Michael Kalin of The Boston Globe, and Harvard alumn, published what can only be described as the embodiment of liberal ignorance last week when he attacked Jon Stewart. The piece, entitled “Why Jon Stewart isn’t Funny” proposes and, without common sense, concludes that political parody hurts democracy. Mockery of our politicians — Stewart focuses on the Bush administration — supposedly prevents the recruitment of a new generation from heading to Washington. The article follows a fictional college student and Daily Show fan who, influenced by negative portrayals of politicians, refrains from becoming one himself out of a sense of superiority. The conclusion is that Stewart’s humor hurts America because it makes politicians look bad.
Stewart's daily dose of political parody characterized by asinine alliteration leads to a ''holier than art thou" attitude toward our national leaders. People who possess the wit, intelligence, and self-awareness of viewers of ''The Daily Show" would never choose to enter the political fray full of ''buffoons and idiots." Content to remain perched atop their Olympian ivory towers, these bright leaders head straight for the private sector.
Only an Ivy League grad would consider the removal of pretension from politics to be a “bad thing.” You don’t get respect just because you’re a politician; in fact, you better be busting your ass to earn it — every single second you are getting paid.
I realize that Democrats need someone to blame, but I think Kalin is going after the wrong guy. If anything, Stewart lobs softballs at liberals and crucifies Republicans. So what though? I’m not going to sit here and act like we don’t deserve it. Bush gets nailed every night because he makes himself an easy target. We have ourselves a President who likes to pretend he’s infallible; if that’s not an invitation for mockery then I’m not sure I know what is.
The idea that our politicians are somehow sacred or are off limits from criticism is what has gotten us into this mess. That Nixon thought he could define legality or that FDR could simply pack the Supreme Court is directly tied to public mistrust. Rightfully so, when you start to act untouchable, people start to resent it.
As biased as the media is--and I do think that--they give politicians a pass when it comes to shameful self-righteousness. Why? They share the same affliction. The motivation that led Dan Rather to use obviously false documents in his story is the same that led Bush to rush into Iraq. Our politicians, our media, and our CEO’s are so certain of their superiority that they alter reality to prove it. It’s a bad case of finding facts that support your opinion instead of finding an opinion that matches the facts. The connection between Rather, Bush, and Lay (Enron) is rather simple. So assured of their own abilities and so ingrained was their sense of entitlement that they had no qualms about bending the rules or letting ethics lapse.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - JP
Nice summary! Actually I think what Stewart does is great, both for the objective reasons you list as well as because he's a good voice for progressives. He's what Bill O'Reilly suggests Air America should be - relevent AND entertaining. I hope we see more like him.
2 - Don Baiocchi
Great article.
3 - ryan
Well thank you.
If only conservatives could have a self-deprecating and funny version too.
4 - bharath
Yep. When he had that bit about the Rep. Jean Schmidt from Ohio, refering to Sen. Murtha, she said “cowards cut and run, Marines never do,” on the senate floor.
He promptly pieced it with a footage of her speaking: "I pledge to walk in the shoes of my colleagues and refrain from name calling or the questioning of character. It is easy to sink to the lowest form of political debate."
I thought that was a really well-done job. To hunt down the video of her oath of induction.
Jon did a great job of showing all the bush references linking AlQaeeda and Sadam.
Satire is the mark of a free society.
5 - Michael J. West
Brilliant.
6 - mike
john steward may be a lefty but he is funny, the person who criticizes him is an idiot who had no understanding of what democracy is. there are no holy things in a democracy, fire away john
7 - ryan
"Satire is the mark of a free society"-- I like that.
It is not to say that Jon is in anyway flawless, but he is incredibily talented. Its a shame that his correspondants are for the most part deadfully unfunny.
The Colbert Report, however, makes up for that tenfold.
8 - Al Barger
I'm 100% in favor of mocking Bush and all politicians generally. I've done it, SNL often does so brilliantly.
Jon Stewart, on the other hand, just really sucks big smelly donkey nuts. He's not the tenth part as witty as he obviously thinks that he is- while coquetteishly enunciating otherwise. In fact though, there's little anywhere in his work that shows any kind of wit or insight. I'd be happy with some of either, but he's got neither.
In short, he's a smug little idiot who seems to largely get worshipped in certain corners because he takes just the smirking tone of unearned condescension that gets modern liberals hard.
The only really funny thing I've seen from Stewart was his famous appearance on CNN where he drops his dumb little mask and comes out waving his supposed moral and intellectual superiority over actual journalists. Puh-lease.
9 - Christopher Rose
Al is totally correct on this.
Let's face it, we're looking at one of the most deluded, deceptive and downright dangerous governments of recent times and the best anyone can come up with is Jon Stewart?
Frankly, one hears sharper wit on any street corner and let's face it, Bush2's government is such an easy target. Stewart is seriously not at all funny in exactly the way Al so pointedly describes.
10 - jackie
The real importance of jon stewart,,pardon no caps'0, is he presents facts in such a way that they can't really shut him up.. and as it is parody, if they tried, they would being;
1. proving the point of the already informed
and
2. being seen as not being able to take a joke by those whom are less informed.
the more the actions and words of our 'leaders' are shown together, in a so-called funny way, the more people will see it..the politicans will be seen as shallow and 'funny' and their actions very serious...
the point is to get the facts out there, this way will be far harder for them to shut down..
and he is funny too.
peace
11 - JP
Al, I strongly disagree - in fact I don't know how you can be referring to the same Jon Stewart we are.
Mike, "john steward may be a lefty but he is funny, " - is being "a lefty" a bad thing?
12 - bharath
christopher: Stewart cannot be a reposnse to Bush, unless he wins ratings in the mid-west, the heartland. He is probably like the band player in the army :)
though, he is not funny all the time.
13 - jasmine
Michael Kalin = douche
14 - gonzo marx
Stewart does the job of Jester that so many in our Nation have done before him...
Twain, Will Rogers, Lenny Bruce, Carlin, Pryor...
those and more performed the same political function, each ripped the festering scab off our politics and made us giggle at the pus underneath
of course, there are those who will honestly not find it "funny", and there are others who might bristle at the content (being emotionally invested in the partisanship involved)...the good part is...
it just doesn't fucking matter
i tend ot find a half hour of the Daily show at least as informative and insightful as any hour of most MSM...and i get a few laughs as well...
your mileage may vary
Excelsior!
15 - ryan
You think SNL is funny but not Stewart? Why don't you save yourself the time and just admit you have no idea what you're talking about?
Honestly, I can't remember a good SNL skit any time in the last 4 years but I can remember something funny from Stewart each and every week.
16 - DJRadiohead
"The Daily Show" was better in the 70's when it was "The Weekend Update" by the real cast of SNL. Present day SNL blows and so does "The Daily Show."
17 - Mark Saleski
snl: perhaps true, but tina fey is hot. and funny.
18 - ryan
I don't know what you've been smoking, but Tina Fey isn't hot
19 - Al Barger
Oh Gonzo, you so crazy: "Stewart does the job of Jester that so many in our Nation have done before him... Twain, Will Rogers, Lenny Bruce, Carlin, Pryor..." You're putting this guy in with MARK TWAIN, GEORGE CARLIN, and RICHARD F'ING PRYOR? Are you out yo mind?
Some of you seem to be talking yourselves into thinking Stewart's somebody just because you hate Bush so bad. Brother Rose has exactly the right point. Bush SHOULD be a pretty easy target, but if Jon Stewart's lame crap is the best the left can come up with, then y'all need to step up your game.
Look, I listen to Rush Limbaugh once in a while. He sometimes gets a decent funny slap in at some deserving pinkos. But I would never, ever say he was humorist in a league with George Carlin. I mean, c'mon.
As an aside, in the spirit of being fair and balanced like Fox News, I will put in a plug for the God reports from The Daily Show. Those are usually pretty good- definitely their best regular feature.
20 - ryan
HOLD EVERYTHING.
Al, I just read your article where you orgasm all over Reese Witherspoon, so how about you bow of any discussions dealing with the judgment of talent. Christ, I dignified the response of a Legally Blonde fan.
21 - Sam Jack
I think Stewart is funny, and I know a lot of other people do. How can you be the final arbiter on that point, Al?
22 - Al Barger
Yeah there Ryan, nice try. I haven't seen nor did I mention or care about Legally Blond. Freeway is MY big Reece movie, and that is about 100 times more artistically substantive than the entire worthless career of Jon Stewart. That's not all due to Reese personally, but there's a lot more talent there than anything Stewart's doing.
Ol Sam: I lay no claim to be the final arbiter. I'm right, as almost always, but you have the right to be wrong. Hell, we allowed you to vote for Al Gore, and y'all idiots almost elected the fool if God hadn't intervened. I'm just sayin'.
But I recognize your constitutional right to spend your time on the utter mediocrity of Jon Stewart if you wish, though you could just as easily be watching Freeway or Robert Mitchum flicks. Whatever works for you.
23 - Mark Saleski
i STILL say that tina fey is hot (in a geeky kinda way)
and what's wrong with big al likin' reese?
sheesh.
24 - Al Barger
Really, being interested in Reese is unusually appropriate behavior for me. Plus, she's now the big screen embodiment of June Carter- who was one of the hottest chicks ever for an uppercrust hillbilly such as myself. Reese partly benefits from borrowed karma there. But she's a very good actress in her own right.
As to Tina Fey, though- she's a dirty, dirty whore of Babylon. Jesus hates her worse than nearly any other harlot in the debauched history of SNL, and he wishes to rebuke her and her smart mouth repeatedly.
25 - todd Yarling
For once, I got to agree with Al.
The Daily Show falls flat the same way Air America and Rush and the other thinly seperated partisan shill "comics/entertainers" fall flat, in their smugness and their lack of saliency due to the inherent inability to truthfully and honestly confront anything without spinning it towards the party line.
And that suit, and that hair, and that attempt at gravitas just turn me off. He was funnier back when he was on (MTV, was it?) on that show that got cancelled.
He wasn't so serious and self important back then.
WTH does Reese Witherspoon have to do with this?