Colbert has officially withdrawn his candidacy following the setback, but Gamecock has refused to acknowledge the withdrawal. "We came to the conclusion that Stephen Colbert has shown strong leadership and best represents the interests of the videogame playing community," said Gamecock CEO Mike Wilson. "Politicians have long demonized videogames for short term gain. This has, of course, been hilarious to watch. But Stephen Colbert will definitely be funnier than anything Hillary Clinton or Mitt Romney can come up with."

Wilson also pointed to Colbert's interview with The Sims creator Will Wright, and defeat of a virtual version of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at Wii Sports as further evidence of Colbert's video game advocacy.

Don't expect to see Colbert respond to today's announcement on his Comedy Central program, The Colbert Report--it's off the air this week due to the current industry-wide writer's strike.

Gamecock's endorsement may serve as an implicit condemnation of certain prominent supporters of Democratic candidate Barack Obama, who successfully lobbied to have Colbert's name thrown off the ballot in South Carolina. Among the factors cited in the lobby has been the overlap between Obama supporters and potential Colbert supporters, who are likely to draw from the same young, college-educated demographic--and the Obama camp was concerned Colbert could draw some of that base away.

Strong anti-Colbert lobbyist and former Democratic National Committee chairman Dan Fowler compared a potential election with Colbert to the 2000 presidential election, in which he claims the presence of Ralph Nader led to a split of Democratic support resulting in the defeat of Al Gore.

This isn't the first time Colbert has been part of politically sticky situations involving Obama--earlier this year, before Obama's official announcement of his presidential candidacy, Colbert dove into the much-publicized debate over the current Illinois senator's "blackness."

It is also interesting that Wilson chose to highlight Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney as Colbert's competition, eschewing aggressively patriotic Republican front-runner Rudy Giuliani, or perhaps making an implicit comment on Romney's recent surge in Iowa.

Though not a dark horse candidate in the vein of Colbert or libertarian-leaning Republican candidate Ron Paul, Romney often casts himself as less of a household name than his competitors, a trait that may appeal to the indie publisher--and, by the way, where does Paul fit into Gamecock's political landscape? Perhaps the company was intimidated by Paul's recent internet-driven mega-fundraiser, which set a 24-hour earnings record reportedly upwards of $4 million.

The message is clear: Gamecock supports Colbert, favors Clinton and Romney as the recipients of their parties' respective nominations, takes a critical eye towards Obama and Giuliani, and doesn't really care about Ron Paul. You heard it here first, folks.

This is Shacknews political analyst Chris Remo signing off. Good night and good luck.