US Democrats Say Jon Stewart Rally Will Spur Enthusiasm to Vote

Comedy Central television hosts Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert expect tens of thousands of fans to join them at the “Rally to Restore Sanity” in Washington Oct. 30, three days before congressional elections across the U.S. The president will appear on “The Daily Show” tonight in his first visit to Stewart’s program since he was elected.

“It will be a great chance to rally the base, especially among young people,” said Curtis Gans, director of the Center for the Study of the American Electorate at American University in Washington. “For Stewart, sanity is a code word for Democratic.”

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said yesterday Obama is going on Stewart’s show because it “reaches an audience that isn’t watching cable television every day, or the nightly newscasts, but they’re probably going to participate in this election.”

Stewart is promoting the rally as a “million moderate march” to counter what he calls extreme rhetoric dominating the national political discussion.