On Thursday nights episode of the Colbert Report, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards all made surprise appearances.

The Colbert Report spent the week broadcasting from Philadelphia to cover the Pennsylvania primary (which actually matters this election season). They did a really great job, and fans of the show most definitely would like to see it happen again.

It all started like this: Stephen’s screen started to fail (rainbow bar style), and Jimmy couldn’t fix it because all of the Report’s tech guys were back in New York… Out of nowhere, Hillary Clinton pops in and offers her help. She telly Jimmy to toggle the switch of the ox[something], and what do you know — Hillary Clinton fixes the screen! She also calls some of the staff to fix Stephen’s makeup, and than walks away. Colbert praises Clinton on the fact that she’s always prepared for any situation. Before she goes, she tells Stephen to call her anytime — “even at 3:00 am.” They didn’t really have any campaign related discussion, so Hillary might have just been in it for a quick Colbert bump.

Fast forward a little bit further into the episode: Stephen Colbert begins discussing how important the white male demographic of voters is to the election. He starts off about how there used to be a candidate that embraced the values of and represented that demographic, but he is long gone from the election. He’s talking about John Edwards. All the sudden, Edwards pops up from back stage, and begins about how he is the most sought after white-male voter by each of the active Democratic Presidential campaigns. He starts off with a segment called Ed-Words, like Colbert’s popular “The Word” segment, but with John Edwards as a host. He goes on about how the Clinton and Obama campaigns are courting him in for an endorsement, and how he’s not ready to commit. He is also apparently very fond of Jet-skis.

At the end of the show, just as Colbert is about to wrap up, Barack Obama’s head pops up on screen (he comes on via a video feed from outside the studio). After all, he’s not one to miss out on all the action. Together, they change The Colbert Report’s ‘Watch List’ to include distractions by the media towards irrelevant and silly situations such as Obama’s lapel pin ordeal.

Well, The Colbert Report did a fantastic job with their Doritos Presidential campaign coverage, and they ended the week in style with a politician-studded episode.

Also, be sure to vote for Stephen Colbert as the most influential person of 2008 at Time.com. This is proof of his growing influence in politics and entertainment.

[NOTE: Videos are now available.]
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A recent email from the McCain campaign points to an article in Politico, which claims that wealthy Democrats, including billionaire George Soros, plan to begin a $40 million television smear ad campaign against John McCain. The smear is being led by David Brock, the founder of Media Matters.

Here’s an excerpt from the McCain campaign email:

George Soros the “liberal megadonor” is at it again. He and his group of billionaire left-wing Democrats have pledged $40 million dollars of soft money to smear John McCain in a national television ad campaign.

In an article published in Politico, it was reported that Paul Begala and David Brock met with a gang of Manhattan liberals at the home of George Soros to outline their plans for a $40 million dollar ad campaign against Senator McCain. Brock is quoted as saying the group could do the work of the press corps that has “fallen down on the job” when it comes to McCain!

You all probably remember Hillary Clinton’s 3:00 am phone call ad. Well, a recent survey conducted by Rasmussen Reports shows that only 25% of voters think Clinton is the one suited to deal with a major foreign policy crisis. The survey questioned about 800 likely voters.

News networks played reruns of the commercial repeatedly after the Texas Primaries, and claimed it played a major role in her victory there. (Note however, this poll looks like it was taken around the country, not just in Texas, so the view there might differ).

42% want John McCain answering that call, 25% want Hillary Clinton answering that call, and 25% want Barack Obama answering that call. I wonder who the other 8% wanted…

WATCH 3:00 am commercial on YouTube >
VISIT Rasmussen Reports poll page >

The John McCain Presidential Campaign sent out this update about his trip to the Middle East and Europe:
John McCain’s Trip Abroad
John McCain traveled on official Senate business this week to the Middle East and Europe. He was joined by fellow Armed Services Committee members, Senators Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham.

In Iraq, John McCain met with General David Petraeus and other military leaders, toured Baghdad and talked with both Iraqi and American service members. This was John McCain’s eighth official trip to Iraq since 2003.

While in Israel, he met with the country’s leaders and promoted peace talks between Israel and Palestine. He also traveled throughout the country, visiting Sderot, the Yad VaShem Holocaust Memorial, Jerusalem’s Western Wall, the Gaza Strip, and other historic sites.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and John McCain met to discuss Iraq, climate change and the global economy. John McCain will meet with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris before he returns to the United States.

Barack Obama is the winner of the Wyoming Democratic caucuses, defeating rival Sen. Hillary Clinton. The tally turned with about 61 percent going to Obama, and 38 percent going to Clinton.

Current U.S. President George W. Bush, today endorsed John McCain, the newly crowned Republican nominee for President. Bush defeated McCain in the 2000 election season, getting the Republican nomination and eventually becoming president.

McCain spent much of the day today with the President,  joining him in a conference about the endorsement.

Hillary Clinton has been announced as the winner in the Texas Democratic primary, keeping her in the race. She holds enough delegates to go head-to-head with Obama, so shes in this till the end.

Hillary Clinton is the winner of the Democratic primary in Ohio, giving her a substantial amount of delegates. The texas vote is still being tallied.

This means that she’s still in the race, and will likely be in the race till the end.

John McCain, the Republican Presidential nominee, has just won the Texas Republican primary. He swept with wins in all four states holding their primaries today, Vermont, Rhode Island, Ohio, and Texas.

Having no chance, Mike Huckabee [Republican] has dropped out of the race. It has been rumored that he has been seeking a Vice Presidential slot with John McCain, so we’ll see how that goes.

Hillary Clinton has also won Rhode Island.  Barack Obama has won Vermont.

The Texas and Ohio democrats are currently working on early tallies, but so far it appears that Clinton has amassed a large amount of the votes there, so it looks like she’s in it till the end.

John McCain has just one the Ohio Republican primary. He was expected to win, and as of now holds enough delegates to secure the Republican nomination.

JOHN MCCAIN IS THE REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE