DISCLAIMER: This article contains the personal views of the author and should not be inferred to be the views of Unlock Democracy.

On October the 16^th Stephen Colbert of the ‘Colbert Report’ declared that he is running for President of the United States (in the State of South Carolina) as both a Democrat and a Republican. Whilst this might be seen as a gimmick for his new book, or simply another stunt for a comedian who is at the very fore of American youth culture, there is a very serious point behind his decision to enter the race. Colbert rarely breaks from the right wing pundit persona he has developed since branching off from The Daily Show two years ago, but in his interview on yesterday’s ‘Meet the press’, a respected institution in the American political sphere, there was the biggest clue yet as to his intention. In a seemingly candid moment he said “I don’t want to be president, I want to run for president … I was able to get on the ballot in South Carolina, and if I can do it, so can you.”

Entering the presidential race himself may seem to be a drastic measure as a satirist, and some are seeing it as a direct attack on the institution of the presidency itself, but this may be what America needs. It would be going too far to say that Democracy is in crisis, but voter apathy is a problem and the prospect of “Bush – Clinton – Bush – Clinton” seems to herald democratic stagnation. This is helped even less by a desire on the part of politicians to seem unimpeachably correct at all times, and the way in which they accomplish this. In running for president, Colbert is continuing his attack on the sick-man of free press, American corporate media, but also directly challenging the current presidential runners. When manipulation of public opinion and key demographics becomes the primary concern of candidates, real choice is stifled, people switch off. With Colbert mimicking them they may be forced to actually be passionate and have forward looking policies, instead of simply reciting stock answers crafted to gain specific votes.

Imitation can be the greatest form of flattery, but it can also represent the most cutting of criticisms.