It's on Reddit if anyone wants to upvote (or downvote) it.
BUT, I disagree with everyone. I think the reddit title is better. I don't think it's an endorsement. I think he, like Stewart, respect Paul... but very much disagree with him. They'll be on Obama mode in the next couple months.
The Super Pac thing makes it pretty clear that they're very much on the opposite side of the issue.
The gold joke, though, was brilliant.
- Darin
Since we're all just giving our opinions, here's mine. At my own peril, I pretty much take the opposite view of the above.
Initially, I didn't understand the joke and I still don't
really get it. Despite the clarification as a reference to the
Rumpelstiltskin character and even when associated with Ron's connection to the gold standard, I found it to be a bit too 'off-the-wall' and too obscure to be really funny.
I think to be truly funny, the premise has to be clear, and I think any clarity here existed largely inside Colbert's head. Despite the laughs from Joe and others, I think the basis for the "joke" was lost on most, myself included. In essence, it lacked context. I'm not sure I know where he was coming from, or where he was going with it. Had it been preceded by some discussion of the media ignoring Ron, perhaps it might have had resonated better. As it stood, it was, at best, an arcane inside joke. I just think having to analyze it, interpret it, or provide conjecture on its origins or intent, doesn't say much about its innate comedic value.
(Yes, I know, overthought and at odds with the way this thread is headed, but, still, just my .02.)
As to his later out-of-character "endorsement", I think it was pretty much just that. Not an endorsement for the presidency (Obama has that), but for the Republican nomination. He gave a serious answer to a very specific question as to who he would favor or support
out of the four men on stage. And he didn't say "I like Paul's consistency, but...(and then choose someone else)". He clarified why he named Paul, and it was a definitive and reasonable (if limited) assessment. No, he would not agree with much of Ron's domestic policy positions, but he would not do so for any of the other GOP contenders either. For the GOP field, it was an endorsement.
