Stewart and Colbert rally thousands to 'restore sanity'
Doug Stanglin
On Deadline (USA Today)
Oct 30, 2010
Update 6:21 p.m. ET: Comedian Jon Stewart held a news conference later with reporters after the "Rally to Restore Sanity" at the National Press Club . Asked how he thought the media would react to his pointed barbs, he said: "Don't care."
"Our currency is not this town's currency," he said. "We're not running for anything. We don't have a constituency. We do television shows for people who like them."
Asked if they accomplished what they wanted,he replied: "We're proud of ourselves. For us, the success was the execution of the idea and the intention."
Update at 5 p.m. ET: We've added new photos to our gallery of today's rally. Take a look.
Update 4:30 p.m.: USA TODAY's Lindsay Deutsch and Marisa Kendall send these reflections from people as they head home:
* "Coming in, I didn't really know what to expect. I think it was better than I expected. There was good music, good comedy, and I think Jon Stewart's message in the end was really powerful," said Seth Sangboner, 32, of Washington, D.C.
* "I'm a little bit choked up after listening to Jon Stewart talk," said Hy Alvarah, 28, who works for the Human Rights Campaign, the largest U.S. gay civil rights organization. "He covered all the things we're missing in life, not just sanity and reasonableness. I was moved to tears. You expect that from politicians and preachers, not a comedian."
* "The number of people who just wanted to get together and spend time being American was great. I mean, R2D2 was there," said Ben Byers, 25, of Washington, D.C.
* "I think this was historic. To have Ozzy on stage with Cat Stevens, that's not something you think you'd see in a lifetime," said Steve Dugas, 54, of Westford, Mass. "I'm most afraid that the point is going to be lost on people. I want the sanity of just being able to have a dialogue, giving respect to all points of view."
Update 3:14 p.m.:The rally just ended with I'll Take You There, performed by Mavis Staples, The Roots, John Legend, Yusuf Islam (the former Cat Stevens), Tony Bennett and Jeff Tweedy, plus "a 7-year-old girl," Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and all the correspondents.
But before it ended, Stewart had his personal moment of sanity. Here are excerpts from his speech:
So what exactly was this? I can't control what people think this was, I can only tell you my intentions. This was not a rally to ridicule people of faith or people of activism, or to look down our noses at the heartland or passionate argument, or to suggest that times are not difficult and we have nothing to fear. They are and we do.
But we live now in hard times, not end times. And we can have animus and not be enemies. But unfortunately, one of our main tools in delineating the two broke. The country's 24-hour politico-pundit- perpetual-panic conflictinator did not cause our problems, but its existence makes solving them that much harder.
The press can hold its magnifying glass up to our problems, bring them into focus, illuminating issues -- or they can use that magnifying glass to light ants on fire, and then perhaps host a week of shows on the sudden unexpected dangerous
flaming ant epidemic. If we amplify everything, we hear nothing. …
Not being able to distinguish between real racists and tea partiers, or real bigots and Juan Williams or Rick Sanchez, is an insult not only to those people, but to the racists themselves who have put in the exhausting effort it takes to hate. Just as the inability to distinguish terrorists from Muslims makes us less safe, not more. ...
That being said, I feel strangely, calmly good, because the image of Americans that is reflected back to us by our political and media process is false. It is us through a funhouse mirror, and not the good kind that makes you look slim and maybe taller, but the kind that gives you a giant forehead and maybe an ass shaped like a month-old pumpkin. We hear every damn day about how fragile our country is, on the brink of disaster, torn by polarizing hate. …
The truth is, we work together to get things done every damn day. The only place we don't is here, or on cable TV -- but Americans don't live here or on cable TV. ... We know that as a people if we're going to get through the darkness and back into the light, we have to work together. ...
And sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel isn't the promised land, it's just New Jersey, but we do it anyway.
Update 3 p.m.: Our Jessica Durando just ran into Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington in the press area and asked her about media organizations that had banned employees from attending the rally because they viewed it as political.
"It doesn't make any sense to be agnostic about sanity," said Huffington, who sponsored buses to Washington. "The rally is not political. It's not partisan. Contrived objectivity does not serve journalism."
Huffington also said the rally "helps us recognize we can have big disagreements as a country without demonizing opponents."
Update 2:40 p.m.: Now the keynote speech. Stewart, looking like a politician, began: "Ladies and gentlemen, what is reason?" Only to be interrupted by Colbert, who took the stage as the "formidable opponent." They set up, side-by-side, suit-and-tie, debate-style on the stage: Reason vs. fear.
Stewart got Colbert to be afraid of "corbomite" -- a fictional explosive lifted from a Star Trek episode. "You just got scared by something that is not real," Stewart said.
"Maybe so, Jon, but not all the things that I or my fellow Americans are afraid of are made up. What about Muslims?"
"There are 1.5 billion Muslims in the world. Most of them did not (attack us)," Stewart said.
"So you are saying there is no reason at all to be afraid of Osama bin Laden?" Colbert asked.
"There are a lot of Muslim people who you might like," Stewart said, and brought out basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who is way too tall for the two to high-five.
Kareem made the point, "No matter whatever religious position someone plays, we're all on the same team."
Later, Colbert used news clips to highlight dangers: sex offenders, water, sleep, bees, terror, pandemics, guns, gay marriage, militias.
"Most of those fears are overblown," Stewart said. "They will never come true. And even if they do, the American people will come together to solve them."
Colbert: "Oh no. the American people can't come together on anything. They can't stand each other."
Update 2:25 p.m.: Though the rally was meant to parody political rallies, there was an unmistakable political feeling in the crowd. Miguel Mendoza, 59, of Woodstock, Va., called himself "pro president." He told our Doug Stanglin he came to the rally with his wife and children because he is "tired of the Tea Party having taken over the discussion. There's other people that believe in the government."
Kathy Ellis, 51, of Boise, Idaho, told Jessica Durando she flew in because she "wanted to be around like-minded people.... We're blue girls in a red state." She said the event was like Woodstock without the nudity. "We need to take the polarization out of politics. Hope is still alive, and we are here to signify that."
Update 2:15 p.m.:Colbert and Stewart faced off in song, comparing their patriotic bona fides:
Colbert: America is perfect and there's nothing to fix, my PIN code is 1776, Americans will deep fry anything, and that is why I sing …
Stewart: I embody the spirit of the founders I know, cause I watched John Adams on the HBO. You can tax all my cash to help a stranger, but I'll sue city hall if they put up a manger ...
And the chorus: It's the greatest, strongest country in the world, the greatest strongest country in the world ...
Stewart: For all the men and the women and the genders in between, there's no one more compassionate then me ...
Colbert: My roll of toilet paper used up 67 trees...
Both: From gay men who like football to straight men who like Glee ... There's no one more American than me."
Update 1:40 p.m.: A head-on musical train collision set the tone, with Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam's Peace Train carrying the sanity banner against Ozzy Osbourne's fear-mongering Crazy Train. The two dueled onstage until they tired of the battle and stormed off together. The middle-of-the-road solution: The O'Jays took the stage and called on the crowd to board their Love Train. Stewart convinced Colbert it also has some fear: "STDs? Heartbreak? That is scary."
Update 1:25 p.m.:The rally attracted people of all ages. Zac Bishop, 16, came with his mother, Fran, from Arizona, instead of going to Disneyland.
"I trust John Stewart more than CNN or MSNBC," he said. "It's the people starting a rally on their own. It's a movement of the people." Fran added: "Tolerance. I guess that's what its about."
Alex Boyle, 77, of Chevy Chase, Md., told USA TODAY's Marisa Kendall that his son encouraged him to participate. "The turnout is fabulous, and I hope it sends a strong message that we're about to make a terrible mistake on Tuesday if the polls are right."
Update 1:10 p.m.: Stephen Colbert just emerged from a capsule similar to the one used to rescue the miners in Chile. He's in a Captain America- like suit, shouting m "Chi, Chi, Le, Le."
Update 1 p.m.:"Are you ready to restore sanity?" Stewart yelled. Then: "No littering. Let's leave this place cleaner than we found it."
Stewart has urged people to send donations to the trust that maintains the National Mall.
"As I look out here, I see we have over 10 million people," he joked, adding that the crowd is a perfect demographic makeup of the nation. "73% white, 14% black and the rest other, which is perfect."
Update 12:55 p.m.:Our Jessica Durando just ran into Daily Show correspondent John Oliver backstage. "It's mind-blowing how many people turned out," he said. "Let's hope it's funny."
As Oliver checked his lines, he admitted to feeling some anxiety that the show will not translate to such a huge crowd. "Objectively, we think it's going to be pretty funny," he said. "We've been doing shows all week, and it's become very real."
Update 12:40 p.m.: Stewart insists the rally is not political, and many in the crowd embrace his call for "reasonableness."
"I'm really glad this is an optimistic rally. All the other ones are serious. We can just laugh and realize that things aren't so bad," Brian Steele, 19, a student at George Washington Universit,y told USA TODAY's Sara Newman.
Agreed Drew Sarton, 30, of Birmingham, Ala.: "Of all the political rallies, this one makes the most sense. Common sense has been lost. All other rallies are self-aggrandizing."
Update 12:25 p.m.:USA TODAY's Lindsay Deutsch ran into a lucky couple who was flown to the rally and stayed in a Marriott courtesy of Oprah Winfrey.
Ernesto Iglesias and Nicole Anasenas from New York City, were at The Daily Show when Oprah said she would send the entire studio audience to the rally. They brought their 5-month-old baby, Lorenzo, to the rally. He wore a rally towel as a bib.
Iglesias, 35, actually forced Anasenas to go with him to the taping: "It was one of those things. You always tell yourself, 'I never win these things,' then ..." About Lorenzo, he said, "We're here to keep him afraid or sane until he is about 22. We live in the city, so maybe he has to be more fearful."
Anasenas was enjoying the crowd. "It's nice to be around people who more or less share our beliefs. The best sign I've seen says, 'I may not agree with you, but I'm pretty sure you're not Hitler.' "
Update 12:15 p.m.:John Legend and The Roots are performing now. Stewart is expected around 1 p.m. Other entertainers expected to appear include musician Sheryl Crow, actor Sam Waterston and comedian Don Novello, who years ago played Father Guido Sarducci on Saturday Night Live.
Update noon: The rally is starting. You can watch it at C-SPAN and Comedy Central. And here's a photo gallery that we will be updating through the day. Check back often.
Update 11:40 a.m.: The Mall is bristling with clever signs, USA TODAY's Doug Stanglin reports. Among them:
* The only thing we have to fear is fear itself -- and spiders
* Stand united against signs
* This is my sign
* Rednecks for Obama. Louisiana chapter
* My wife thinks I'm walking the Appalachian trail
* Paul Revere was an anchor baby
* Tea parties are for Mad Hatters
* I'm somewhat irritated about extreme outrage
Update 11:30 a.m.: D.C. -area metro stations are jammed as thousands try to get to the Mall for the rally. Hundreds of people are waiting in line to buy tickets at several suburban Virginia stations, with many bailing out to hail cabs.
At the East Falls Church station in Virginia, about six miles from Washington, two trains passed through completely filled, USA TODAY's Jessica Durando reports. Waiting on the platform, Shane Carlson, 29, said, "We flew from Minnesota to be funny for three hours." The neon yellow sign he holds says, "You're in the matrix."
Some people are managing to squeeze onto trains. Durandoalso talked to Lee Walzer on a train at the Rosslyn station in Arlington, Va., a stop away from D.C. The 47-year-old from Arlington urged people going to the rally to also vote Tuesday.
"It's nice that people are going down to a rally, but if people don't go out and vote on Tuesday, it's not going to preserve the gains and goals that most people going to the rally presumably have," Walzer said. "It's an impressive-sized crowd. It makes you wonder if the enthusiasm of the Republican Party is true. The election results may look different."
A vendor displays badges for sale at the
CAPTION
By Kate Patterson, USA TODAY
Original post: Jon Stewart's "Rally to Restore Sanity" may have started out for some as a satirical retort to Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally at the Lincoln Memorial, but it is turning into a political event, whether the organizers want it or not.
The best proof: Pundits, media stars and political analysts, some a mite miffed at the interloper from Manhattan, have weighed the meaning of it all, questioning whether jokester Stewart has gone too far and will undercut his appeal by appearing too political, The Washington Post notes.
Some Democrats worry that the extravaganza will take liberals away from the final weekend get-out-the-vote push before Tuesday's midterm elections.
Whatever happens, early signs are that it will be a big draw near the steps of the U.S. Capitol on the National Mall. The "Rally to Restore Sanity" Facebook page lists 230,000 people as saying they will be there and another 100,000 "maybes."
Huffington Post impresario Ariana Huffington leased 200 buses to bring rally goers down to D.C. free from Manhattan. Even Oprah has given a thumbs up.
Travelers from New York who waited too late found Amtrak fully booked for Friday evening and Saturday morning. Even NBC's Andrea Mitchell tweeted that she couldn't get a seat home Friday night.
Some dedicated rallygoers got a jump on Halloween and dressed for the occasion Saturday on the National Mall.
CAPTION
By Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images
Oddly, it is not really clear what will take place today near the steps of the U.S. Capitol on the National Mall.
At his "Rally to Restore Sanity" website, Stewart puts it this way:
Ours is a rally for the people who've been too busy to go to rallies, who actually have lives and families and jobs (or are looking for jobs) — not so much the Silent Majority as the Busy Majority. If we had to sum up the political view of our participants in a single sentence … we couldn't. That's sort of the point.
As for how he plans to fill the noon to 3 p.m. ET rally, Stewart says only that there will be "guests."
On Deadline will be keeping tabs from the National Mall all morning, so check back here for frequent updates.
On Deadline (USA Today)
Oct 30, 2010
Update 6:21 p.m. ET: Comedian Jon Stewart held a news conference later with reporters after the "Rally to Restore Sanity" at the National Press Club . Asked how he thought the media would react to his pointed barbs, he said: "Don't care."
"Our currency is not this town's currency," he said. "We're not running for anything. We don't have a constituency. We do television shows for people who like them."
Asked if they accomplished what they wanted,he replied: "We're proud of ourselves. For us, the success was the execution of the idea and the intention."
Update at 5 p.m. ET: We've added new photos to our gallery of today's rally. Take a look.
Update 4:30 p.m.: USA TODAY's Lindsay Deutsch and Marisa Kendall send these reflections from people as they head home:
* "Coming in, I didn't really know what to expect. I think it was better than I expected. There was good music, good comedy, and I think Jon Stewart's message in the end was really powerful," said Seth Sangboner, 32, of Washington, D.C.
* "I'm a little bit choked up after listening to Jon Stewart talk," said Hy Alvarah, 28, who works for the Human Rights Campaign, the largest U.S. gay civil rights organization. "He covered all the things we're missing in life, not just sanity and reasonableness. I was moved to tears. You expect that from politicians and preachers, not a comedian."
* "The number of people who just wanted to get together and spend time being American was great. I mean, R2D2 was there," said Ben Byers, 25, of Washington, D.C.
* "I think this was historic. To have Ozzy on stage with Cat Stevens, that's not something you think you'd see in a lifetime," said Steve Dugas, 54, of Westford, Mass. "I'm most afraid that the point is going to be lost on people. I want the sanity of just being able to have a dialogue, giving respect to all points of view."
Update 3:14 p.m.:The rally just ended with I'll Take You There, performed by Mavis Staples, The Roots, John Legend, Yusuf Islam (the former Cat Stevens), Tony Bennett and Jeff Tweedy, plus "a 7-year-old girl," Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and all the correspondents.
But before it ended, Stewart had his personal moment of sanity. Here are excerpts from his speech:
So what exactly was this? I can't control what people think this was, I can only tell you my intentions. This was not a rally to ridicule people of faith or people of activism, or to look down our noses at the heartland or passionate argument, or to suggest that times are not difficult and we have nothing to fear. They are and we do.
But we live now in hard times, not end times. And we can have animus and not be enemies. But unfortunately, one of our main tools in delineating the two broke. The country's 24-hour politico-pundit- perpetual-panic conflictinator did not cause our problems, but its existence makes solving them that much harder.
The press can hold its magnifying glass up to our problems, bring them into focus, illuminating issues -- or they can use that magnifying glass to light ants on fire, and then perhaps host a week of shows on the sudden unexpected dangerous
flaming ant epidemic. If we amplify everything, we hear nothing. …
Not being able to distinguish between real racists and tea partiers, or real bigots and Juan Williams or Rick Sanchez, is an insult not only to those people, but to the racists themselves who have put in the exhausting effort it takes to hate. Just as the inability to distinguish terrorists from Muslims makes us less safe, not more. ...
That being said, I feel strangely, calmly good, because the image of Americans that is reflected back to us by our political and media process is false. It is us through a funhouse mirror, and not the good kind that makes you look slim and maybe taller, but the kind that gives you a giant forehead and maybe an ass shaped like a month-old pumpkin. We hear every damn day about how fragile our country is, on the brink of disaster, torn by polarizing hate. …
The truth is, we work together to get things done every damn day. The only place we don't is here, or on cable TV -- but Americans don't live here or on cable TV. ... We know that as a people if we're going to get through the darkness and back into the light, we have to work together. ...
And sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel isn't the promised land, it's just New Jersey, but we do it anyway.
Update 3 p.m.: Our Jessica Durando just ran into Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington in the press area and asked her about media organizations that had banned employees from attending the rally because they viewed it as political.
"It doesn't make any sense to be agnostic about sanity," said Huffington, who sponsored buses to Washington. "The rally is not political. It's not partisan. Contrived objectivity does not serve journalism."
Huffington also said the rally "helps us recognize we can have big disagreements as a country without demonizing opponents."
Update 2:40 p.m.: Now the keynote speech. Stewart, looking like a politician, began: "Ladies and gentlemen, what is reason?" Only to be interrupted by Colbert, who took the stage as the "formidable opponent." They set up, side-by-side, suit-and-tie, debate-style on the stage: Reason vs. fear.
Stewart got Colbert to be afraid of "corbomite" -- a fictional explosive lifted from a Star Trek episode. "You just got scared by something that is not real," Stewart said.
"Maybe so, Jon, but not all the things that I or my fellow Americans are afraid of are made up. What about Muslims?"
"There are 1.5 billion Muslims in the world. Most of them did not (attack us)," Stewart said.
"So you are saying there is no reason at all to be afraid of Osama bin Laden?" Colbert asked.
"There are a lot of Muslim people who you might like," Stewart said, and brought out basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who is way too tall for the two to high-five.
Kareem made the point, "No matter whatever religious position someone plays, we're all on the same team."
Later, Colbert used news clips to highlight dangers: sex offenders, water, sleep, bees, terror, pandemics, guns, gay marriage, militias.
"Most of those fears are overblown," Stewart said. "They will never come true. And even if they do, the American people will come together to solve them."
Colbert: "Oh no. the American people can't come together on anything. They can't stand each other."
Update 2:25 p.m.: Though the rally was meant to parody political rallies, there was an unmistakable political feeling in the crowd. Miguel Mendoza, 59, of Woodstock, Va., called himself "pro president." He told our Doug Stanglin he came to the rally with his wife and children because he is "tired of the Tea Party having taken over the discussion. There's other people that believe in the government."
Kathy Ellis, 51, of Boise, Idaho, told Jessica Durando she flew in because she "wanted to be around like-minded people.... We're blue girls in a red state." She said the event was like Woodstock without the nudity. "We need to take the polarization out of politics. Hope is still alive, and we are here to signify that."
Update 2:15 p.m.:Colbert and Stewart faced off in song, comparing their patriotic bona fides:
Colbert: America is perfect and there's nothing to fix, my PIN code is 1776, Americans will deep fry anything, and that is why I sing …
Stewart: I embody the spirit of the founders I know, cause I watched John Adams on the HBO. You can tax all my cash to help a stranger, but I'll sue city hall if they put up a manger ...
And the chorus: It's the greatest, strongest country in the world, the greatest strongest country in the world ...
Stewart: For all the men and the women and the genders in between, there's no one more compassionate then me ...
Colbert: My roll of toilet paper used up 67 trees...
Both: From gay men who like football to straight men who like Glee ... There's no one more American than me."
Update 1:40 p.m.: A head-on musical train collision set the tone, with Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam's Peace Train carrying the sanity banner against Ozzy Osbourne's fear-mongering Crazy Train. The two dueled onstage until they tired of the battle and stormed off together. The middle-of-the-road solution: The O'Jays took the stage and called on the crowd to board their Love Train. Stewart convinced Colbert it also has some fear: "STDs? Heartbreak? That is scary."
Update 1:25 p.m.:The rally attracted people of all ages. Zac Bishop, 16, came with his mother, Fran, from Arizona, instead of going to Disneyland.
"I trust John Stewart more than CNN or MSNBC," he said. "It's the people starting a rally on their own. It's a movement of the people." Fran added: "Tolerance. I guess that's what its about."
Alex Boyle, 77, of Chevy Chase, Md., told USA TODAY's Marisa Kendall that his son encouraged him to participate. "The turnout is fabulous, and I hope it sends a strong message that we're about to make a terrible mistake on Tuesday if the polls are right."
Update 1:10 p.m.: Stephen Colbert just emerged from a capsule similar to the one used to rescue the miners in Chile. He's in a Captain America- like suit, shouting m "Chi, Chi, Le, Le."
Update 1 p.m.:"Are you ready to restore sanity?" Stewart yelled. Then: "No littering. Let's leave this place cleaner than we found it."
Stewart has urged people to send donations to the trust that maintains the National Mall.
"As I look out here, I see we have over 10 million people," he joked, adding that the crowd is a perfect demographic makeup of the nation. "73% white, 14% black and the rest other, which is perfect."
Update 12:55 p.m.:Our Jessica Durando just ran into Daily Show correspondent John Oliver backstage. "It's mind-blowing how many people turned out," he said. "Let's hope it's funny."
As Oliver checked his lines, he admitted to feeling some anxiety that the show will not translate to such a huge crowd. "Objectively, we think it's going to be pretty funny," he said. "We've been doing shows all week, and it's become very real."
Update 12:40 p.m.: Stewart insists the rally is not political, and many in the crowd embrace his call for "reasonableness."
"I'm really glad this is an optimistic rally. All the other ones are serious. We can just laugh and realize that things aren't so bad," Brian Steele, 19, a student at George Washington Universit,y told USA TODAY's Sara Newman.
Agreed Drew Sarton, 30, of Birmingham, Ala.: "Of all the political rallies, this one makes the most sense. Common sense has been lost. All other rallies are self-aggrandizing."
Update 12:25 p.m.:USA TODAY's Lindsay Deutsch ran into a lucky couple who was flown to the rally and stayed in a Marriott courtesy of Oprah Winfrey.
Ernesto Iglesias and Nicole Anasenas from New York City, were at The Daily Show when Oprah said she would send the entire studio audience to the rally. They brought their 5-month-old baby, Lorenzo, to the rally. He wore a rally towel as a bib.
Iglesias, 35, actually forced Anasenas to go with him to the taping: "It was one of those things. You always tell yourself, 'I never win these things,' then ..." About Lorenzo, he said, "We're here to keep him afraid or sane until he is about 22. We live in the city, so maybe he has to be more fearful."
Anasenas was enjoying the crowd. "It's nice to be around people who more or less share our beliefs. The best sign I've seen says, 'I may not agree with you, but I'm pretty sure you're not Hitler.' "
Update 12:15 p.m.:John Legend and The Roots are performing now. Stewart is expected around 1 p.m. Other entertainers expected to appear include musician Sheryl Crow, actor Sam Waterston and comedian Don Novello, who years ago played Father Guido Sarducci on Saturday Night Live.
Update noon: The rally is starting. You can watch it at C-SPAN and Comedy Central. And here's a photo gallery that we will be updating through the day. Check back often.
Update 11:40 a.m.: The Mall is bristling with clever signs, USA TODAY's Doug Stanglin reports. Among them:
* The only thing we have to fear is fear itself -- and spiders
* Stand united against signs
* This is my sign
* Rednecks for Obama. Louisiana chapter
* My wife thinks I'm walking the Appalachian trail
* Paul Revere was an anchor baby
* Tea parties are for Mad Hatters
* I'm somewhat irritated about extreme outrage
Update 11:30 a.m.: D.C. -area metro stations are jammed as thousands try to get to the Mall for the rally. Hundreds of people are waiting in line to buy tickets at several suburban Virginia stations, with many bailing out to hail cabs.
At the East Falls Church station in Virginia, about six miles from Washington, two trains passed through completely filled, USA TODAY's Jessica Durando reports. Waiting on the platform, Shane Carlson, 29, said, "We flew from Minnesota to be funny for three hours." The neon yellow sign he holds says, "You're in the matrix."
Some people are managing to squeeze onto trains. Durandoalso talked to Lee Walzer on a train at the Rosslyn station in Arlington, Va., a stop away from D.C. The 47-year-old from Arlington urged people going to the rally to also vote Tuesday.
"It's nice that people are going down to a rally, but if people don't go out and vote on Tuesday, it's not going to preserve the gains and goals that most people going to the rally presumably have," Walzer said. "It's an impressive-sized crowd. It makes you wonder if the enthusiasm of the Republican Party is true. The election results may look different."
A vendor displays badges for sale at the
CAPTION
By Kate Patterson, USA TODAY
Original post: Jon Stewart's "Rally to Restore Sanity" may have started out for some as a satirical retort to Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally at the Lincoln Memorial, but it is turning into a political event, whether the organizers want it or not.
The best proof: Pundits, media stars and political analysts, some a mite miffed at the interloper from Manhattan, have weighed the meaning of it all, questioning whether jokester Stewart has gone too far and will undercut his appeal by appearing too political, The Washington Post notes.
Some Democrats worry that the extravaganza will take liberals away from the final weekend get-out-the-vote push before Tuesday's midterm elections.
Whatever happens, early signs are that it will be a big draw near the steps of the U.S. Capitol on the National Mall. The "Rally to Restore Sanity" Facebook page lists 230,000 people as saying they will be there and another 100,000 "maybes."
Huffington Post impresario Ariana Huffington leased 200 buses to bring rally goers down to D.C. free from Manhattan. Even Oprah has given a thumbs up.
Travelers from New York who waited too late found Amtrak fully booked for Friday evening and Saturday morning. Even NBC's Andrea Mitchell tweeted that she couldn't get a seat home Friday night.
Some dedicated rallygoers got a jump on Halloween and dressed for the occasion Saturday on the National Mall.
CAPTION
By Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images
Oddly, it is not really clear what will take place today near the steps of the U.S. Capitol on the National Mall.
At his "Rally to Restore Sanity" website, Stewart puts it this way:
Ours is a rally for the people who've been too busy to go to rallies, who actually have lives and families and jobs (or are looking for jobs) — not so much the Silent Majority as the Busy Majority. If we had to sum up the political view of our participants in a single sentence … we couldn't. That's sort of the point.
As for how he plans to fill the noon to 3 p.m. ET rally, Stewart says only that there will be "guests."
On Deadline will be keeping tabs from the National Mall all morning, so check back here for frequent updates.
posted by Hanan Elbadry at 10:30 PM
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