Decision 2010: Obama to Appear on “The Daily Show”

Prez hopes to inspire young voters

If you enjoy satiric television comedy and Democratic politics, here is your moment of zen: Barack Obama will appear on "The Daily Show" on Oct. 27.

The episode is to air three days before "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart leads his "Rally to Restore Sanity" event on the National Mall and less than a week before the mid-term elections. (Obama has said that he is "amused" by the idea for the rally.)

The president has been on Stewart's show before -- beaming in via video days before the 2008 election -- but this time he will be live  in the studio. The appearance is part of the White House's full-on courting of young voters, a group that motivated in great numbers to help sweep Obama into office two years ago. For that election, 52 percent of registered voters between the ages of 18-29 hit the voting booths, the second-greatest turnout ever by that demographic.

Facing potentially disastrous mid-term elections for Democrats, Obama has ratcheted up his campaign presence with an emphasis on again reaching younger lever-pullers. He's recently appeared in Rolling Stone magazine and on MTV.

Jon Stewart's nightly faux-news program is arguably an even more effective arena for reaching politically engaged 18-49 year olds. A recent study found that young people turn to "The Colbert Report," "The Daily Show" and the New York Times more than any other sources for their news. Yes, in that order.

Selected Reading: The Christian Science Monitor, Psychology Today, The Insider.

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