On Thursday night’s “Colbert Report,” Mr. Colbert took [his Super PAC riff] a big step further, handing control of his group to his friend and fellow host Jon Stewart so that he can legally run for president, or at least pretend to. Mr. Colbert, who has comically flirted with — and mocked the possibility of — runs for political office before, said he would form an “exploratory committee for president of the United States of South Carolina.”

Riffing off his claimed dissatisfaction with the Republican front-runner, Mitt Romney, Mr. Colbert has repeatedly suggested to his fans that he should hop in the race. A write-in bid in South Carolina, where Mr. Colbert grew up, would almost certainly create some media excitement in the days leading up to the Jan. 21 primary, but probably less electoral excitement.

Polling earlier this week found Colbert ahead of Huntsman in South Carolina — 5 percent to 4. But the November 1 deadline to get his name on the GOP primary ballot in South Carolina has passed, and a South Carolina Election Commission spokesman says there’s no write-in space on either their electronic or paper ballots.

Still, the Colbert antics are more than a joke. He’s educating his young audience, whose groans suggest a level of understanding that could have a real electoral impact down the line. Watch: