 When Comedy Central first introduced “The Daily Show” twelve years ago, I don't think anyone had any idea that their injection to the American public of political satire would end up being a true voice of the people and a source for their political and world news. I have to admit, Jon Stewart is one of my favorite entertainers. But has he brought something to the world of media and media coverage that has been lacking for years? Has he brought upfront and pointed discussion back through civilized discourse with some of the most notable people involved in things like the war with Iraq and the upcoming election? If you, like me, were a viewer way back when, you can remember the show when it was not much more than a hugely comical half hour of the show's first host, Craig Kilborn, and then in 1999 Stewart's witty banter about all things political. Jon is a quick thinking, sharp tongued word smith, who I would be sure to lose to in the arena of debate. Over the course of a decade, however, there has been a subtle change not only to the show but to Stewart himself. Those of us in his generation and above recognize it. We call it “getting older.” I don't know if Mr. Stewart thought 9 years ago that he would be an icon...
...in a field where he seems to despise so many of his own colleagues, but if anyone has earned a fan base from not only their ability to entertain, but their honesty, albeit through sarcasm, rhetoric and a gifted set of high-priced writers, it's him. There have been moments that rocked the world of media such as the infamous episode of CNN's Crossfire®, when Stewart made short work of both co-hosts by asking them to do their duties and “...stop hurting America.” The show was not aired again for a couple weeks, and it was never viewed in the same light again. I still watch it on occasion when I need a good laugh. I also enjoy some of the points it made, reminding me that you should pay attention to what people say. Carlson Tucker, one of the show's co-hosts, belittled Stewart for not asking pointed questions when interviewing then presidential hopeful John Kerry. The funny thing about that is that Jon Stewart asked Kerry the question to which the subject seemed to have infected and run away with the entire campaign “Have you ever flip-flopped?” How much more pointed can you get? At the same time, Stewart had also done an interview on CSPAN, which, while achieving much less popularity, succeeded in doing the same thing – making a mockery of the media and letting them know that he thought they weren't doing their jobs quite as well as they could be. While many news media personalities seem to almost be influenced more by their employers than the truth these days, Stewart has the liberty of not being bound by such constraints. When General Wesley Clark was on his show last year, he asked the General why, if General Petraeus had had a counter insurgency plan all along, our President did not trust him enough to go with it, but instead stuck him with another plan which was failing miserably. He asked him a question, which, while we knew the answer, I was glad to hear asked - “What kind of position is that to be in?” asking of Petraeus' position after having to report on what was going on while he had a plan that could not be executed. While it's true there are reporters out there who do their best to get straight answers, it seems like too many settle for too little. This is not to say that Jon Stewart is going to press someone on hard issues that politicians don't want to answer, it's to say more than likely those politicians would be too worried to come on the show to begin with. I mean, what would they do if he did ask an honest, straight forward question of them? In his recent interview with Alex Kingsbury from U.S. News and World Report, there were probably fewer jokes and comments made than you would see on most talk shows these days. As I sat and watched it I realized that even though Jon Stewart is still doing it in his humorous and witty way, he and The Daily Show are growing up. He is still as funny as ever, and yet it seems like his show has become more informative, less biased (he'll make fun of the liberals too, if given the chance) and more to the point where the American people think it counts. My hat's off to you, Mr. Stewart.
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