Jon Stewart

Stewart And Colbert Rebuke The Media At Rally: 'If We Amplify Everything, We Hear Nothing'

Jillian Rayfield | October 30, 2010, 7:02PM

Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart's said at Saturday's rally that he didn't really care how it gets received by pundits and cable news - he's just happy so many people showed up.

"I know there are boundaries for a comedian pundit talky guy," he said in his closing remarks, "and I'm sure I'll find out tomorrow how I violated them." But really, he said, "I'm really happy you guys are here. Even if we're not sure why."

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Rally To Restore Sanity

Just How Big Was The Stewart-Colbert Rally?

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 30, 2010, 6:13PM

No one seems to be sure exactly how many people packed the National Mall today for the Rally To Restore Sanity And/Or Fear, but there's one thing everyone can agree on: sanity and/or fear are extremely popular.

MTV's spokesperson told the Washington City Paper's Mike Madden that 250,000 people came out to see Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert take the stage Saturday, while Viacom (the parent company of MTV and Comedy Central, home to Stewart's and Colbert's show) told the New York Times' Brian Stelter that "well over 200,000" were in attendance.

[TPM SLIDESHOW: Sanity Restored: Photos From The Stewart/Colbert Rally]

At the rally itself, Mythbusters hosts Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage said they counted about 150,000.

But The Hill's Vicki Needham dug into the data and found anecdotal evidence to suggest a crowd size closer to Viacom's number than the from the Mythbusters dudes.

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Rally To Restore Sanity And/Or Fear

Signs Of Sanity: Rally Attendees Get Creative While Making Fun Of Anti-Obama Myths

Ryan J. Reilly | October 30, 2010, 5:18PM

Unlike Glenn Beck's rally, there was no ban on signs at Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. Attendees took full advantage, breaking out the creativity with signs poking fun at Tea Partiers, myths about President Obama, extremism in the political realm, Republicans and the optics of rally signs in general.

[TPM SLIDESHOW: Sanity Restored: Photos From The Stewart/Colbert Rally]

Mostly, sign makers went for the funny. Here were some of the best signs spotted by TPM reporters and readers at the rally:

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Rally To Restore Sanity And/Or Fear

Cat Stevens Appearance At Sanity Rally Rankles Right Winger

Brian Beutler | October 30, 2010, 2:08PM

Cat Stevens

Conservative bete noir Yusuf Islam (a.k.a. Cat Stevens) made a guest appearance at the Comedy Central rally today, inspiring an instant backlash from at least one right winger, a group fond of accusing the musician of sympathizing with terrorists.

[TPM SLIDESHOW: Sanity Restored: Photos From The Stewart/Colbert Rally]

Islam was accused in 1989 of sympathizing with Ayatollah Khomeini's fatwa against Salman Rushdie, after he was quoted saying "In Islam there is a line between let's say freedom and the line which is then transgressed into immorality and irresponsibility and I think as far as this writer is concerned, unfortunately, he has been irresponsible with his freedom of speech. Salman Rushdie or indeed any writer who abuses the prophet, or indeed any prophet, under Islamic law, the sentence for that is actually death. It's got to be seen as a deterrent, so that other people should not commit the same mistake again."

Since then, he has strenuously insisted that he does not support the fatwa and never did, though he strongly criticizes Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses.

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Rally To Restore Sanity And/Or Fear

Stewart And Colbert Rally To Restore Sanity And/Or Fear Today

Jillian Rayfield | October 30, 2010, 7:38AM

Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart

In case you haven't heard, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's "Rally To Restore Sanity And/Or Fear" is taking place today on the National Mall.

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Rally To Restore Sanity And/Or Fear

Political Advocacy Groups Rallying Around Rally To Restore Sanity

Jillian Rayfield | October 29, 2010, 7:03PM

'Daily Show' host Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart says Saturday's Rally To Restore Sanity And/Or Fear is about comedy, not politics, but outside advocacy groups are certainly taking advantage of the event to rally support for their own causes.

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Jon Stewart

So What Do We Know About The Rally To Restore Sanity And/Or Fear? (VIDEOS)

Jillian Rayfield | October 28, 2010, 9:22AM

There's still a lot of mystery surrounding the Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert rallies this weekend, now officially merged into one super-rally known as the "Rally To Restore Sanity And/Or Fear." Will it be political? Will it be like Glenn Beck's rally? Will there be musical acts? Can you drink on the Mall?

Looking at what Jon and Stephen have said about the rallies since September, here's some of what we know...

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