“I believe in democracy. I believe democracy is our greatest export. At least until China figures out a way to stamp it out of plastic for three cents a unit. As a matter of fact, Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong, welcome. Your great country makes our Happy Meals possible,” said Stephen Colbert during a comedy routine at the 2006 White House correspondents dinner.

It is political remarks like this that the “Colbert Report”, “Saturday Night Live” and “The Daily Show” have in common. Political humor. We’re talking wicked satire here. Thanks to Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert people have begun to rely heavily on these popular shows to get their dose of politics. And for the average under-informed voter, like those students who might not feel like they know a whole lot about politics, these shows are the perfect place to start.

One of the most popular features on “The Colbert Report” is the “Colbert Super Pac,” a segment of the show that illustrates the workings of election campaigns—attack ads from various parties, recent poll numbers and most importantly, the amount of money each campaign raises. Colbert provides a humorous yet educational way to describe real Super PACs, which are by-products of the Supreme Court’s decision to grant corporations, unions and individuals the right to donate unlimited funds to outside groups.

“Super PAC is the best example of understanding politics through the Colbert Report,” said Phillip Stalley, professor of political science at DePaul. “(The Colbert Report) provides valuable insight about political issues in our country that people need to know about,” said Stalley.

In a recent episode of “The Daily Show,” Stewart discussed Alabama’s anti-immigrant law. He pointed out that much of America has immigrants and that this law is irrelevant. Not only was he informative, but he gave his brutal opinion.

Now before anyone gets all bent out of shape about the credibility of these shows and their political correctness, people must be aware that they are comedy shows, not news programs, said Stalley. According to the Pew Research Center Publication 2010, 80 percent of the public say they regularly watch “The Colbert Report,” while 74 percent say they watch “The Daily Show.” The majority of viewers watching these two programs are younger than 50—55 percent of the public is 18 to 49.

For those individuals looking for solid facts about a political candidate, percentages of votes and political scandals, they need to consult multiple sources in addition to political pundits by various comedians, like Colbert.

For what it’s worth, the general population at DePaul seems to have positive things to say about these shows.

“I love ‘The Daily Show’ and ‘The Colbert Report.’ Stewart and Colbert are real geniuses,” said Kristen Nemoto, graduate student at DePaul.

“The best news, in my opinion, comes from Comedy Central,” said Ryan Kristopher, another graduate student at DePaul.

“Many of the students I talk to understand the position and satire of the shows,” added Kristopher. “In class, I particularly like it when professors utilize “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” clips, but I also think you need to get other opinionated clips to balance the comedy.”

Other students don’t see any informative value to the shows.

“If I can be completely honest, ‘The Daily Show’, ‘The Colbert Report’ and even ‘SNL’, they’re all for entertainment purposes,” said Nemoto.

The ever-so-popular “Saturday Night Live” has produced several political parodies including the “Hardball Slideshow Spoof.” This clip tears into Barack Obama’s addresses to the nation and Vice President Joe Biden’s enthusiasm. Obama is played by “SNL” cast member Fred Armisen.

The fact of the matter is, students on campus and people all over the world utilize these shows for political entertainment and that’s how they should be taken. However, this entertainment factor should not overshadow the educational content and brilliant efforts that Colbert and others do to inform people on what is going on in the world of politics.

There is no denying that “The Daily Show”, “The Colbert Report” and “Saturday Night Live” have made a tremendous impact on the way students understand politics.

“Students become more interested in the topic if they see clips they can relate to, and everyone can relate to comedy,” Stalley said.

No one can really say what major event will occur next on the 2012 campaign trail, but one thing is for sure, you can bet Stephen Colbert will be on standby ready to offer his two cents in the next episode of “The Colbert Report.”