Conservatives Love Them Some Jon Stewart
Remember that devastatingly interesting and thoughtful Daily Show interview with conservative pundit Cliff May that you pretended you watched all the way through a few months back? Well, that interview almost didn't happen, presumably because May was intimidated by Jon Stewart's sharp wit and superlative physical stature.
You'll never guess who was ultimately responsible for making him go through with it. (Or maybe you will. I don't know you. I don't know anything about you!)…
May had a change of heart after soliciting advice from his friend Bill Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard. "Kristol told me: 'You'll be pleasantly surprised. He doesn't take cheap shots. Jon is smart. You'll do just fine.'" Kristol proved to be right. Stewart's interview of May — a crackling, lengthy debate about where to draw the line between freedom and security — produced one of the most clarifying discussions about torture on television. "Literally, this is the best conversation I've had on this subject anywhere," May told Stewart.
"There is genuine intellectual curiosity," May told New York. "He's a staunch liberal, but he's a thoughtful liberal, and I respect that." May isn't the only conservative gushing about Stewart. While the movement professes a disdain for the "liberal media elite," it has made an exception for the true-blue 46-year-old comedian.
"He always gives you a chance to answer, which some people don't do," says John Bolton, President Bush's ambassador to the United Nations and a Fox News contributor, who went on the show last month. "He's got his perspective, but he's been fair." Says Bolton: "In general, a lot of the media, especially on the left, has lost interest in debate and analysis. It has been much more ad hominem. Stewart fundamentally wants to talk about the issues. That's what I want to do."
Stewart fundamentally wants to talk about the issues, huh?
That's why he's the fake news guy.
See also:
Jon Stewart's Extended Bill Kristol Interview
John Bolton on The Daily Show
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I think it's nice that guys like Kristol (who would make a good Comedy Central roastee, btw), May, and Bolton have respect for Stewart's style of interview. When guys like these are on the show, they're generally good sports about it.
By "in these times" do you mean through the Bush administration or during the current Obama months? Either way I'm not seeing how it is easy .
Anyway, as you seem to be for getting Jon, no matter how smart or witty, is still on Comedy Central so challenging him to make us think more seems absurd when a. studies have shown that his viewers are getting a pretty decent lesson in politics somewhere in between the laughs and b. it's still just a show on Comedy Central. People should be amazed that his and Colbert's show can be as serious and insightful as they already are.
By the way, from time to time I like his funny faces.
In these times it's easy to be a Liberal, so Jon has yet to prove himself, IMHO. Instead of going for the cheap laff, he might try challenging his audience to think occasionally, instead of treating them like Pavlov's dogs to laff when he pulls another funny face. I'm not surprised by the caliber of comments that precede this one; they represent his audience perfectly, having never been through "there ringer."
Mr. Stewart seems like a nice guy.
I think that the right needs to find and promote a thoughtful open minded talk show host as there model. I know they are out there however it seems that they get drowned out by the Glenns, Rushes, and Seans of the world.
jon's too nice to those douchebags. he should put them through the ringer.
And that is why Jon is the Most. Awesome. Person. Ever.
Cool, I concur