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WASHINGTON — A high-spirited, spillover crowd numbering in the tens of thousands swamped the National Mall Saturday, overwhelming the city's public transportation system as they flocked to what organizers billed as a "comedic call for calm."
Much of the "Rally To Restore Sanity and/or Fear," put on by "The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart and his Comedy Central colleague Stephen Colbert, resembled a large-scale variety show, with humorous sketches and surprise musical guests such as Kid Rock, Tony Bennett and Yusuf Islam (the former Cat Stevens).
But the three-hour event ended on a serious note when Stewart, in a remarkable break from his usual satiric stance, made an impassioned defense of American unity and denounced cable news depictions of a country riven with animosity.
"The image of Americans that is reflected back to us by our political and media process is false," he said.
"We hear every damn day about how fragile our country is, on the brink of catastrophe, torn by polarizing hate and how it's a shame that we can't work together to get things done. The truth is, we do," he added emphatically. "We work together to get things done every damn day. The only place we don't is here or on cable TV."
As organizers had promised, the rally carried no partisan message — none of the speakers even urged people to vote in Tuesday's midterm elections. The most overt political statement was made by Velma Hart, who famously told President Obama at a town hall meeting in September she was "exhausted" from defending him.
Hart, who received one of the day's four "medals of reasonableness," drew cheers when she said of Obama: "I appreciated his answer and I appreciate the answer that he's given us every day since. So I'm very excited."
Some in attendance viewed the event as a much-needed political revival for the left, waving signs calling for gay rights and the legalization of marijuana and jabbing at Republicans and the "tea party" movement. "I'm from Kentucky. Sorry about Rand Paul," read one. "Put Your Tea On Ice," declared another.
"Jon Stewart might not have wanted a political rally — this is a political rally," said Vince Beltrami, 48, president of the Alaska AFL-CIO, who flew with his wife from Anchorage to attend. "This is reasonable people's opportunity to stand up against the crazy."
His sign read: "Did I have to fly 3776 miles to refudiate Sarah Palin? You betcha!"
Still, the majority in attendance seemed motivated less by partisanship than a deep-felt desire to speak out against the rancorous political discourse that has dominated the 2010 elections.
"We feel that a very radical minority has controlled the dialogue of our politics and it's about time the more rational population start getting involved," said Brian Sibson, 51, of Jacksonville, FL.
An eclectic and youthful crowd turned out for the event, jammed together so tightly in some sections of the lawn that they could not move.
The turnout was estimated by organizers at more than 250,000, but the figure was not confirmed by local or federal authorities, who do not estimate crowd sizes. Still, the large gathering spoke to the following of the two comedians, but also suggested that their liberal fans have a deep hunger for inspiration amid a dispiriting political climate.
Some felt let down that Stewart and Colbert did not deliver a specific call to action.
"I was disappointed, but I think their whole point is that we've politicized almost everything and we can't take ourselves too seriously," said Minneapolis resident Adam Schreifels, 38.
But others said they were heartened to just encounter such a large number of like-minded citizens.
"I think this is an important statement about how a lot of people feel politics have eroded," said Anne Menard, 57, of Harrisburg, Pa.
Fans who could not make it to Washington organized at least 20 satellite "Sanity" rallies in cities such as Austin, Los Angeles, Chicago and Boise. Judy Temple, 71, a retired postal worker from Oxnard, said she decided to attend the L.A. festivities to do her part in sending a message.
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