Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert entertained a massive crowd on the National Mall on Saturday, providing laughs while making fun of the country’s ugly, polarized political climate the weekend before election day.
The event, dubbed the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear featured comedy and musical performances. It drew a crowd well into six figures from across the country, some carrying signs and others in costume.
On the east end of the mall near the U.S. Capitol, the satirists and other performers mocked divisive politics and fear-mongering.
They fought, in song, over who was more patriotic.
Colbert said, “Lady Liberty’s the hottest lady I’ve ever seen.”
Stewart later countered, “I’d marry Uncle Sam if I could do it legally.”
But they ended up singing together that America is “the greatest, strongest country in the world.”
Despite the hosts’ desire to keep the rally non-partisan, the Democratic National Committee sought to take advantage of the comedians’ liberal fan base.
The DNC sent volunteers to Union Station to snag rally voters for a get-out-the-vote call center on the committee headquarters near the Capitol, said Brandi Huffine, DNC deputy press secretary.
“The rally brought new level of enthusiasm and we’re happy to have it here in our backyard and channel that enthusiasm” into get-out-the-vote efforts, Huffine said.
The enthusiastic crowd packed the Mall from in front of the Capitol to nearly the Washington Monument. Some people brought blankets and lawn chairs, but near the stage and around the large screens streaming the performers — people were packed together standing.
Other performers included actor Don Novello, better known as Father Guido Sarducci on Saturday Night Live, who in a fake benediction, thanked God for forgiveness.
“That’s an idea we never would have come up with,” he said.
The comedians’ rally was announced to counterbalance conservative commentator Glenn Beck’s Restoring Honor rally, held in August. But for the most part Stewart and Colbert weren’t overtly political on stage.
“I feel the Republicans and Democrats have become very radical, and today it’s about meeting in the middle,” said Matt Borsellino, who drove to the rally from New York City.
The satirists’ audience skews younger, but the crowd spanned all ages.
Some rally-goers arrived hours before the event to get a spot in the Mall. Those who didn’t arrive early enough still tried to attend, filling the surrounding seats and sidewalks or sitting on steps of nearby Smithsonian museums.
Some went to great lengths for a better view, climbing on trees or sitting atop the portable toilets lining the Mall.
And for people who couldn’t make it to D.C. at all, several cities, including Los Angeles, St. Paul and Denver, held satellite rallies with simulcasts of the event.
Four people were hurt Saturday afternoon at the L’Enfant Plaza Metro station and one person’s injuries were considered life-threatening, said Pete Piringer, D.C. fire and emergency services spokesman.
He said the people were found at the bottom of a crowded escalator and it wasn’t clear whether the incident was caused by a malfunction or crowding.
Emergency personnel evaluated three to four dozen people at the rally and transported about eight to local hospitals.
Examiner staff writers Freeman Klopott and Kristen Byrne contributed to this report.
