Jon Stewart's Rally to Restore Sanity: 5 moments

Tens of thousands crowded the National Mall in Washington, DC on a sunny Saturday (Oct. 30) to participate in Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.

The Comedy Central pundits held the rally to encourage reasonable political thinking and voter participation in the upcoming Nov. 2 midterm elections. The response was overwhelming. Fans gathered from across the country, carrying signs that reflected the cheekiness of the host/organizers. Signs read "This is a good sign," "Don't hate me because I'm rational" and "Somewhat irritated about extreme outrage."

The rally included a slew of celebrities either making cameos or performing. Here are a few random moments from the rally.

1. Sing it

Although the musical performers ranged from Sheryl Crow and John Legend to Tony Bennett and Ozzy Osbourne, the big surprise was a comical song from Colbert and Stewart that include lines like "From gay men who love football to straight men who like 'Glee.'" Stewart, obviously struggling a bit with his new calling, later apologized, "Sorry you had to hear me sing. You'll never have to do it again."

2. Battle of the "Train" songs

Yusuf Islam first performed his 1971 hit "Peace Train," but Colbert interrupted and introduced Ozzy Osbourne who then performed his counterpoint "Crazy Train." The two songs bounced back and forth until "Love Train" performed by the O'Jays finished.

3. The long and short of it

In order to prove to Colbert that not all Muslims were evil, Stewart called on Kareem Abdul-Jabar to make a cameo. In the same vein, R2-D2 rolled on stage a few minutes later to prove to Colbert that not all robots (like the Terminator, Decepticons and Cylons) were bad.

4. Award-worthy

The medals for reasonableness went to: Forgiving Detroit Tiger pitcher Armando Galarraga, wrestler Mick Foley, Velma Hart and Jacob Isom.

Fear awards recipients: Anderson Cooper's tight black t-shirt, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, and news organizations (like NPR, ABC and the New York Times) who forbade their employees to attend the rally.

5. Jon Stewart's closing speech:



[UPDATE: A previous version of this story cited that Stewart sang about straight men liking "Brie" not "Glee." This reporter is apparently hard of hearing from all those New Directions covers. Apologies.]

Did you attend the rally? What were some of your favorite moments?

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