John McCain’s surprise decision to suspend his presidential campaign Wednesday gave late-night comedians plenty of material to work with, and no one delighted in the move more than Stephen Colbert, who started his show with the deadpan declaration that he could not “think of anything more presidential than suspending…[a] presidential campaign.” Presidents suspend things all the time, Colbert exclaimed, like “Habeas corpus [and] Gitmo prisoners!” And, with the country on the “brink of financial extinction” that has only become “brinkier”, with McCain’s poll numbers nosediving in a similar pattern to free-falling stock prices, Colbert said he would suspend his show in solidarity. Of course, Colbert later chose to ‘suspend the suspension’ when it became clear that the financial crisis was not averted by his move.

–Marissa Colón-Margolies

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