Because the world is dying for my response

OK, first off I guess I am supposed to disclose that I like Jon Stewart and The Daily Show, I do, TDS is, as far as I am concerned, the best thing currently on TV, I've watched it for years, back to when Stewart first took over the show (I didn't watch the Kilbourn years, I mean… come on)

I missed the initial broadcast of Crossfire from Friday because… well because it's Crossfire, but since then, thanks to the many, many available torrents and downloads, I've watched the clip a few times and read the transcript. I think that, with a few caveats, it was as good, important and brave as most people seem to think it was. It might have ended up wasted on people as far gone as Tucker Carlson and his fans (and where the hell was that rat bastard Novak? Busy selling out more CIA agents?) but thanks to the 'net way more have seen it than Crossfire's usual 500,000 viewers.

There seems to be an opinion now in the media (I can't call them the 'press' anymore, that sounds too respectful) that anyone speaking from their heart in any way at all is doing something shameful and embarrassing, like someone who just told an off-colour joke in the wrong crowd.

Most of the articles and blog pieces I've seen have been fairly or totally in support of Stewart and the ones who are against him seem to be using some very strange logic so I guess I'm kind of piling on but I think what he did was still brave. It risks people tagging it with the Maher factor of thinking people want/need your opinions and vast knowledge because they liked your jokes, I don't think this applies as I've hardly seen Stewart thumping his opinions to anyone who will listen and he is certainly not going to do it on his show.

Two things got to me the most about what he did, first was the fact that the Crossfire gang could not fathom, in ANY WAY, what he was talking about, the second is the negative response of some people saying that he shouldn't have done it/doesn't have the right to do it/was out of line to do it for whatever reasons.

Some have suggested that he is putting his weight behind Kerry as a last minute attempt to tip things but I doubt it, he's too smart for that and knows that 95% of viewers are Dems anyways, not because Stewart is biased to the left on the show, he's not, it may appear that he is because the media's slant is so bad now that anyone leaning toward the middle looks like a leftie and anyone truly left looks nuts, rather because it's the closest thing to a balanced view you can get on the major networks in regards to news. If you watch the show carefully it is clear that all sides are attacked equally, if there are more Bush jokes it's only due to the fact that because he is in power he does more stuff and also he is a moron.

On negative response I read included a statement that Stewart tried to weasel out by leading TDS last night with 'I'm sorry, I was dehydrated' when, in actuality, this was a joke too, (see Martin Lawrence Defense) if you're missing something as key as this you really shouldn't really be opinionizing on anything.

There is also some backlash that he wants it both ways himself which is pretty nuts, because TDS is a FAKE SHOW on a COMEDY NETWORK it means that when he makes up part of the news or puts a crazy spin on a story it is funny, when CNN does it it's horrifying, can people really not tell the difference? Calling Stewart a hypocrite for being different in person than he is on the show is insane, it's not a real show, if you met any of his goofy correspondents in the street would you expect them to be the same as they are on the show, or think they were hypocrites if they weren't?

Good job Jon, keep it up, just not too much. Crappy shows like Crossfire and Hardball and most of CNN's programming do nothing to parse the news for the viewer all they do is amplify the noise.