Stephen Colbert for President: Is America Ready for a Faking Frenchman?

In announcing his candidacy for presidency, Stephen Colbert hopes to beat Fred Thompson to the punch for the Hollywood fan ticket, or so one would presume. At its barest, we can rest assured that Stephen has what it takes in order to be the nation's next President - he has absolutely no qualms changing any particular aspect of his character in order to garner acclaim and fame. From an admittedly Irish background, the native Colbert admitted to Conservative political commentator Bill O'Reilly that he dropped the T sound at the end of his name in something of an appeasement of the media.

He still, however, attempts to garner the Irish vote by staunchly reminding them that he is, by all accounts, still as Irish as ever. The dropping of the T was purely for political purposes.

Some experts wonder if he perhaps waited too long to enter into the race - wondering if this may hurt his chances in the primaries. Perhaps to make up for this tardy debut onto the political scene, Stephen Colbert has announced his candidacy as both Republican and Democrat, and further went on to say that he runs as a "Favorite son of South Carolina".

It has been pointed out however that he stands a good chance of winning several key votes that have the potential to hinder his competition - such as the religious vote for his observance of Lent. In 2006, he was named by Time Magazine to be one of the top 100 Most Influential People, and stands educated, having received a Doctorate of Fine Arts degree from Knox College.

He's made international guest appearances and offered to bring his boat to the ruins of Katrina to offer assistance - demonstrating that he's a capable leader in times of crises and has no problems with potential foreign relations. So far he sounds like your typical politician.

And like all politicians, Colbert has a darker side to him - a side of corporate greed and corruption.

It is suspect whether or not the affable Stephen Colbert will be capable of distancing himself from ice cream making empire Ben and Jerry's - after they carried on a marketing scheme that involved portraying his face. How will this corporate alliance effect a potential Colbert Administration? Could Blackwater, Enron, and Texaco find themselves replaced with Ben and Jerry's, Baskin Robins, and M&Ms? This is something voters must take deeply into consideration.

Likewise, Colbert has a sordid history of gambling with other politicians - especially overseas.

It's been well documented that in early 2007, Stephen Colbert entered into a bet with Oshawa city mayor John Gray over a Canadian hockey game with Ontario. The entire bet appeared to be a marketing scheme for both Stephen Colbert and Oshawa City - who, after losing, declared the day "Stephen Colbert Day" - and in turn generated potentially millions in tourism revenue - which may very likely be shared with Colbert in his upcoming run for President.

Also, with his abandoning of his Irish roots and dropping the T in his name, the author also expresses concern that we'll see a "Presiden" of the United States.

With these issues under his belt, Colbert's bid for the White House may very well be permanently hindered. Who then, would we vote to replace the would be real life Man of the Year?

My recommendation comes down to Peyton Manning.

Who else is adored by millions of Americans and has had his face shown on television at least three times as much as any other candidate combined? The only problem that may come into play with this presidential choice is the legality of said commercials being paid for by Nike and Reebok. What types of legal entanglements would his primary source of income get into?

However we can rest assured that Peyton Manning, argued to be among the greatest quarterbacks who ever lived, has the leadership skills necessary for the position - and the battlefield like nature of the grid iron is an excellent place for him to have picked up the skills necessary for him to excel as a war time leader.

At the very least, the author hopes that should Stephen Colbert find himself winning one of the many primaries he's applied for, he takes Manning into consideration as a Vice Presidential candidate.

Sources:
http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/the_colbert_report/index.jhtml
http://www.oshawa.ca/colbert/