Say what you will about Colbert's political acumen: he asks probably the best "Yes or no? Raise your hand" question of the entire campaign. Watch and learn, Wolf Blitzer.
Here's video of the crowd outside the studio when Paul arrived.
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Say what you will about Colbert's political acumen: he asks probably the best "Yes or no? Raise your hand" question of the entire campaign. Watch and learn, Wolf Blitzer.
Here's video of the crowd outside the studio when Paul arrived.
Jemez Hobbit | June 14, 2007, 9:17am | #
.. I thought that he held up very well .. didn't think that UNICEF was a US-run organization, tho!!Pro Libertate | June 14, 2007, 9:26am | #
What, there aren't just two political philosophies in this country? I'm so confused. Help me, please!Geoff Nathan | June 14, 2007, 9:28am | #
I thought Ron did great dealing with Colbert--he got into playing the crowd, and understands Colbert's shtick. It was actually fun to watch, and I was worried it would be embarrassing. Good for him. Doubt he'll get anywhere in the long run, but it was good to have him out there on mainstream TV.Legate Damar | June 14, 2007, 9:38am | #
Not quite as good as his "Daily Show" performance (he was unstoppable there) but still pretty good. He did manage to meet the holy trinity requirements:Reinmoose | June 14, 2007, 9:40am | #
Geoff -Fluffy | June 14, 2007, 9:43am | #
"a) not creepyPro Libertate | June 14, 2007, 9:45am | #
Now wait a minute, I'd totally vote for Gomez Addams.Fluffy | June 14, 2007, 9:49am | #
The most Gomez-Adamsish candidate is clearly Giuliani, so I suspect that Pro Libertate has drunk the Dondero Kool Aid.Warren | June 14, 2007, 9:59am | #
I was surprised at the cheers he got from the generally liberal crowd.Reinmoose | June 14, 2007, 10:07am | #
You shouldn't be. The Comedy Central crowd will applaud any anti-bush thing anybody says. Being well received by the loopy-left actually hurts him amongst GOP primary voters.highnumber | June 14, 2007, 10:16am | #
I think some of you confuse a young crowd with a liberal crowd. They tend to be anti-war, anti-WoD, and anti-oppression, but apart from that are open to ideas. They haven't all settled into political ideologies yet.Dmitri | June 14, 2007, 10:21am | #
At this stage for Paul, still any publicity is better than no publicity.Jim Henley | June 14, 2007, 10:21am | #
I was pleasantly surprised that Paul was *awesom* in that segment. Just the right level of good-natured self-irony that America in its wisdom requires. He's really gotten better at presenting himself.joe | June 14, 2007, 10:24am | #
It's funny to still see people who equate dislike of Bush with mental illness.jac | June 14, 2007, 10:30am | #
He seems to answer questions directly and not give the closest answer he has in his stock.pdog | June 14, 2007, 10:31am | #
I enjoy watching the colbert report and jon stewart, and I'm pretty libertarian. Wouldn't be surprised if there were more out there like me.highnumber | June 14, 2007, 10:35am | #
I forgot to add that I thought Ron Paul was fantastic. The hand-raising bit was great, even the part at the end about UNICEF. He seemed much more comfortable than he had with Stewart.Warren | June 14, 2007, 10:46am | #
The other thing to remember is that this horse race is a marathon (or whatever distance is longest for thoroughbreds). We are still what, half a year away from the first primary vote?Scooby | June 14, 2007, 10:48am | #
JasonC-sage | June 14, 2007, 10:48am | #
They are, unfortunately, less likely than their older counterparts to donate money.dhex | June 14, 2007, 10:57am | #
whomever is coaching paul is doing a hell of a fucking job because he seems real comfortable even with colbert's spastic schitck.Reinmoose | June 14, 2007, 11:08am | #
the only show that accurately reflects the humor of my value system is the state of the union addressHighway | June 14, 2007, 11:18am | #
It does seem like he improves with every one of these appearances, and it's good to see that looks itthere's actually a politician who's capable of learning something from past experience. Yeah, he's getting a bit more cooperation from the hosts of these shows than he was in the beginning, but he's also learning how to deal with being asked these questions, from both sides, that are basically 'why do you want to get rid of this program / department that we like?"libertreee | June 14, 2007, 11:23am | #
Ron's strategy appears to be to downplay attacking social welfare programs in order to better court the left. He seems to be saying that although he disagrees with Medicare and other entitlements, if elected he would not spend political capital seriously going after it. He has nice words for Dennis Kucinich.highnumber | June 14, 2007, 11:32am | #
If my experience with linking Comedy Central videos hosted on YouTube is any kind of evidence, be prepared for fricking short-sighted Viacom to pull the video.Pro Libertate | June 14, 2007, 11:36am | #
highnumber,Dave W. | June 14, 2007, 11:48am | #
Ron's strategy appears to be to downplay attacking social welfare programs in order to better court the left. He seems to be saying that although he disagrees with Medicare and other entitlements, if elected he would not spend political capital seriously going after it.highnumber | June 14, 2007, 11:54am | #
Secret hoard of tequila?!FJR | June 14, 2007, 11:56am | #
WRT to the UNICEF stuff.Pro Libertate | June 14, 2007, 12:02pm | #
highnumber,Randolph Carter | June 14, 2007, 12:03pm | #
Yay! I'm on an internet video! sadly, now my 15 minutes are up.DA | June 14, 2007, 12:07pm | #
Good performance by Paul, and covered a lot of bases (including a good, quick swipe at the War on Drugs).highnumber | June 14, 2007, 12:09pm | #
DA,Rattlesnake Jake | June 14, 2007, 12:17pm | #
"You shouldn't be. The Comedy Central crowd will applaud any anti-bush thing anybody says. Being well received by the loopy-left actually hurts him amongst GOP primary voters."thoreau | June 14, 2007, 12:19pm | #
Never underestimate the juggernaut that is the Colbert Nation!rob | June 14, 2007, 12:23pm | #
"It's funny to still see people who equate dislike of Bush with mental illness. That guy's looney! How looney is he? He's so looney that he doesn't like George Bush!" - joeTaktix® | June 14, 2007, 12:26pm | #
I am definitely a libertarian Daily Show/Colbert fan, simply because I am riddled with delight when I see people tear apart politicians and the media for their blatant stupidity.highnumber | June 14, 2007, 12:31pm | #
Fluffy,Chris Jordan | June 14, 2007, 12:32pm | #
The best way to get Ron Paul elected is to educate people about the other candidates. Most of the other candidates are backed by the money of David Rockefeller in one way or another, and that money is being spent for the purpose of pushing forward the agenda for One World Government, which will greatly benefit international corporations.Isaac Bartram | June 14, 2007, 12:41pm | #
He's so looney that he doesn't like George Bush!Mad Scientist | June 14, 2007, 12:42pm | #
Christ, YouTube videos are annoying. I don't know about the rest of you, but I almost never get a full video to load. I usually get about 90 seconds and nothing more. If I delete the browser cache and reload the video I get about the same amount of video on the next try. Worthless.Scooby | June 14, 2007, 1:03pm | #
Arrgggh... it's the truthers and "the joos and the Fed want to enslave us" and Anti-CFR/Bilderburg/NWO guys that give plenty of "Paul is a nutter" ammo to the guys on that list.SPD | June 14, 2007, 1:32pm | #
"So which poster on Hit-n-Run is really Ron Paul?"Pro Libertate | June 14, 2007, 1:33pm | #
I'm Spartacus!Rattlesnake Jake | June 14, 2007, 2:05pm | #
"I am already proudly sporting a "Ron Paul for President'08" bumper sticker on my car."libertreee | June 14, 2007, 2:32pm | #
Dave W-Bruce Wayne | June 14, 2007, 2:46pm | #
I'm Batman!Michael Keaton | June 14, 2007, 2:47pm | #
I'm Batman!Alex Trebec | June 14, 2007, 2:58pm | #
No, you are not.Eric the .5b | June 14, 2007, 3:00pm | #
OK, that was an excellent bit. To my very pleasant surprise, the man seems to be thriving and improving under national media attention.Sean Connery | June 14, 2007, 3:13pm | #
You'll rue the day you crossed me, Trebek!Pro Libertate | June 14, 2007, 3:16pm | #
I'll take Swords for $500, please.jh | June 14, 2007, 3:43pm | #
"I was surprised at the cheers he got from the generally liberal crowd. I notice they got quieter when it got to abolishing the department of education and all that, but for the most part, they were pretty receptive."jh | June 14, 2007, 3:55pm | #
FJR says: "Hey people, the question wasn't "if elected president, which of the following will you try to abolish?" It was "raise your hand if you'd like to abolish...."Ashish George | June 14, 2007, 3:56pm | #
"And many they say they're against our country's imperialism, but support reinstating the draft because it's 'fairer' to force the kids of wealthy individuals to fight."jh | June 14, 2007, 4:26pm | #
Ashish George -- You're right. My bad. I confused the older liberals who wouldn't be subject to the draft (or at least the older liberal politicians who get the few votes cast by younger liberals) with the actual younger liberals who mostly compose Colbert's studio audience. I suspect, though, that the folks in Colbert's audience would overwhelmingly support an ultraliberal politician who advocated reinstating the draft over a Bush-supporting conservative Republican -- they'd overlook the draft thing because it seems so unlikely to get enacted.TrickyVic | June 14, 2007, 4:49pm | #
"""If my experience with linking Comedy Central videos hosted on YouTube is any kind of evidence, be prepared for fricking short-sighted Viacom to pull the video.Rattlesnake Jake | June 14, 2007, 4:49pm | #
"A tiny outside chance of becoming VP ..."Fluffy | June 14, 2007, 4:54pm | #
Apparently on Tucker a few minutes ago Paul said that the problem with Giuliani is that he's such an "authoritarian".Rattlesnake Jake | June 14, 2007, 4:56pm | #
"He said specifically that " I think we can do better, but It is not high on my list to go after" when discussing social welfare programs, and has conceded in other interviews that "we have made many Americans dependent on the government, and I won't go after them while they are."Tom Walls | June 14, 2007, 6:34pm | #
Here's a little ditty I wrote... it's constantly changing. Remember, it's all in fun - and partially builds on stereotypes people have of libertarians.Nate_In_08 | June 14, 2007, 7:12pm | #
I thought it was Ron Paul's best TV appearance yet. I hope he wins the primary and then loses by a hair to NateIn'08.joe | June 14, 2007, 7:30pm | #
"I think it's funny to see joe try to equate visceral, rabid, purely subjective emotional dislike of a politician based on purely partisan motives with cerebral, calm, rational, purely objective concern for their politics and political decisions."Joe Schembrie | June 14, 2007, 8:19pm | #
I donated fifty dollars to Ron Paul's campaign this week. My goal is to donate $50 a month while he's in the race.highnumber | June 14, 2007, 8:20pm | #
TrickyVic,jh | June 14, 2007, 8:45pm | #
Rattlesnake says: "'A tiny outside chance of becoming VP ...'Drew | June 15, 2007, 12:20am | #
Just watch, Ron Paul's campaign will be anouncing pretty soon that his donations have increased significantly which will put him in the same league with the other front runners.Bee | June 15, 2007, 12:50am | #
If YOU were a Republican front-runner pondering Ron Paul as a running mate, you might worry rather seriously about his base of passionate 2nd Amendment supporters.Eric Dondero | June 15, 2007, 12:03pm | #
Funny Ron Paul views Giuliani as an "Authoritarian," yet it is Giuliani that wishes to allow women to decide for themselves whether or not to have an abortion, yet Ron Paul wishes to have government make that decision for them.rob | June 15, 2007, 1:23pm | #
The venom joe can generate on the subject of Bush is often clearly visceral, rabid, and purely subjective. Granted, he also complains about actual policies and decisions, though, so that's a step up from many of the "Chimpy McBusHitler" types.Estrella Eguino | June 15, 2007, 6:15pm | #
Both Ron Paul and Stephen Colbert were at their best! I have watched Stephen Colbert make minced meat out of some of his guests and I noticed he treated Ron with plenty of respect and at the same time he kept the humor up. The raised hand question segment was very funny. It was good to see Ron Paul in the mainstream media because it is so obvious that there's a plan to keep him out. I'm sure that he won't win because the people of the U.S. no longer have a say in the matter. Electrical voting machines mean fraud and Rupert Murdoch is backing Hillary Clinton via media support. The Republican opponents will turn out to be easy targets against Hillary: Giuliani, because he will be stirring the crowds yelling "Nine-Eleven" a-la-Lois-Griffin; McCain is the most insane of the candidates as I will never forget his tantrums after losing the South Carolina primary to Bush; Romney - super weak against Hillary. But it was good to watch Ron Paul speak out. Down with the illegal IRS! Alex Jones is the one that should run for preZTom W | June 16, 2007, 12:41am | #
The Ron Paul Blues Explosion. Now I've heard it all.TrickyVic | June 16, 2007, 4:49pm | #
Here is the Comedy Central linkNancy | June 17, 2007, 9:38am | #
"So does Paul think UNICEF is a government agency that he can abolish or does he just mean he wants the government to stop giving money to it?"Nancy | June 17, 2007, 9:43am | #
"Funny Ron Paul views Giuliani as an "Authoritarian," yet it is Giuliani that wishes to allow women to decide for themselves whether or not to have an abortion, yet Ron Paul wishes to have government make that decision for them."