CHARLESTON’S ‘FAVORITE SON’ READY FOR OVAL OFFICE

It appears that Stephen Colbert’s humorous White House hopes are beginning to take a rather serious tone. The NY Times reported Thursday that, prior to his Tuesday night announcement on The Colbert Report that he intended to run in his native South Carolina’s presidential primary, Colbert’s staff “reached out to the state’s Democratic and Republican committees.”

And a number of state officials chimed in on the comedian’s presidential plans (yes, Not Very Bright beat us to the piece so we’ll give them not one, but two links to keep them happy).

Joe Werner, executive director of the South Carolina Democratic Party, said that a representative for Mr. Colbert, who was raised in Charleston, called three weeks ago asking about filing dates and other requirements. Mr. Werner added, “From what I understand, he does have credible people down here, working to have him placed on the ballot.”

Katon Dawson, the chairman of the state Republican Party, said his office had also received a call from Mr. Colbert’s staff — on Tuesday. The call came just hours before Mr. Colbert taped his own show (in which he said he hoped to run as both a Democrat and a Republican) as well as a teaser to his announcement that appeared on “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart,” which leads into “The Colbert Report.”

Mr. Dawson, though, was far more dismissive of Mr. Colbert’s apparent intentions than his Democratic counterparts. “My advice,” he said in an interview, “is that he could probably have more fun buying a sports car and getting a girlfriend.”

How far Mr. Colbert is willing to go — and why exactly he is doing this, beyond stoking interest in his show and his new book, “I Am America (and So Can You!)” — was not at all clear. He did not return messages left with various publicists yesterday. Mr. Stewart declined to be interviewed. …

So assuming Mr. Colbert keeps the gag going, what would he have to do to get on the Democratic ballot in the South Carolina primary, which is expected to be held on Jan. 26?

“Well, there’s two ways,” Mr. Werner said. “The first is, you pay a $2,500 filing fee. And if you can’t afford to do the $2,500, you can gather 3,000 signatures.”

Time, at least for now, is on his side. Those seeking a claim to the state’s 54 delegates to the Democratic National Convention can start to file their paperwork on Monday, and have until Nov. 1 to complete the process.

Mr. Colbert would also need the blessing of the executive council of the South Carolina Democratic Party. And that could pose a problem if he goes ahead with his apparent intention to seek a line on both the Democratic and Republican ballots. “I don’t believe you can do that,” Mr. Werner said.

But what if Mr. Colbert decided to throw in his lot solely with the Democrats? Provided he met all the other requirements, Mr. Werner said, “our executive council would have a hard time not putting him on the ballot.”

However leery Mr. Dawson may be about Mr. Colbert’s plans, he said that he did not believe the Republicans could stop him from seeking both Republican and Democratic delegates. “There is nothing in our filing that would prohibit him from running on both ballots, if he chose to pay the filing fees,” he said.

And what is that fee? It is $35,000, Mr. Dawson said.

“The great thing about America,” Mr. Dawson said, “is, if you can meet the constitutional requirements to run for president of the United States, you can do so. In Mr. Colbert’s case, we look forward to his paying the filing fee before Nov. 1.” [JACQUES STEINBERG - NY Times]

And The State newspaper has even more.

Chip Felkel, a Greenville-based GOP consultant, believes the blustery Bill O’Reilly-like cable-show host on Comedy Central will be a charismatic addition to the pair of already crowded fields.

“Come on in, the water is fine,” said Felkel, who delivered his own faux analysis of which candidates might get soaked by Colbert’s satirical splash.

“Mike Gravel’s in trouble now. Chris Dodd has something to be concerned about, and maybe even Tom Tancredo,” he said. …

Terry Sullivan, state campaign director for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, tried to be diplomatic when discussing the newest rival of his preferred candidate.

“I’m shocked Stephen Colbert would run for president. He’s clearly overqualified for the job,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan declined, however, to say if that meant Colbert was more qualified than any other candidate in the race — although he did a let a little nervous laugh slip out.

Carol Khare Fowler, the S.C. Democratic Party chairwoman, is quite certain Colbert’s feigned righteousness will allow him to fare better in the GOP primary than the Democratic one.

“Those Republicans will fall for anything,” she said. …

Felkel sees Colbert making more headway on the Republican side since there’s not a clear front-runner like Hillary Clinton on the Democratic side.

Colbert’s advantage?

“He’s definitely got better hair than Romney,” Felkel said.

Colbert is pursuing a favorite-son strategy based on his Lowcountry upbringing, territory already staked out by Palmetto State native and Democratic hopeful John Edwards.

Teresa Wells, state communications director for the Edwards campaign, insisted her candidate is not threatened by Colbert’s tactics.

“We are happy to see another South Carolina native enter the race. We welcome him and the return of his Southern accent to South Carolina,” Wells said. “Our staff would like to challenge his staff to a South Carolina debate — ‘I Am Barbecue (And So Can You!).’”

But the 43-year-old Colbert, whose new book “I Am America (And So Can You!)” is on best-seller lists, hasn’t been a true South Carolina resident since he left for college long ago, which could possibly backfire on him.

“What’s the reason he hasn’t been here? If it’s because he doesn’t like us, that will hurt him,” Fowler said.

She’s not sure the favorite-son shtick will work anyway. “By primary day, they’ll all be claiming to be from here.” [NEIL WHITE - The State]

(h/t Not Very Bright)

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Photo: New York Observer