On the basis of these highly selective out-of-context clips he really does appear to be a complete douche bag.

This video is funny too, especially the last line.

Joe Werner, executive director of the South Carolina Democratic Party said that “the council members had some concerns about his viability as a candidate.” Werner said that state party rules require candidates to be viable and nationally -recognized in order to appear on the ballot.

So apparently Stephen Colbert is not as viable or nationally-recognised as other candidates like Dennis “I’ve seen UFOs” Kucinich or crazy old Mike Gravel, despite recent national polling placing him about 5th in the Democratic primary race. I really can’t understand this decision at all. Yes, Colbert could technically be excluded according to the rules, but so could other candidates. Colbert was set to at least poll better than many of the ‘genuine’ candidates, and maybe even win a delegate or two. His candidacy would have served South Carolina’s Democratic party well in the long run by getting young voters interested in their party, and it would have garnered plenty of national attention for the State’s primaries. However, it seems that saving the blushes of clowns like Kucinich and Gravel is more important to the Democrats than letting people vote for who they want.

Attending a South Carolina campaign rally on ‘Stephen Colbert Favourite Son Day’.

Here’s a link to a BBC story about the rapid growth of a Facebook group dedicated to the Colbert campaign.