Jon Stewart Rally Attracts Estimated 215,000

The crowd at Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear" on the Mall in Washington.

/ AirPhotosLive.Com

An estimated 215,000 people attended a rally organized by Comedy Central talk show hosts Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert Saturday in Washington, according to a crowd estimate commissioned by CBS News.

The company AirPhotosLive.com based the attendance at the "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear" on aerial pictures it took over the rally, which took place on the Mall in Washington. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 10 percent. (See some of the pictures used to create the estimate here.)

CBS News also commissioned AirPhotosLive.com to do a crowd estimate of Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally in August. That rally was estimated to have attracted 87,000 people. Amid criticism from conservatives that the estimate was low, CBS News detailed the methodology behind it here.

TBD reported that because of the high turnout many would-be rally attendees retreated to bars to watch the event.

The crowd at Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear on the Mall in Washington.

/ AirPhotosLive.Com

The National Park Service does not estimate crowds. The New York Times' Brian Stelter wrote on Twitter during the event that the Park Service privately told Viacom there were "well over 200,000" people at the rally, according to an executive.

Stewart joked during the rally that there were ten million people present and, in reference to the difficulty of making crowd estimates, solemnly promised to "count them all."

Comedy Central's permit for the event said it was expecting 60,000 people, though, as the Wall Street Journal notes, it ordered enough port-a-potties for 150,000.

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41 Photos

Rally for "Sanity and/or Fear"

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Brian Montopoli is a political reporter for CBSNews.com. You can read more of his posts here. Follow Hotsheet on Facebook and Twitter.

[kyle961]

so awesome. much better than glen becks

[Jaer57]

Looks like the kiddies had fun at their halloween party/democratic rally, but were too busy to vote today. It's a shame it takes comedians and psuedo-journalists to stimulate youth. I guess joblessness and crushing debt will motivate them soon enough. Right-wing, left-wing; doesn't matter anymore. Soon enough we won't be able to afford your wars and entitlement programs, and the divide between the haves and have nots will just keep growing and growing...

[sanedor]

From your assessment, it seems like you didn't go to the rally or pay attention to it.

If you think today's election results are about the economy or joblessness, you are a tool.

[palmflood]

The "moral authority" in the room to which Jon Stewart has recently referred and which once moderated TV and radio debates from otherwise extreme directions used to be (until 1987) the Fairness Doctrine. Since its removal by FCC, debate has fallen into the pig pit, if not the bombing range. Limbaugh and his lawyer buddy Levin led the fall. No longer is there incentive to tell the truth because there is no answer and no consequences for lying. It is perfectly legal to attack persons and promote fear and paranoia for profit. This was not the case a few short years ago. Yes, it had to happen: even Olbermann benefits from the fall. Every talker is isolated in his or her studio from retort. Commentary on sound bites substitutes for real debate. Lots of ads run before the first counter-argument is heard. Attacks fly, and not just in election years. The public frantically punches the remote to keep up with the disinformation, which sustains their cognitive dissonance. Some of them begin to believe that Sarah Palin is actually intelligent and should lead them. Not one regular American citizen is well-served by the absence of Fairness rules to TV and radio programs that discuss issues of public importance.

Update: Olbermann has extended the first branch by voluntarily (and perhaps temporarily) pulling his "Worst Persons in the World" segment from his show. That segment was developed to punch back at the hate speech originated in right-wing programming. Will the right-wingers extend a branch also, or is reasonableness simply too bad for business?

If so, I say, restore Fairness regulations to TV and radio venues that discuss issues of public importance.

[wtfJesus]

The signs were clever, the entertainment was top notch, the people were diverse in age, race, spirituality, the crowd was massive, and Jon Stewart's speech was memorable...

EPIC WIN...

LONG LIVE THE MOST TRUSTED NEWS MAN.

[despake]

CBS: This Glenn Beck (Made Up Estimate) of 89,000 in attendance goes perfectly with the great Dan Rather versus George Bush (Made Up National Guard Story)that he and CBS had to eat. After reviewing the videos and still photographs of both crowds at the Stewart and Beck rallies, it appears that Beck has Stewart beat by 50% or approximately 200,000 to 250,000 bodies. As far as making money, I do not believe Jon Stewart is in the same league as Glenn Beck. Probably like comparing an ant against a elephant, and Beck is the elephant. Rupert Murdock has a habit of picking winners.

[jcm52a]

@despake:

The Beck rally took up less space. Was less crowded. AND had a giant reflecting pool in the middle. Just compare the photos (there's a link in the article to the Beck rally estimate). Look at how much more green grass you see in the midst of the Beck rally. When the photos above were being taken the adjoining streets were still packed with people either trying to come in or deciding to leave so they could watch it since you could no longer get close enough to see a jumbotron.

[rubyredbird]

Way to go John. I thought this whole thing was just a joke, but am glad to see you really did it. Who cares about Glen Beck the fear mongerer. Bush did the same thing to this country for 8 years, scaring us. Glen Beck is just a drunk that actually got his own show and can spread his drunken philosophy to any idiot that will listen to him. I'm glad he left CNN, so I don't ever have to look at his face again.

[cheekyholmes]

I can spot approximately where I was in that picture. Vote sanity!

[fantomas4]

This is just beautiful. Colbert and Stewart were able to attract far more people to their rally. Way to go, Beck! You fear mongering, logic hating loser. Maybe you can cry like a little piggy on the air to make up for it. Oh no wait, that just makes you look even more retarded.

[lrh16]

Glubber, so what were all those people doing on the train that they counted? Going to ....where? Also fat tea party people take up more room so you can only fit so many into that mall in the same space. I agree though that more people are likely to go hear something entertaining rather than listen to Beck pray and Sarah use that voice. It's apples and oranges so to speak.

[dibbs977]

Right wing bloggers write such hateful words. What does that say about the right?

[dibbs977]

My favorite sign, "Obama is not a Muslim, but he may be black."