Jon Stewart's announcement that his last night on the Daily Show will be August 6 has started a mourning process. He's seemed so incredibly perfect for the show and engaged a young audience into caring about current events. There are never any sacred cows, forbidden topics, and ridicule was dispensed where it was deserved.
Everything was up for grabs - and satire. Things that seemed so baffling at the hands of most journalists, like campaign finance, were easily and brilliantly presented. The Daily Show ended up doing the job that "real" journalists in traditional media have increasingly ignored.
The sad announcement:
His snark filled "fake news program" was more the real deal than most of what we received from traditional media sources. I'm not sure I could have survived 8 years of President Cheney without The Daily Show bringing me a smile amidst all those tears.
Often, no words were needed. Just seeing his reaction to the ridiculous said more than volumes of words ever could.
Here's Jon on Ferguson focusing on the Fox (not) News coverage:
Brilliant! And there's much more below the cheese curl.
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I'm not alone in missing him already. Several "best moments" videos have already been assembled:
This one from Rev. Al (the first 2 1/2 minutes - the rest is a panel discussion):
I just love Jon's caricature of Lindsey Graham as well as the one he does imitating Dick Cheney. They're legendary.
And then there's the special Jon Stewart take on the ridiculous AIG lawsuit:
And on corporate tax avoidance (inversions):
And who can forget Jon Stewart's epic take-down of Crossfire on CNN. It was so bad that Crossfire left the air in a few months.
And then there's the return of The Daily Show after 9/11. Warning: several tissues might be necessary when viewing:
There's so much. The Go Fuck Yourself Chorus singing about Fox (not) News, the exposure he gave to talking points by offering a dozen sound bites from political and media hacks saying exactly the same thing with the same words, the revelation of hypocrisy and flip flopping that never made the real "news", connecting the dots between corporations, billionaires and their front groups, and so much more was not only entertaining, but informative. And then there were the great interviews in the last segment - some so good they continued after the show ended and were made available on the Comedy Central web site.
He always expected viewers to be knowledgeable about current events when they watched him and the laughter from the audience revealed that they were. He took that news and added to it in a satirical way that made boring topics fascinating. It was a gift.
We missed him when he took time off to direct a film and couldn't wait for him to return. Yes, John Oliver was fine (and now has his own must-watch show on HBO), but it wasn't quite the same. At least then, we knew he'd be back.
When his last show airs, we won't have the expectation of seeing him back. We'll be left wondering what the future of The Daily Show will be because Jon Stewart HAS been incredibly important. He's not gone yet and I already miss him.
What are your favorite Daily Show moments?
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