N o one was sure what to make of it.
Presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry making his first television appearance since the Swift boat controversy on … “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”?
It just didn’t make any sense. Or did it?
Stewart’s show on Comedy Central – as biting and critical as it is silly and slapstick – is now part of America’s political system, like it or not.
The sometimes bashful host shies away from attention to the three Emmys “The Daily Show” has won in the past three years. Those were for “variety, music or comedy” programs.
But the Television Critics Association caught on this year, and awarded the show its top prize for outstanding achievement in news and information.
“We are not a news show, obviously,” Stewart said on Tuesday night’s episode. “Some people confuse us with a news show. They say, ‘Are you a news show?’”
“That either says something terrible about the state of news in this country, or it says something terrible about the state of comedy on our program.”
The quip proved, again, Stewart’s ability to combine wit with scathing criticism.
There is something terribly wrong with the state of news in this country.
Politics are more polarized than ever, and now news organizations are along for the ride.
There’s Fox News Channel and conservative radio on one side and, of course, the rest of the liberal media on the other.
In a news world where the lines in the sand are dizzying, “The Daily Show” often is the one place to escape and get some perspective.
Stewart and Co. jump at the chance to point out hypocrisies on both sides of the aisle, and that has gained the show respect among serious politicos.
Arizona Sen. John McCain is a frequent guest, as are party Republican party chairman Ed Gillespie and Democratic party chairman Terry McAuliffe.
Many other high-profile politicians have settled onto Stewart’s couch, including Sen. John Edwards, who “announced” his candidacy for president on the show. (He had actually already been in the race for a while but, judging by the polls, most people didn’t know he was running.)
Former President Clinton recently took his book tour through Stewart’s studio.
Stewart has respect because he doesn’t throw softballs and often shocks his guests with the questions he asks.
U.S. Rep. Henry Bonilla, R-N.M., who admitted he hadn’t watched the program, likely gave his aides an earful after getting lambasted on the show recently for spouting off rhetoric without knowing where his information came from.
But Tuesday, Stewart took the opportunity again to help establish some perspective. He always seems to ask the types of questions that make viewers say, “Thank God somebody finally said it.”
His first comment to Kerry on Tuesday was that after watching enough of the 24-hour news channels, “I understand that apparently you were never in Vietnam.”
Stewart told Kerry that in 2000 the country didn’t realize how important that election would become. The issues – such as Social Security, education and the economy – were being talked about.
But this time around, in an even more important election, the questions circle around whether 35 years ago Kerry was in Cambodia or near the border, and whether he was there on Christmas Eve or a couple of months later. Where’s the talk of the economy? Health care? The war on terror? The war in Iraq?
“Will we ever be able to have that discussion?” Stewart asked Kerry.
Maybe, thanks to the fake news anchor who calls himself “a sad little man,” that discussion can begin.
Columnist Victor Balta: 425-339-3455 or vbalta@heraldnet.com.
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