To the delight of young adults whose deeper reading consists of Harry Potter books and leftist voters desperate to have their viewpoints validated, “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” will cover the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte this September. Stewart’s show has covered the Democratic conventions of 2000, 2004, and 2008, and the Republican conventions of 2000 and 2008.
Calling this objective news coverage, of course, is stretching the truth somewhat – it’s sort of like stretching Heidi Klum’s tights to fit Rosie O’Donnell. Stewart has long played a double game, issuing blistering attacks on conservatives and traditional American values as a newscaster, then hiding behind his identity as a comedian when his journalistic integrity is challenged.
Here’s a basic refresher in Stewart’s love of conservatives and America:
“I celebrated Thanksgiving in an old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land.”
“If the events of September 11, 2001 have proven anything, it’s that the terrorists can attack us, but they can’t take away what makes us American – our freedom, our liberty, our civil rights. No, only Attorney General John Ashcroft can do that.”
“Dick Cheney and Karl Rove, once two of the most powerful men in this country, are now suffering from Balzheimer’s disease. Why didn’t I see it before? Balzheimer’s is a terrible illness that attacks the memory and gives its victims the balls to attack others for things they themselves made a career of. There is no known cure.”
“Donald Rumsfeld. Love him or hate him, you’ve gotta admit: a lot of people hate him.”
“We must, together as a nation, stop watching Fox.”
But there is one Stewart quote that says it all about Stewart and his brand of journalism: “If you watch the news and don’t like it, then this is your counter program to the news.”
Exactly. So why does the media insist on treating Stewart like a newscaster rather than a comedian?