Rally to Restore Sanity irks commentators however attracts huge crowds

Presence had been enormous at the "Rally to Restore Sanity" at the National Mall. The rally, fully titled "The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear," drew an estimated 200,000 individuals. The event was quite the spectacle, as guest speakers and musicians served as interludes between antics from the emcees. The aim of the event was to raise the civility and intelligence of national discourse. Taking aim at sensationalism in press had been one of the primary topics.

The ‘Rally to Restore Sanity’ began

A fake priest played by Don Novello on Saturday Night Live, or Father Guido Sarducci, started the “Rally to Restore Sanity” using a Benediction after Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert were introduced. After that, the rally was in full swing with musical interludes from a variety of acts between typical Stewart and Colbert banter. Colbert began wearing an Evil Kinevil suit, and both donned American Flag pullovers at one point. Musical guests included Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow, The Roots and Tony Bennett, however the big number was a bit of a contrast. Stewart brought Yusuf Islam, formerly Cat Stevens, on stage to perform “Peace Train.”. The whole thing ended with "Love Train" sung by O'Jays after Ozzy Osbourne sang "Crazy Train." He had been invited by Colbert.

The reaction from the media

The point of the rally, above all other things, was to take shots at sensationalist media. Clipps of those like Glenn Beck and Keith Olbermann played when making fun of them between musical numbers and appearance from Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Stewart "jumped the shark" according to Olbermann's Twitter comment, Politico posted. Other commentators just dismissed it all when the rally was talked about. The estimated Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart rally presence had been more than 200,000.

Abrupt end

Pegg explained on Twitter he had nothing to do with the Simon Pegg film "Hot Fuzz" being broadcast at the conclusion of the rally by Comedy Central all the sudden.

Articles cited

The Guardian

guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/30/jon-stewart-rally-restore-sanity

politico.com/news/stories/1110/44477.html