Thursday , March 28 2024
"Bush said it is good for the country. He did not say which country."

TV Review: The Daily Show – 3/28/06

George Bush never fails to provide The Daily Show with great fodder. Take the March 28 episode, for example.

Last week Bush was asked if there was going to be a “shake up” in his staff. He denied that was a possibility, saying he likes his present staff and expects no changes. “We have been a remarkably stable administration and I think that’s good for the country.”

As the crowd laughed and applauded the clip, Stewart added, “He said it is good for the country. He did not say which country but we can assume he is talking about ours.” “In fact, it has been so good for the country,” Stewart said, “that less than a week later, Mr. Stable announced the resignation of his chief of staff, Andrew Card. Who is Andrew Card? If the administration were a boy band he’d be the vaguely likeable one,” Stewart said.

However, the funniest bit on the March 28 show was a segment on the cartoon controversy that included some great self-referential material. This was the first part of a two-part series called “What’s the Matter with Denmark?” with Jason Jokes, a show correspondent.

The best part of it was an interview with satirist Jan Gintberg, who, Jones said, “lampoons the news daily.” He said it in a tone suggesting Ginsberg’s daily show is a terrible disgrace. “Why are you trying to impose your sense of humor on the rest of the world?” Jones asked. “Don’t you realize more Americans get their Danish news from Jan Gintberg than any other news source?”

Gintberg responded, “I am just a humble comedian.”

Jones asked Gintberg for a demonstration of something he did that is amusing. Gintberg showed him how he interviews people. On a voiceover Jones said, “It is as though Gintberg is using people of another culture as a prop just to make them look stupid.”

Gintberg is asked how he would describe his style of humor. “Black,” he said. Jones didn’t respond and used silence, always a great tool in interviewing, to make Gintberg uncomfortable.

“Not black like negro humor,” Gintberg said.

Oh no, here we go again, Jones said, and they suggested there would be more riots — this time by blacks — against Denmark.

The show’s interview segment was with Newsweek‘s columnist Fareed Zakaria who Stewart described as “eye candy,” “man-meat,” and “jack of all trades.” As always, Zakaria was insightful and interesting.

About Scott Butki

Scott Butki was a newspaper reporter for more than 10 years before making a career change into education... then into special education. He has been working in mental health for the last ten years. He lives in Austin. He reads at least 50 books a year and has about 15 author interviews each year and, yes, unlike tv hosts he actually reads each one. He is an in-house media critic, a recovering Tetris addict and a proud uncle. He has written articles on practically all topics from zoos to apples and almost everything in between.

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