Jon Stewart, buddy...we can't thank you enough for what your show has done...

(SHHHH...we etend-pray we're impartial-ay)

Oh...uh, right...I mean....having me on the show tonight.

-
I was a little surprised tonight to see the guest on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (aka TDS) as none other than John Kerry!
-
I say a"little" surprised, because The Daily Show tries to pawn itself off as moderate, supposedly making fun of both the Left and the Right. Even though I think it's one of the funniest shows on TV, I only wish that were more true. They lean quite a bit to the left, and Stewart has had a hard time hiding it lately. In the last couple of months alone they've had for guests: DNC head Terry McAuliffe, Michael Moore, Maureen Dowd, Bill Clinton, and now John Kerry. I'm sure TDS will soon also invite on President Bushahahahahahahaha. Ohhhh, seriously, though...
-
Kerry was quite gracious, intelligent and lucid. He looked pretty tired, but carried himself very well. Stewart, on the other hand seemed a little constipated, straining extra hard to not show his partisanship.
Uh...he technically did not kiss Kerry, but Stewart would probably still be eligible for common-law rights in many states. Some of his questions were funny, but not in a way I think he meant them to be.
Here's a quick rundown on some of the things they covered in the ultra short "interview":
-
Stewart would make jokes by taking anything referred to as things that were said or done by the GOP, and then simply exaggerate it to ridiculous levels.
This is Stewart's quick and dirty way at making "spontaneous" jokes that don't require a lot of thought and he thinks are goofy and make him look endearing.
One example: Kerry asked, "what exactly is a compassionate conservative? Someone who sends kids to die without flak vests"?" (not Kerry's most gracious point) and Stewart replied, "yeah but those on the Right will simply say that you'll only send them out in gabardine".
This actually got a big laugh. Ridiculous. Non-sensical. Comedic genius.
-
Stewart warmed up the interview with the non-partisan, no holds barred question, "Are you surprised that they are coming out against you as hard as they have been".
They won't rename TDS to Hardball with Jon Stewart anytime soon.
Kerry answered, "not really, not since we've discovered how far the web and network goes".
A lot of this doublespeak seems to require a translator if you're not watching the news closely. Stewart was referring to the Swiftvets commercials and Kerry was referring to the alleged direct ties they have to Bush, Rove, etc.
-
Kerry went on to say Bush would rather keep on these topics (i.e. Kerry's war record) instead of real issues and he'd rather play gung-ho politics that are "angering the entire world".
Wow. The whole world. I guess it must be true. Kerry said it AND it was on TV! By the way, I believe Bush just denounced the Swiftvets ads yesterday (with all "527" groups) and supposedly has never himself (or his administration) publicly said anything bad about Kerry's war service. He's even praised it, that I know of for sure. But many think it's fair game to question Kerry's service, since that's what was the main theme of the DNC in Boston. I have, I believe, a slightly more balanced approach I'll probably divulge at a later time.
Stewart immediately saw comedic gold and interjected, "No! We need to know! Did you or did you not spend Christmas in Cambodia!"
Uproarious laughter.
-
Stewart then said OK, I have some real serious questions you have to answer.
I think Kerry wrote and handed them to Stewart beforehand.
1) Are you "the most liberal Senator"? Kerry's answer: "No. "
This is a major contention for Stewart, probably more than Kerry. He grilled a Republican guest Senator about it, who was familiar with the general aspects of who contributes the data for these polls, but not the exact National Journal article in question. Stewart went out of his way to try to make the Senator look stupid. Great host.
Next Question:
2) Do you flip-flop? Kerry's answer: "Flip-flop. Flap-flip."
I'm serious. He could have interjected a vehement "NO" just like the first question, but didn't. To his credit, he knew what it was about (his voting for the war, which he then came out against, but also says he will stick with if elected, etc. etc.)
-
Kerry then went on about how Bush lied to the Senate to get them to vote for the war because he promised an international coalition.
Ooooookay. Personally I don't want a Prez who will hesitate to do what must be done to proactively protect the US just because some of the UN (mostly France and Germany) disagree with us.
Then Kerry said Bush did not exhaust UN inspections.
UN inspections were a joke. The only mistake Bush made was to cave in and allow them in the first place. Saddam had 12 years to learn how to either hide or quickly ship his weapons out. The UN boys in the blue hats bought him more time, if anything.
-
Kerry said we should go to war because we have to, not because we want to.
This is the same exact policy the DNC had before September 11th, 2001. It's simply bad policy now. Bush actually is doing what "has" to be done...regardless of whether or not it's popular.
-
At one point, Kerry said, "maybe we could have the inauguration on the show here". Stewart's response was, "sure, no problem".
No really...that's what Stewart said. Too bad it wasn't Bush on the show asking this question, Stewart would have actually turned his brain on and come up with a joke, possibly funny or even very funny, at this point. Instead we got the riveting, "sure, no problem".
-
Believe it or not, I think The Daily Show is one of the funniest shows on TV...Stewart included. I just think he's not exactly at his best when he's "just doing his duty to help get rid of Bush". It looks awkward and cheap. I think they all probably go home and shower a little bit longer lately.
-
In any case, we'll see how well they do with the RNC coming up in NYC in the next few weeks. I'm sure they'll be as fair as they were at the Democratic conventionahahahahahahahahahaha.....