Last night, Jon Stewart went after Karl Rove for trying to slime Hillary by claiming she's brain damaged.
Just one quick question before you go there, House M.D. When did you start caring so much about the brain fitness of those who have to hold the Oval Office? (audience hoots and hollers) Perhaps, I assume, it was right after your boss fell and banged his head after losing a battle with a pretzel.
Dude blacks out, next thing you know, he's starting an unprovoked war in Iraq. Now he spends his days eating applesauce and painting his feet.
Video and full transcript below the fold.
So, who will take Sterling's place in the unforced error spotlight?
CHRIS JANSING (5/13/2014): At a conference in Los Angeles last week, Karl Rove suggested Hillary Clinton may have brain damage. He cited the former Secretary of State's health scare back in 2012 when she fell and suffered a blood clot. Here's a quote.
KARL ROVE: Thirty days in the hospital? And when she reappears, she's wearing glasses that are only for people who have traumatic brain injury? We need to know what's up with that.
Yes, yes, we need to know what is up with that. Kinda petered out at the end there for Rove, didn't he? "Is Hillary Clinton too mentally scrambled to run the country? I mean, what the dealio?" (audience laughter)
One problem though with Ambassador Rove's statement. Secretary Clinton was actually in the hospital for four days, not thirty. Apparently, Karl Rove unskewed that number. Clearly, he thought Cranium-gate was going to be a slam dunk talking point. Turns out, not really.
5/13/2014:
BILL HEMMER: How did this comment come up suggesting that Hillary Clinton may suffer from brain damage? Where'd that come from?
KARL ROVE: No, no, no, no, no. Wait, wait, wait a minute. No, no. I didn't say she had brain damage.
"I never said brain damage! All I said, I merely noted in passing that she was wearing traumatic brain injury eyewear—whaddaya call it there, Loboto-lenses—whatever. The boop-boop glasses. You know, whatever you want to call them."
Really, Karl? You sure you don't want to go conspiracy route on this one?
KARL ROVE (5/13/2014): She had, apparently, a serious virus. They announced then on the 15th of December that she had, at some period in the past week, fallen. They didn't say when, they didn't say where. She was recovering at home. On the 30th of December, she goes in and turns out to have had a blood clot. They won't say where.
Unanswered questions. An attempted coverup. My God, it's Brainghazi!!
(audience laughter and applause)
How many synapses?? We need the truth!! (pounds fist on table) Brainghazi!!!!!
Just one quick question before you go there, House M.D. When did you start caring so much about the brain fitness of those who have to hold the Oval Office? (audience hoots and hollers) Perhaps, I assume, it was right after your boss fell and banged his head after losing a battle with a pretzel.
Dude blacks out, next thing you know, he's starting an unprovoked war in Iraq. Now he spends his days eating applesauce and painting his feet.
(audience laughter)
Jon also covered
Harry Reid's hypocrisy in going after the Koch brothers while giving Sheldon Adelson a pass with
Jason Jones.
Meanwhile, Stephen talked about Pope Francis's socialism before covering the kidnapped Nigerian girls, talking with nun Rosemary Nyirumbe.
He then looked at how the Koch brothers meddled in a local Ohio election to deny the Columbus Zoo enough funds to survive.
Stephen had on The Black Keys, who performed "Turn Blue" exclusively for the web, and Jon talked with Ron Suskind, which went long. Here's the unedited interview in two parts.
Part 1
Part 2