WASHINGTON, Aug. 21 (UPI) — A petition posted two weeks ago pushing to make Jon Stewart a moderator for a 2016 presidential debate is close to reaching its goal.
The Change.org petition, created by Mariel Waters of New Jersey, has already collected over 150,000 signatures and auspicious public attention.
“Over the last 16 years, Jon Stewart has played an influential and iconic role in covering US politics and media,” the petition reads. “We believe he should continue that tradition as a moderator at one of the 2016 Presidential Debates.”
Presidential hopeful Martin O’Malley is among the petition’s supporters; he promoted the page on Twitter Thursday evening, writing “#WeNeedDebate.” Other backers include journalist Tim Pool, YouTube star Jon Cozart, journalist Shahram Sharif and Washington Post editor Rebecca Sinderbrand.
CNN reports the petition’s popularity has surged by at least 1200 percent since Wednesday.
“Jon Stewart is more than qualified to tackle the moderating job,” continues. “Mr. Stewart has interviewed 15 heads of state, 22 members of the United States Cabinet, 32 members of the United States Senate, 7 members of the United States House of Representatives, and scores of other political leaders from this country and around the world while establishing himself as the most trusted person in (satirical) news.”
This isn’t the first popular petition for a debate moderator. In 2012, a group of high school students launched a Change.org petition for a female debate moderator and won. As a direct response to said campaign, CNN’s Candy Crowley moderated the second presidential debate on Oct. 16 of that year.
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