1,000,000 strong for Stephen Colbert actually 1,000,000 strong

I am reminded of the movie Man of the Year, where Robin Williams plays a comedian (what? really?) who runs for President and wins.

It’s a little more complicated than that, sure, but I remember thinking as I watched the movie that it resonated on a certain level with a sentiment I’ve seen more and more often ever since: the presidential race is so hopelessly out of control that we might as well elect a comedian.

I’m serious. People are pretty damn close to really believing that.

Since Stephen Colbert announced his bid for presidency (is he serious?) the Facebook group, 1,000,000 strong for Stephen T Colbert has grown with astounding rapidity. It is now over 1 million strong.

I remember sitting in front of the group page with my friend last weekend and refreshing every time it loaded. 20 more people. 24 more people. 18 more people. 35 more people.

Mónica Guzmán at the PI’s Big Blog asked members of the group why they were joining, and the responses are varied and interesting - and often eerily serious. People are making real political statements here.

Does that surprise you?

The group is also comedic, too. It’s home to probably one of the most hilarious threads I’ve ever seen on Facebook, a good 7,000 responses long.

And while Rana at AllFacebook is probably correct that Colbert’s “presidential campaign” is likely to be “all sizzle and no steak,” but this whole thing does prove two very important points:

1. People on Facebook do care about politics.
2. The “legit” politicians desperately need to engage on Facebook in a meaningful way.

We’re talking about directly engaging with over 1 million people here, across all borders. As a politician, how can you ignore that?

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