In his bid to lampoon the nation's campaign finance laws, comedian Stephen Colbert won approval Thursday morning to launch a super PAC and raise unlimited campaign funds in the interest of swaying the 2012 elections. In a meeting with Federal Election Commission officials in Washington, Colbert asked for a media exemption "to allow him to use the show's resources, such as air time and staff, without it being viewed as an in-kind contribution to the political action committee from Comedy Central's parent company Viacom Inc," reports Bloomberg. While granting his request, the panel stipulated that Viacom needed to report any support given to Colbert "for political activities outside the 'Colbert Report' show," notes The Washington Post. Colbert was swarmed by reporters at the FEC "in a meeting devoid of anything beyond a gentle chuckle," noted The Post's Dan Eggen. "The real parody came outside the FEC building, where Colbert began accepting donations from fans for the newly registered 'Colbert Super PAC.'"

Colbert was tight-lipped about what he's doing with the super PAC or how he plans on influencing the elections. "Some people have said, 'Is this some kind of joke?'" he said in front of a crowd. "I for one don’t think participating in democracy is a joke." Politico's Ken Vogel caught a snapshot of the media frenzy in Washington on his phone: "Colbert is literally wading through the crowd with a credit card swiper."

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John Hudson