HuffPo Writer Deplores Colbert Candidacy, Stick Up Own Ass

Writer Shana Ting Lipton really took Stephen Colbert's recently cancelled presidential bid down a notch in her Huffington Post column yesterday. In fact, it may be the best writesturbatory lambasting of a fictional character's political aspirations of the year. Is there a Pulitzer for that?

The whole thing is decidedly TL;DR, but here's the concluding paragraph:

In the case of Colbert's fake campaign, we have to ask ourselves
whether the punch line is packed with a purpose. His 'character joke'
allegedly paints the picture of a right wing candidate with a
larger-than-life ego. One wonders if that ego has bled through from
Stephen Colbert the character to Stephen Colbert the man. Was his plan
to humorously serve the people, exposing some rarely exposed truth, or
simply to use the American voters' platform to promote his new book, I am America (And So Can You)?
Ultimately, is there really a humorous thinking/talking point in
running for president under a fake persona and touting your greatness?
Or is that just politics as usual?

Luckily a majority of the commenters on the piece seem to agree that Lipton is full of beans.

Meanwhile, CNN reports that the Obama campaign may have had Colbert pushed off the South Carolina ballot. A new kind of politics indeed, Senator!

Previously: Video – Is Stephen on the Ballot?