of the very presidential race from which he only recently withdrew.
But "the Hermanator," as Colbert referred to him, stopped short of actually encouraging the thousands of young people on hand to actually vote for him.
Part of Colbert's fun makes a serious point about the growth of new Super PAC funding organizations that are spending huge amounts on attack ads on candidates. Political action committees, or PACs, are groups with great clout in U.S. politics that are legally separate from candidates. A Supreme Court ruling in 2010 allows corporations and unions to raise unlimited funds to buy ads that encourage or discourage the election of specific candidates.
"Faced with this tragic lack of corporate influence in our government, five courageous, unelected justices of the Supreme Court ruled that corporations have the constitutional right to spend unlimited money in political speech," Colbert said.
He was backed by a gospel choir that occasionally chimed in, singing, "Corporations are people," a phrase made famous by Republican front-runner Mitt Romney .
A crowd, comprised mostly of college students, stood in line for up to four hours to get into the event. They held signs that said "Get on the Cain Train" and "Control the bear population" and included a couple of animal rights activists dressed in pig costumes.
After a lengthy introduction, he brought in Herman Cain -- his co-host and, as he put it, "the man we're all gathered here to see introduce me." (This assessment ultimately proved accurate.)
Cain, Colbert hammed, is similar to him in many ways: "We both flout convention when it comes to things like taxes and debt and how many Ubekis there are in stan-stan."
But, he added, "he possesses the one thing I don't think I will ever have: A place on the South Carolina primary ballot."
Taking to the stage for his share of the spectacle, Cain was unapologetic about participating in an event that, ostensibly, means to make a mockery of the very presidential race from which he only recently withdrew.
But "the Hermanator," as Colbert referred to him, stopped short of actually encouraging the thousands of young people on hand to actually vote for him.
Part of Colbert's fun makes a serious point about the growth of new Super PAC funding organizations that are spending huge amounts on attack ads on candidates. Political action committees, or PACs, are groups with great clout in U.S. politics that are legally separate from candidates. A Supreme Court ruling in 2010 allows corporations and unions to raise unlimited funds to buy ads that encourage or discourage the election of specific candidates.
"Faced with this tragic lack of corporate influence in our government, five courageous, unelected justices of the Supreme Court ruled that corporations have the constitutional right to spend unlimited money in political speech," Colbert said.
He was backed by a gospel choir that occasionally chimed in, singing, "Corporations are people," a phrase made famous by Republican front-runner Mitt Romney .
A crowd, comprised mostly of college students, stood in line for up to four hours to get into the event. They held signs that said "Get on the Cain Train" and "Control the bear population" and included a couple of animal rights activists dressed in pig costumes.
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