Comedians hold rally in Washington D.C

<p><br /> Television comedians, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, drew tens of thousands of people to the National Mall three days before contentious US elections.<br /> </p><p><br /> The Comedy Central hosts' "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear" started off as part slapstick comedy show and part outdoor festival concert.<br /> </p><p><br /> During the festivities Stewart told the crowd that was filled with people holding signs some controversial, some comical that he can't control what people think of the rally but declared his intentions.<br /> </p><p><br /> He told the crowd: "This was not a rally to ridicule people of faith, or activism, or look down our noses at the heartland, or passionate argument, or to suggest that times are not difficult and that we have nothing to fear. They are and we do."<br /> </p><p><br /> He continued: "But we live now in hard times, not end times. We can have animus and not be enemies."<br /> </p><p><br /> The rally, widely viewed as a response to the "Restoring Honor" rally organised by conservative talk show host Glenn Beck last August, blurred the lines between satire and political activism.<br /> </p>