While some in the political class may shake their heads at comedian Stephen Colbert’s mockery of the political system — with his super PAC antics and formation of a presidential exploratory committee — former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain has embraced it.
On his Comedy Central show last week, Colbert announced the formation of his presidential exploratory committee and turned the reigns of his super PAC, “Citizens for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow” over to fellow comedian Jon Stewart, host of “The Daily Show.”
Colbert and Stewart’s PAC have not let the fact that Colbert’s name does not appear on the upcoming South Carolina GOP primary ballot Saturday, nor the catch that the state does not allow write-ins, stand in their way. Instead they have found a way into the process via Cain, whose name remains on the ballot
On his television program on Monday night, Colbert began urging supporters to vote for Cain.
“Because Herman Cain and I are so similar, I think that if this Saturday Herman Cain were to get a significant number of votes, that would be a sign that voters are hungry — hungry for a Stephen Colbert campaign,” Colbert said. “Anybody who shares my values can show it by voting for Herman Cain.”
Colbert’s (or Stewart’s) super PAC began running ads on Tuesday equating a vote for Cain with a vote for Colbert.
Cain, who dropped out of the presidential race in December, finds the whole thing amusing and is planning to meet with Colbert to record a segment for his show in South Carolina on Friday.
“Mr. Cain does indeed find this entertaining. In fact, Mr. Colbert is meeting up with Mr. Cain in South Carolina this Friday to record a segment for ‘The Colbert Report,’” Cain spokeswoman Kathy Hoestra told The Daily Caller.
Known for his sense of humor on the campaign trail, Cain is now joking along with Colbert about the stunt.
“On Stephen Colbert’s endorsement of himself as Herman Cain, I find it very clever and humorous, as it should be,” Cain said in a statement provided to TheDC. “Anyone who finds what Mr. Colbert is doing offensive, should simply lighten up. To be perfectly clear, I will not be assuming Stephen Colbert’s identity. We are very different when it comes to the color of our — hair.”
According to a recent Public Police Polling survey, if Colbert were to run on an independent ticket, he would attract 13 percent of the vote — leaving President Obama with 41 percent and GOP front-runner Mitt Romney with 38 percent.