VIDEO: Stephen Colbert to explore run for President in South Carolina (he says)

Stephen Colbert Thursday night, on his popular Comedy Central show, announced he would form a committee to explore running for “President of the United States of South Carolina.”

This isn’t the first time Colbert has pondered a run for president by his conservative character. Back in 2008, he also made a halting, and, of course, unsuccessful run at the White House. This latest run, Colbert says, came in the wake of a Public Policy Polling poll that found that 5 percent of South Carolina voters would vote for Colbert in the upcoming primary — ahead of Jon Huntsman at 4 percent.

Of course, to explore a run for president, he had to dispose of his Super PAC, Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow. He did that by transferring operations to Jon Stewart — and in the process exposing some of the bizarre weaknesses in campaign finance law surrounding Super PACs.

Colbert’s Super PAC, as well as his disdain for Republican front-runner Mitt Romney, have been a recurring theme of his show in recent months. This latest maneuver will allow him to keep the gambit alive, at least as long as the South Carolina Primary, a week from Saturday.