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[JoshuaJSlone]

The more I pay attention to more straight-laced commentary and criticism of the news (like at The Daily Howler), the more I appreciate how much of it I was already getting through The Daily Show. One of the Howler's favorite things to bitch about is how pundits and newsmen will choose a few traits and stories about someone, and act like that's the only thing worth providing evidence about. Gore is a liar who claimed to "invent" the Internet. W Bush isn't so bright and makes mistakes in speech. Kerry is a flip-flopper. So The Daily Show had a segment a couple weeks back about how much easier it was for the news to cover people and issues when they all seemed to share the same scripts.

If you're on the west coast you haven't seen tonight's episode yet, so I suppose I should spoiler this paragraph.

Spoiler

Or tonight a member of the Republican Rapid Response Team was the interviewee. This congressman (I don't recall his name) said he wished more politicians would be more honest about what they are; he's proud to be a conservative, and John Kerry should be proud about being a liberal. Jon tried to get out of him the source and context of the oft-repeated claim that John Kerry is the most liberal senator, and Edwards is the fourth. (Of course, this would be something that would seem a positive thing to me.) The guy either didn't know the full context, or didn't want to talk about it, claiming it came from a variety of groups and was for throughout the years. After a couple minutes of unsuccessfully trying to get the facts from this guy, Jon Stewart reveals that he knows it's from the National Journal, only takes into account one year, and that looking throughout their careers they're much closer to the center. He goes on to wish all sides wouldn't spin so much. Rock on Jon!

 

[Gruco]

Yeah, it was crazy how blantantly clueless (or deliberately lying, but think it was just cluelessness) that guy was. Wish regular news guys would call people on their BS like that.

 

[Chipopo]

Tonights episode was great

 

[Socreges]

Their Democratic National Convention coverage was awesome. The RNC should be even funnier.

 

[LuckyBrand]

low spin, no spin, etc etc.. who cares

the show just isnt funny anymore.. its the same crap show after show after show.. they never change it up ever, it literally gives me headaches watching it...

 

[Leon]

low spin, no spin, etc etc.. who cares

the show just isnt funny anymore.. its the same crap show after show after show.. they never change it up ever, it literally gives me headaches watching it...

Uh-huh.

 

[Mike Works]

Uh-huh.

hahahaha

this thread just turned a corner

 

[Rorschach]

this thread just turned a corner

LOL

 

[FortNinety]

Daily Show is the ONLY news I trust anymore, period.

 

[Mandark]

Uh-huh.

Well now.

 

[LuckyBrand]

uh?

i appreciate alot of liberal shows/people/comedians..

mr. show/david cross is one of my favorite shows/comedians.. i have his tour DVD and his audio CD.. that shit is hilarious, even though he is making fun of me most of it..

what does my finding o'reillys show entertaining have to do wtih me finding teh daily show lame ever since "ever see a $20 bill on weed man" took over...

nice try at a point.. but you failed.. again.. at life .. and this.

 

[explodet]

... failed at life?

 

[LuckyBrand]

... failed at life?

well, thats what god told me about him..

 

[Dan]

Yeah, I thought it was hilarious how Jon just busted out the facts and owned the guy. It was great. I sure wish politics involved more of that rather than the nonsense we get from most politicians and news organizations. Nice to see someone cut straight through the bullshit and completely one-up these guys.

 

[FightyF]

well, thats what god told me about him..

God without a capital "g"?

 

[FightyF]

Yeah, I thought it was hilarious how Jon just busted out the facts and owned the guy. It was great. I sure wish politics involved more of that rather than the nonsense we get from most politicians and news organizations. Nice to see someone cut straight through the bullshit and completely one-up these guys.

I consider it a responsibility of the media to do this.

Isn't it?

In many ways, the media can represent the concern of the citizens. Writing a letter to a politician may not be as effective as putting them on the spot in front of a camera.

Secondly, it's entertaining as well as informative. Seeing politicians being accountable for what they say...is great stuff.

 

[Late Stage Marxist]

I caught tonight's episode earlier. I was surprised the guy wasn't embarassed or even on the defensive for that matter.

 

[Chipopo]

I caught tonight's episode earlier. I was surprised the guy wasn't embarassed or even on the defensive for that matter.

I think that's because he didn't really get his asshole torn open until the last few seconds of the interview, at which point there was nothing more he could do but chuckle it off. He probably expecteda lighthearted witty fluff interview and was thrown WAY off guard.

 

[Socreges]

Glad I came back to this thread. I watched the first half, which was hilarious, but checked out for the second (congressmen tend to be boring). CTV is airing it right now. In fact, the interview is coming up after the commercial! *swish*

 

[Socreges]

After he brought out those little boots, I began to feel sorry for the guy, considering that he was supposedly about to be punk'd. Then I saw "GOP ROCKS" written on the soles. Yeah, good on Jon Stewart for confronting him. And he went really easy on him, too. I guess if he humiliated one of his guests, very few politicians would want to be on his show. Up until now, The Daily Show has mainly been free ground for promotion.

 

[MaddenNFL64]

Everyone knows he's liberal, but he's very fair, and never underminds anyone. That's why republicans go on his show all the time .

Jon Stewart is A numba one!

 

[Ferrio]

"I'm not homophobic, I'm homonausic...... I don't hate them, I'm just sick of them"


This guy is horribly moronic.

 

[Mike Works]

What word did he make up again? Intuition mixed up with something?

 

[LuckyBrand]

jon stewarts take on daily show used to be funny a long time ago.. its now very stale..

i think the whole show is stale, they need to throw in some new writers and change things up a bit..

 

[Ferrio]

jon stewarts take on daily show used to be funny a long time ago.. its now very stale..

i think the whole show is stale, they need to throw in some new writers and change things up a bit..

Where have I heard that before? OH yeah...

low spin, no spin, etc etc.. who cares

the show just isnt funny anymore.. its the same crap show after show after show.. they never change it up ever, it literally gives me headaches watching it...

 

[MaddenNFL64]

"I'm not homophobic, I'm homonausic...... I don't hate them, I'm just sick of them"


This guy is horribly moronic.

That segment was the funniest, and at the same time, saddest thing i've seen in a while.

 

[Socreges]

low spin, no spin, etc etc.. who cares

the show just isnt funny anymore.. its the same crap show after show after show.. they never change it up ever, it literally gives me headaches watching it...

Literally? Maybe you should stop watching it upside down or something.

 

[Drensch]

Fact: The Daily Show has been on fire since 9/11. And they're getting to the point where they're fairly informative(more in a exposition sene, exposing idiots and such) as well.

That homophobe tonight was surreal.

 

[etiolate]

I wish the Daily Show would lay off its agenda. There's so many places feeding off an anti-Bush vibe that it can almost make you like Bush out of spite. Tonight's Daily Show was much funnier when they weren't talking about Bush/Kerry. Jon wasted half the show trying to get the guy to say the National Journal instead of the groups submitting information.

What word did he make up again? Intuition mixed up with something?

It was innuendo and the final word was like intendouendo.

 

[Socreges]

I wish the Daily Show would lay off its agenda. There's so many places feeding off an anti-Bush vibe that it can almost make you like Bush out of spite.

Considering how much they've been ripping into Kerry and his campaign recently, I hardly think they've got an agenda. Give the writers material and they run with it.

Jon wasted half the show trying to get the guy to say the National Journal instead of the groups submitting information.

Wasted? It might have been a minute and it was well worth it.

 

[etiolate]

Wasted? It might have been a minute and it was well worth it.

Wasn't worth it at all. It wasn't funny, it was just annoying.

 

[Fjord]

The Daily Show has a strong liberal spin.

 

[ManDudeChild]

"I'm not homophobic, I'm homonausic...... I don't hate them, I'm just sick of them"


This guy is horribly moronic.

I'm pretty sure he's a joke character ... at least I hope he was. Especially with his gay army crap.

The bit in the beginning on the terror level and Tom Ridge was pretty funny. When the show came on I hoped they'd make a joke along those lines.

 

[andthebeatgoeson]

Wasn't worth it at all. It wasn't funny, it was just annoying.

Isn't that their agenda, call BS on all the politicians? You should be sorry that Bush gives them more ammo but I've seen plenty of Kerry jokes about his lack of soul and/or facial expression. If I only listened to the Daily Show, I would think he was a zombie. It sounds like your just upset they are taking a whip to Bush. They call bullshit on everybody/

 

[Belfast]

I think that's because he didn't really get his asshole torn open until the last few seconds of the interview, at which point there was nothing more he could do but chuckle it off. He probably expecteda lighthearted witty fluff interview and was thrown WAY off guard.

Didn't he mention he hadn't seen the show before (or paid much attention to it)?

 

[Willco]

DAILY SHOW IS A LIBERAL SPIN ZONE DOWN WITH JON STEWART!

 

[Kobun Heat]

So since there was no spin, I'm sure Stewart also mentioned that Kerry had won the top spot in three other years, right?

Right?

 

[Tommie Hu$tle]

So since there was no spin, I'm sure Stewart also mentioned that Kerry had won the top spot in three other years, right?

Right?

Again Stewart was saying that the GOP is misleading by not covering the length of Kerry's career and cherry picking the facts that are to their best advantage. His only point was that if you are going to be a fact checker then have your facts in place. Stewart was basically firing a shot across the bow to the politicians and the public. Don't take everything for face value. Before you make claims be prepared to back it up.

 

[StrikerObi]

I'm sure Jon wouldn't have done a damn thing had his guest tonight been a Democratic senator. He would have sat there and had a good time, instead of revealing facts about the guy. He's got such a liberal bias it's not even funny.

I too wish The Daily Show would lay off it's agenda and get back to doing what it should be doing, making fun of the news. I really wish Jon would get it out of his head that he's some sort of prophet spreading the good news of the democratic party. I'd feel the same way if he was spreading republican propoganda.

The entire point of The Daily Show is that it's a fake news show. If it's a fake news show why the fuck is his guest a senator or congressmen or secretary or something-or-other every other night?

I pray that this will all go away after this fucking election year is over. Either that or somebody gets rid of Jon and brings Craig back, he was funnier anyway.

Spoiler

I'm voting Kerry... probably

 

[FnordChan]

So since there was no spin, I'm sure Stewart also mentioned that Kerry had won the top spot in three other years, right?

Right?

I'm sure he didn't because - I hate to break this to you - Kerry didn't win the top spot the other three years. Courtesy of Andrew Sullivan's blog:

***

EMAIL OF THE DAY: "I'm growing a bit frustrated with the media, including you, running with this Kerry and Edwards being the first and fourth most liberal Senators. Everyone is citing the National Journal's ratings but they are doing it sloppily. I have seen no recent article that cites anything but the 2003 ratings where Kerry missed 37 and Edwards missed 22 of 62 votes and both were setting themselves up for primary battles where their base was essential. Think what you may about missing votes and pandering a bit (seems suicide to not do both when going for the nomination), but my larger point is the media should be looking at this much more historically and in years when Edwards and Kerry actually showed up to do their jobs. I'll do it for them. Following are rankings and liberal scores since 1999.

2003: Kerry - 1st (96.5) Edwards - 4th (94.5)
2002: Kerry - 9th (87.3) Edwards - 31st (63.0) Edwards made the centrist list.
2001: Kerry - 11th (87.7) Edwards - 35th (68.2) Edwards almost tied with Lieberman.
2000: Kerry - 20th (77) Edwards - 19th (80.8) Rankings past 20 are not available nor are composite scores for all Senators, so Kerry is 21st or higher.
1999: Kerry - 16th (80.8) Edwards - 31st (72.2)

Average: Kerry - 12th (85.9) Edwards - 24th (75.7)

Now this paints a different picture. Certainly Kerry is a stalwart liberal (although probably not or barely a top 10 liberal), but he does hail from and represent one of the most liberal states. But Edwards is definitely a moderate Democrat (if you define that as somewhere in the ideological middle of the Democratic platform).

Do I have a point?" Yep, I think this reader has a point. More points on the Letters Page.
- 4:41:23 PM"

***

Presumably, Jon Stewart's writers can afford to pay for National Journal membership and put together these numbers themselves, rather than reference a blog, but the point (that I've made here before) is clear: Kerry and Edwards are hardly the most liberal of all Democratic senators to walk the earth. I wouldn't mind if they were, mind you, but I take greater pleasure in disrupting an oft-repeated, fact-twisting G.O.P daily talking point.

FnordChan

 

[Makura]

I used to like the show until it started bashing just one side of the issues instead of equally poking fun at everyone. It went from being an anything-goes comical look at the seriousness of network news to having an agenda - which isn't funny at all.

And if the Daily Show is your only source of facts and views regarding whats happening in the world, I find that truly disturbing.

 

[Makura]

2003: Kerry - 1st (96.5) Edwards - 4th (94.5)


Um...wheres the spin?

 

[Sergenth]

The Daily Show is definitely not liberal. Did you see them shed a tear after their part in covering the Dean scream? No, they contributed to his media dismantling, and they LOVED it!

Still, the people who call the Daily Show "liberal" in this topic are sharp enough to notice that, in a sense, Jon is more liberal-minded than themselves. In the larger spectrum, The Daily Show is centrist, as their "Indecision 2004" campaign illustrates. It worked so well in 2000 that I believed there was no decision to be made -- no reason to vote.

The Best thing about the Daily Show is that it makes politics funny, instead of boring, and that makes politics interesting enough to pay attention to outside of the Daily Show.

With that said, the Rapid Response senator that was on last night was neither liberal nor conservative. He was just a misleader and he didn't even believe Jon when he mentioned the National Journal. By the meaning of the word, Jon is more conservative because he wants to conserve truth-telling.

 

[FnordChan]

2003: Kerry - 1st (96.5) Edwards - 4th (94.5)


Um...wheres the spin?

...

If you look up a few posts, you'll clearly see the spin.

FnordChan

 

[Belfast]

2003: Kerry - 1st (96.5) Edwards - 4th (94.5)


Um...wheres the spin?

THE SPIN: IT IS ONE SOURCE OUT OF MANY THAT DO SIMILAR POLLS. IT ALSO ONLY TAKES INTO ACCOUNT ONE YEAR OF THEIR CAREERS.

 

[human5892]

Either that or somebody gets rid of Jon and brings Craig back, he was funnier anyway.

...

OH NO YOU DIDN'T!!!!!!

 

[impirius]

The whole 'liberal slant' thing bugs me, moreso in the interviews than the headlines (since the Republicans are obviously giving the writers more cannon fodder). The audience booing conservatives is pretty annoying, too. I guess part of that stems from more politicians going on the show and trying to spread their agenda instead of just joking around, but the show seems to have traded its "ha ha, everyone's an idiot, let's laugh at them" mindset for one of "we must defeat the evil ones".

Mainly, though, I miss the days when the show pretended to try to be serious. It was like they were attempting to pass themselves off as a serious news program, and it worked extremely well. Now Jon replies to news headlines with "WHAT THE FUCK?" and reporters freely comment on the greenscreen instead of 'trying' to play it off.

Ah well. It's still a very good show.

 

[Azih]

Jon > Craig.

One of the issues here is that the Republicans are in power, the Democrats aren't. By that very fact there is much more material to make fun of republicans than democrats.

Another thing, if you watch the show you'll realise that if the Daily Show has a mortal enemy it's not Republicans at all, it's the news media. The funniest part of the DNC was when Stewart ripped into everybody for hating on Sharpton's speech and ignored the positive response it got. The bit where that white analyst was going "as an outsider, if I was black I'd be insulted by Sharpton" quote was fully deserving of the mockery it got and when Stewart went ballistic about the MSNBC correspondant who said to Sharpton "When you went on a riff about.... whatever you went a riff on" was extremely funny and fully deserved.

Edit: I'll agree the partisan crowd is extremely annoying. Though you can see that Jon is annoyed by them too.

 

[Makura]

Yeah, it takes into account the most relevant year, the latest year - 2003.

I'd like to see Jon Stewart take the Democratic equivalent to task with an equally aggresive "fact-chacking" (even though these facts he uncovers still support the claim), but I doubt he will.

 

[Makura]

but the show seems to have traded its "ha ha, everyone's an idiot, let's laugh at them" mindset for one of "we must defeat the evil ones".

Exactly.