Jon Stewart's appearance on Crossfire

[Angel of Death]

...happened exactly four presidential terms ago today and should be required viewing for any (politically aware) generation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFQFB5YpDZE

Contemporary forum threads:
https://talkelections.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=10355.0
https://talkelections.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=10587.0

[GeneralMacArthur]

F***ing legendary.  Much better than his debate with Bill O'Reilly where he didn't know the difference between the annual deficit and the national debt.

[Edu]

lol yeah, I remember hating Tucker Carlson in 2004 too

[Darthpi – Anti-Florida Activist]

Absolutely iconic.

[Progressive Pessimist]

I miss him. He was good for the country. I like Trevor Noah just fine, but the Daily Show isn't the institution that it was under Stewart anymore.

[Bootes Void]

Jon Stewart daily Show was a great fit for when politics was more "innocent". Nowadays it's feels like politics are so crazy and terrible that it hard to find humour in what's happening

Just my take though

[Alben Barkley]

Jon Stewart daily Show was a great fit for when politics was more "innocent". Nowadays it's feels like politics are so crazy and terrible that it hard to find humour in what's happening

Just my take though

I just think his "both sides" schtick is quaint and hasn't aged well.

[Benjamin Frank]

Jon Stewart daily Show was a great fit for when politics was more "innocent". Nowadays it's feels like politics are so crazy and terrible that it hard to find humour in what's happening

Just my take though

I just think his "both sides" schtick is quaint and hasn't aged well.

Jon Stewart's comments were an indictment of the media.  He was spot on but he ultimately failed because nothing has improved.

[Alben Barkley]

Jon Stewart daily Show was a great fit for when politics was more "innocent". Nowadays it's feels like politics are so crazy and terrible that it hard to find humour in what's happening

Just my take though

I just think his "both sides" schtick is quaint and hasn't aged well.

Jon Stewart's comments were an indictment of the media.  He was spot on but he ultimately failed because nothing has improved.

He was right about the media making everything into infotainment and aggravating polarization, but I'm talking about the whole "Say something nice about President Bush" thing. Why should the media do that? The goal shouldn't be for both sides to be nice to each other even when they don't deserve it. The goal should be to be honest and as objective as possible. If that means Bush deserves to be excoriated, so be it.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Jon Stewart daily Show was a great fit for when politics was more "innocent". Nowadays it's feels like politics are so crazy and terrible that it hard to find humour in what's happening

Just my take though

I just think his "both sides" schtick is quaint and hasn't aged well.

Jon Stewart's comments were an indictment of the media.  He was spot on but he ultimately failed because nothing has improved.

He was right about the media making everything into infotainment and aggravating polarization, but I'm talking about the whole "Say something nice about President Bush" thing. Why should the media do that? The goal shouldn't be for both sides to be nice to each other even when they don't deserve it. The goal should be to be honest and as objective as possible. If that means Bush deserves to be excoriated, so be it.

While the media was nice to Bush for the first 3 years , they pretty much had totally turned on him by 2004 and were clearly biased against him in the last 5 years of his presidency.

The fact that he got the blame for Katrina, despite their being little he could do showed they were biased against him at that point as there was very little he could have done to stop the levies from failing.

[GeneralMacArthur]

While the media was nice to Bush for the first 3 years , they pretty much had totally turned on him by 2004 and were clearly biased against him in the last 5 years of his presidency.

The fact that he got the blame for Katrina, despite their being little he could do showed they were biased against him at that point as there was very little he could have done to stop the levies from failing.

Nobody blames Bush for the levees failing.  They blame him for the sh--ty leadership on the cleanup and recovery effort.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

While the media was nice to Bush for the first 3 years , they pretty much had totally turned on him by 2004 and were clearly biased against him in the last 5 years of his presidency.

The fact that he got the blame for Katrina, despite their being little he could do showed they were biased against him at that point as there was very little he could have done to stop the levies from failing.

Nobody blames Bush for the levees failing.  They blame him for the sh--ty leadership on the cleanup and recovery effort.

"Heck of a job, Browny!"

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Jon Stewart daily Show was a great fit for when politics was more "innocent". Nowadays it's feels like politics are so crazy and terrible that it hard to find humour in what's happening

Just my take though

I just think his "both sides" schtick is quaint and hasn't aged well.

Jon Stewart's comments were an indictment of the media.  He was spot on but he ultimately failed because nothing has improved.

He was right about the media making everything into infotainment and aggravating polarization, but I'm talking about the whole "Say something nice about President Bush" thing. Why should the media do that? The goal shouldn't be for both sides to be nice to each other even when they don't deserve it. The goal should be to be honest and as objective as possible. If that means Bush deserves to be excoriated, so be it.

In all fairness Stewart probably agrees with you now.

[QAnonKelly]

Jon Stewart daily Show was a great fit for when politics was more "innocent". Nowadays it's feels like politics are so crazy and terrible that it hard to find humour in what's happening

Just my take though

I just think his "both sides" schtick is quaint and hasn't aged well.

Jon Stewart's comments were an indictment of the media.  He was spot on but he ultimately failed because nothing has improved.

He was right about the media making everything into infotainment and aggravating polarization, but I'm talking about the whole "Say something nice about President Bush" thing. Why should the media do that? The goal shouldn't be for both sides to be nice to each other even when they don't deserve it. The goal should be to be honest and as objective as possible. If that means Bush deserves to be excoriated, so be it.

While the media was nice to Bush for the first 3 years , they pretty much had totally turned on him by 2004 and were clearly biased against him in the last 5 years of his presidency.

The fact that he got the blame for Katrina, despite their being little he could do showed they were biased against him at that point as there was very little he could have done to stop the levies from failing.

Lol, it’s not hard to be biased against W. He was a complete clusterf**k of a President.

[Lurker]

I came across Paul Begala's reflections on this interview, and found it surprisingly interesting (and somewhat self-critical). https://edition.cnn.com/2015/02/12/opinion/begala-stewart-blew-up-crossfire/index.html

In hindsight, I do not feel Stewart's performance is nearly as impressive as we all thought back then, for several reasons, but the two points mentioned in this thread are what sticks out the most. (The "I'm only a comedian" bit, and the lame "both sides" thing.)

[Obama-Biden Democrat]

Jon Stewart daily Show was a great fit for when politics was more "innocent". Nowadays it's feels like politics are so crazy and terrible that it hard to find humour in what's happening

Just my take though

I just think his "both sides" schtick is quaint and hasn't aged well.

Jon Stewart's comments were an indictment of the media.  He was spot on but he ultimately failed because nothing has improved.

He was right about the media making everything into infotainment and aggravating polarization, but I'm talking about the whole "Say something nice about President Bush" thing. Why should the media do that? The goal shouldn't be for both sides to be nice to each other even when they don't deserve it. The goal should be to be honest and as objective as possible. If that means Bush deserves to be excoriated, so be it.

In all fairness Stewart probably agrees with you now.

The liberal youth disenchantment didn't really kick in to overdrive until Bush's second term. You still had the post 9/11 patriotic rally around the flag afterglow in 2004. Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart were my heroes back then.

[Senator Incitatus]

One of the worst moments in the history of American political media. Since then, it has been smug condescension in every direction.

[Landslide Lyndon]

Jon Stewart daily Show was a great fit for when politics was more "innocent". Nowadays it's feels like politics are so crazy and terrible that it hard to find humour in what's happening

Just my take though

I just think his "both sides" schtick is quaint and hasn't aged well.

This. And doubling down on it in his latest movie is like providing cover to all the Republican norm-breaking in the last 10 years plus.

[T'Chenka]

I just think his "both sides" schtick is quaint and hasn't aged well.
[/quote]The Republicans and Trump being almost-literal moustache-twirling villains doesn't automatically mean the Democrats are the good guys, or that the media isn't in bed with "the establishment" and corporate interests.