Rejoice! The world of Fundraising Esoteria is now much richer and I just couldn’t wait to share the joy!

The most recent issue of PS: Political Science and Politics, a journal of the American Political Science Association carries great news for Democratic fundraisers and candidates: Democratic politicians receive a 40% increase in contributions in the 30 day period following their appearances on the comedy cable show The Colbert Report.

The analysis was done by political scientist James H. Fowler of the University of California at San Diego and an avowed Colbert fan.

What’s the “Colbert Bump” worth? Democrats who come on the program raise $8,247 more than their same-party colleagues who don’t – a bump of 40% over the normal rate of receipts according to Prof. Fowler.

And, probably in the interest of bi-partisanship, the good professor notes that Republicans don’t appear to benefit at all by appearing on The Colbert Report. In fact, they raise more money in the month before coming on the program and less money in the month following their appearance – a possible “Colbert Bust.”

Mercifully, Fowler notes it is “important not to read too much into these results” (really?), but does conclude that due to the “elite demographic of the program’s audience" (about 1.2 million viewers) The Colbert Report appears to exercise "disproportionate real world influence.”

Does this “disproportionate real world influence” translate into election victories also? We’ll have to wait for the outcome of the 2008 races to see.

My breath is bated.

Roger