So I'm reluctantly watching the Daily Show tonight, but to my surprise the first segment ends up being really funny - at least, at first. The first segment was about the Palestinian elections (in which Hamas triumphed).
Toward the end of the segment Stewart was making a comparison between us and the Palestinians. He noted that the Palestinian government had become incredibly corrupt (like the current administration) and that led to an election in which the corrupt incumbents were turned out.
Stewart then turned and said something along the lines of, "Now, who could possibly be more unappealing than Hamas?" A graphic went up depicting Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, and a couple of other Democrats. I didn't see it for long - it looked like Kerry had something on his face.
The audience groaned. Some booed.
Stewart reacted defensively: "What? It's the truth and you know it."
WTF? I stopped laughing immediately. I almost dropped the bowl of cereal I was eating. I was pissed. I still am.
It's perhaps the stupidest thing I've heard Stewart ever say. It totally ruined what would have been an otherwise great segment.
This may be (for me) the last straw. I'm debating whether to even tune in to the daily show anymore. It doesn't seem to be worth my time.
The jokes about Democrats have NOT been funny - certainly not in my opinion. The comment he made tonight was out of line. Even his audience hated it. You could tell by the reaction. It just wasn't funny. Stewart is putting down Kerry as much as the GOP ever did. I think Kerry has been totally defamed - by almost everyone, and I'm sick of it. Now, I was for Dean in '04, but once Dean was out, I was behind Kerry. And I know the campaign wasn't perfect. But I have had it with the unfair stereotypes that have been slapped on to our candidate by the media.
Stewart is reinforcing these stereotypes. He of all people should know where to draw the line. Taking Kerry apart is NOT funny any more. NOT funny!
I think what I'm going to do is spend more time listening to Thom Hartmann and Air America, and much less time tuning in to the Daily Show.
Jon is definitely not a partisan. But you know what? Republicans don't watch his show. They don't like it. Stewart's audience is people like us.
And the more of us he pisses off, the smaller his audience will be. He gains nothing by skewering Democrats. He and his writers ought to keep that in mind.