Comedians Know Best

Say what you want about the guy - but Stephen Colbert might be the best journalist in America - and he's not a journalist...

Colbert was on The Today Show this morning - in an interview to promote his new "childrens" book.  However - David Gregory first talked to him about the Presidential race and about the politics that Colbert loves to bash every night.

Gregory asked Colbert what he thought the election would come down to - what would be the deciding factor - and Colbert jokingly replied - “It comes down who has been crueler to a dog...Apparently it comes down to whether or not it’s crueler for an adult man to strap a dog to his car and then drive for 12 hours, or for a 10-year-old boy to eat dog given to him by his stepfather. As far as I can tell that’s the biggest differentiation.”

And while this was clearly meant as a joke in typical Colbert style - if you really think about it - it's not much of a joke at all...it's the truth.

Over the course of this endless election cycle - there's been very little talk on issues that actually matter - but a ton of talk on theater of the absurd kind of material.

Early in the process - Herman Cain's inability to keep his junk in his pants turned into a bigger "political issue" than the economy.  The same can be said for Newt too.

And then fast forward a month or two - and a giant bomb is dropped on the American political landscape.  Mitt Romney - the man who could be President - strapped his dog to the roof of his car for 12 hours on a family roadtrip.

Don't get me wrong - anyone who knows me knows I am a complete sucker for dogs - and have had them all my life.  I think what Romney and his family did was deplorable - and Romney really should be arrested for animal cruelty and then some.

BUT - with an economy in turmoil - a broken healthcare system - an environment on the brink of diaster - and our nation involved in never-ending war in Afghanistan - should the media and our society really have allowed "Doggate" to have become such a large issue in the 2012 campaign?

And then - like you knew they would - the Republican Party found a way to strike back at President Obama and the Democrats..duh duh duhhhh.

As a child - on a family vacation to Indonesia - President Obama ate dog that was given to him by his stepfather. It should be noted that like many countries in Asia - dog is a food eaten in Indonesia.

Republicans latched on to this story - and fired back at Obama and the Democrats with all their might - how can a man be President if one time when he was a little child - he tried the native food of his family's homeland?

The point is - neither President Obama eating dog - or Mitt Romney being an animal abuser - are issues that are going to help America overcome the several hurdles it is facing.

And yet - since these have been made into huge issues - and the real issues have had comparatively less debate - Stephen Colbert might be right.

When Americans head to the polls in November - they may very well be forced to decide who to vote for based on who hates dogs more...


See The Today Show interview with Stephen Colbert at the link below:

Colbert Today Show Interview