As if the current field of presidential hopefuls weren't already laughably large, a new candidate entered the race last week in a move that is sure to touch a nerve - and perhaps a funny bone or two - among members of both parties.
Amidst a shower of red, white and blue balloons and a brass band recording of "Anchors Away," comedian Stephen Colbert announced his intention to "seek the office of the President of the United States" on his Comedy Central show, "The Colbert Report," last Tuesday.
The South Carolinian comedian, who on his show satirically plays the role of a conservative blowhard with striking similarities to Fox News pundit Bill O'Reilly, has never held political office. But when he followed up the announcement by unveiling an official campaign Web site - complete with downloadable petitions that could put him on the ballot for South Carolina's Democratic primary - it became apparent that Colbert was, at the very least, only sort-of joking.
Relying largely on Internet support from viewers of his show, many of whom are college students, it appears that the comedian will attempt to enter the Democratic primary in South Carolina, one of the three states with early primaries that candidates typically focus on while seeking their party's nomination.
Satirical or not, his run has generated an immense amount of publicity thus far, leading to multiple articles in the New York Times and other publications throughout the week. Though he is only "running" in one state, South Carolina, Colbert has procured spots on major national talk shows such as "Meet the Press," which he visited on Sunday.
So should Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama be looking over their shoulders? Not according to political science professor Jeff Berry, who teaches the course "The Presidency and the Executive Branch." He said Colbert's candidacy has virtually no chance of substantially influencing the race in South Carolina.
"Unless the primary is nail-bitingly close, it shouldn't have any impact whatsoever," Berry said. "He'll get a few votes, and he'll campaign there and get some coverage, but that's it."
Berry said Colbert's campaign is much less about politics than about promoting his television show and his new book, "I Am America (And So Can You!)," released earlier this month. According to Berry, if Colbert were to make a serious attempt at a run he would be crushed easily.
"He couldn't possibly attract enough funding to be a serious candidate, even if he wanted to be," Berry said. "He would get a little bit of money from people who are joking around, but they're not going to send the maximum, which is $2,300 dollars. The big fundraisers for the Democrats and the Republicans are not going to be attracted to him."
This is the case for at least one likely primary voter, freshman and South Carolina native Evie Copeland. She said that while she loves Colbert's show and thinks he's funny, she would not vote for him.
"I just turned 18, so I will vote in the South Carolina primary," she said. "But I probably won't be voting for Colbert, since he's not a very serious candidate."
Copeland said she doesn't think many others from her area will pay much attention to his candidacy either.
"South Carolina is a pretty conservative state, so I don't think many people there are going to be interested in Colbert. There are also Democrats in South Carolina, but they're really hardcore and serious about politics, so I don't think they're going to vote for him," she said.
And while Colbert's announcement may be drawing attention, Berry said the idea of a comedian running for president - mainly for the sake of satire - is not a new one.
"There's been other people that have run as sort of novelty candidacies," he said, citing comedian Pat Paulson, who entered six presidential races between 1968 and 1996. "A few generations back, before Colbert, he ran on the same sort of narcissistic impulse. And he didn't attract votes."
Among college students, however, Colbert remains as popular as ever. On Facebook.com, the group "1,000,000 Strong For Stephen T Colbert" accumulated over 600,000 members in the first week after his announcement. A similar group for Democratic candidate Barack Obama (D-Ill.) took months to reach its current membership of roughly 380,000 members.
Support on Facebook may have little relevance to the actual outcome of the race, if any at all. But Berry acknowledged that some South Carolina voters, misguided or not, might decide to pull the lever for Colbert.
"A handful of voters will vote for him because they find it amusing, or so they can tell their friends they voted for Colbert," he said. "And some feel that they're making a statement somehow, that all of the candidates stink or the system is corrupt."
"Some of them are voters that wouldn't have voted in that primary anyway, so in that sense they're not ... pulling a vote away from someone else," he added.
For junior and South Carolina native Jason Hill, however, voting for Colbert is at least a slight possibility. And as a study abroad student in London, he has been planning to vote in the primary since long before the comedian announced his run.
"Before leaving South Carolina, I registered to vote absentee from London on the democratic ticket in our 'Presidential Preference Primary,' so I am quite excited to see how it pans out," he said in an e-mail to the Daily. "Hell, if [Clinton] keeps looking like an androgynous robot and [Obama] continues to spin downward like a stalling Cessna, I might just have to vote Colbert."
Junior Roxanne Stockard would also consider voting for the comedian - but only if he were to put a real effort into running.
"The way it looks is that he's not a serious candidate, and for that reason I would not vote for him," she said. "However, if he was serious about running, and participated in events with other democratic nominees, then I would consider voting for him."
Hill said that even if he doesn't vote for Colbert, he thinks the comedian's run will put more focus on South Carolina's importance as an indicator of how southerners will vote in the general election.
"I ... think that it will bring more attention to the race within the state itself," he said, comparing Colbert's bid to the campaign of singer and comedian Kinky Friedman in the most recent Texan gubernatorial bid, which captured national headlines.
"If a similar type of notoriety forms with Colbert as it did with Friedman, and Colbert commits to it in a real, but still funny way, then Clinton, Obama, Edwards ... and others will actually come, stump, and really make their cases to South Carolinians in a way Democrats never have before," he said.
According to Berry, though, it would be difficult for Colbert's candidacy to affect the race even indirectly. In presidential debates, for instance, Berry said Colbert would likely not be invited even if his poll numbers were similar to those of other candidates.
"I think the sponsors of the debate would find some way of disqualifying him, and that would be the appropriate thing to do. I think it's important that these debates maintain a certain level of dignity," Berry said. "There is a purpose to them, which is to allow partisans within the two parties to make a decision, and Colbert would be a distraction. I don't expect to see him debating the likes of John McCain and Hillary Clinton."
Berry said Colbert is likely aware of his campaign's futility in the political sphere. According to Berry, the move is no more than a publicity stunt to help Colbert sell books and gain prominence.
"What he's doing is not selling himself as a candidate. He's selling his show, and his book," Berry said. "This is Colbert trying to benefit Colbert."
But even if that's true, Copeland said most of her fellow South Carolinians have no problem with his campaign.
"I don't think [voters] see it as a nuisance," Copeland said. "I think most people there think it's pretty funny."
