Rally to Restore Sanity: National Mall filled for the Stewart-Colbert event

They came from far and near, some wielding signs and hoping to attract a little attention, others just to watch the show.

But what seemed to unite the tens of thousands who converged on the National Mall on a sunny Saturday in Washington for Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert’s Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear was a genuine desire to push back against the strong rightward tilt of the 2010 midterm campaign.

“I don’t know why people are so standoffish about saying what they are. I’m a Democrat!” said Judy Greenstein, a retired English professor from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

“I feel so strongly against what Glenn Beck stands for – whatever that is,” she added, referring to the conservative Fox News showman who held his own mega-rally here two months ago called Restoring Honor. “I hope this will make a difference.”

IN PICTURES: Who will be at the Rally to Restore Sanity?

Not everyone was a Democrat. Some had also attended the Beck rally. Others were intentionally nonpolitical.

Clare Rosenberg, a student adviser at American Public University from Vienna, Va., carried a sign that said, “I like cheese.” This rally was for people to “come together and not be extreme one way or another,” she said, describing herself as socially liberal, but not affiliated with a party.

One woman from Knoxville, Tenn., said she’s also not a fan of either party, but she’s already voted for Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam, a Republican, for governor of Tennessee, because “he’s a good guy.”

So why buy a plane ticket to come all the way to Washington to stand with a big crowd on the Mall that leans to the left?

'One more body in the sanity column'

“I wanted to be one more body counted in the sanity column,” said the woman from Tennessee, a retired publisher. And what’s the definition of sanity? She thought a moment, then offered this: “It’s speaking truth as opposed to platitudes – platitudes like ‘cut taxes’.”

Mr. Stewart, the host of Comedy Central’s “Daily Show,” has long pleaded for “reasonableness” in public discourse, and makes a tidy living skewering both parties, but clearly has a bigger following on the left.

So the essay question of the day was, is this event a political rally or just entertainment? Clearly, both. With the rise of Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin and the conservative tea party movement, the left has been aching for an opportunity to talk back, in unison.

“Sanity, not Hannity,” was one popular sign, referring to conservative Fox News talker Sean Hannity.

In the spirit of the Stewart-Colbert franchise, irony was also in plentiful supply. Like this sign: “Gay Nazi Mexicans are Raising our Taxes.” And this one: “This sign is spelled correctly,” a bow to the many tea party signs that could have used spellchecker.

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