He's the Hall With Colbert, Not Oates

From the NEW YORK TIMES:

For three decades, in a rite only Democrats could invent, there was the Shrum primary, in which Democratic presidential aspirants fell over one aother to win the services of the brilliant strategist Bob Shrum, who went on to brilliantly lose eight presidential races, a record far less attainable than, say, Henry Aaron's 755 home runs.

Now comes the Colbert primary, which as fake-news fans know, is the empire of faux bombast presided over by Stephen Colbert weeknights on Comedy Central. It's hard to know the predictive value of the Colbert primary.

But a moment of polite applause, please, for its latest winner. He's John Hall, former rock musician, former member of the Saugerties, N.Y., school board and the Ulster County Legislature, current Democratic Congressional candidate — yet another reminder that in this year of political wild cards, you never know how and where the deck can get scrambled.

"The Colbert Report," for those who go to sleep early, is a sendup of the world of Bill O'Reilly and other cable windbags. True, it's not exactly a primary. And yes, it's usually more a booby prize than a prize prize, one that gives the lie to the adage that there's no such thing as bad publicity.

Still, in the volatile mood of this election, this could be a big moment for Mr. Hall, whose bald head, sober suits and deadpan demeanor say rock star about as much as Kate Moss says sumo wrestler.

One of Mr. Colbert's regular features is a 434-part series on the nation's congressional districts. His show last Thursday featured New York's 19th District, in the heart of the Hudson Valley.

It is, he informed viewers, a place where the trees glow a luminescent green from the Indian Point nuclear power plant. The birthplace of Velveeta, a substance that melts at the first sign of heat, like the current congresswoman, Sue Kelly. It is where she is being challenged by Mr. Hall, late of the pop duo Hall and Oates. Well, none of that is quite true, except for the invention of Velveeta, which was first made in 1918 by a Swiss immigrant, Emil Frey, of the Monroe Cheese Company, and Mr. Hall's electoral challenge. But let's not quibble.

Mr. Colbert said that Ms. Kelly was invited to appear, but declined. Republicans have tended to shun the show since Representative Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia was asked to name the Ten Commandments right after co-sponsoring a bill requiring that they be displayed at the Capitol. Viewers saw him struggling to name three; his press secretary later said he actually came up with seven.

Ms. Kelly's spokesman, Jay Townsend, said he didn't recall receiving the invitation and had never seen the show. "I'm not sure it's her audience," he said.

The audience includes Mr. Hall, who said he usually comes home from a long day of campaigning and watches "The Daily Show" and "Colbert" before going to bed.

"Since I'm living and breathing politics all day long, it's something of a relief to have people make fun of politics," he said.

On the show, he informed a crestfallen Mr. Colbert that he's the John Hall from the band Orleans ("Still the One," "Dance With Me"), not from Hall and Oates. He suffered the embarrassment of a particularly goofy Orleans album cover. And when Mr. Colbert feigned astonishment that Mr. Hall would not have wanted President Bush to use the song "Still the One," Mr. Hall managed to shift into campaign mode like a seasoned pro.

"We're still having fun, and he's still the one," Mr. Colbert insisted.

"Well it was fun except for the increase in the poverty rate," Mr. Hall said. "And it was fun except for the increase in the deficits and the loss of jobs overseas. And it was fun except for the fact that we went to war over what was either intentionally or accidentally miscalculated intelligence."

It ended with the two harmonizing quite nicely, Mr. Colbert doing the melody, Mr. Hall doing harmony on "Dance with me."

In the past, the 19th has been a solidly Republican district, and Ms. Kelly still has a money advantage. But the war is a hot issue, the district has become more blue as people move north from Manhattan, and Ms. Kelly was the chairman of the board overseeing the House's pages in 1999 and 2000. Mr. Townsend said she was never made aware of any allegations of improper behavior. Ms. Kelly is viewed as leading, but the race is considered competitive.

The Hall campaign says it enjoyed the exposure, but both camps agreed with Mr. Townsend when he said, "I don't think it will be decided by who went on Comedy Central."