If we can have infotainment, certainly we can have legis-tainment, even if the most entertaining thing that Sen. Franken’s done so far is roll his eyes at the preternaturally smooth face of Mitch McConnell. The likes of Chris Matthews and Lou Dobbs have repeatedly flirted with the idea, and in the wake of Governors Schwarzenegger (California) and Ventura (Minnesota again) it seems like a safe bet that we’ll start seeing TV-bred candidates with increasing frequency.

Will Stewart be one of them? It’s impossible to say at this point. But as the “Rally”—which at first seemed like a comical one-off and quickly snowballed into an actual politically-tinged assembly—signified, Stewart’s got a message (although sometimes ill-defined) that a lot of people want to hear…

As he nears 50, Stewart will eventually have to decide if he wants to continue being the funny guy on basic cable, make yet another failed attempt at taking over one of the broadcast networks’ increasingly devalued late-night slots … or try for something grander. At a time when a George Lopez joke about running for governor is treated seriously, the timing couldn’t be better.