# Dennis Miller on The Daily Show (3/27) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 28, 2007, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-miller-on-the-daily-show-3-27/397832 "2007-03-28T14:24:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-miller-on-the-daily-show-3-27/397832/21 "2007-03-28T15:41:40Z")
I agree with Loach’s source that Miller has always been a conservative. One way to spot a libertarian from a conservative is to hold up patriotic signs, make a stirring speech about duty to country, wave a flag, and sing God Bless America. The libertarian will say, “Get all that crap off my property.” ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-miller-on-the-daily-show-3-27/397832/22 "2007-03-28T15:52:25Z")
I’ll accept that most interviews are somewhat coached and I know that producers will ask the interview-ee for a couple topics of interest to launch from. I suppose what disappointed me most from Stewart’s angle was his feigned suprise at how rapid-fire “witty” Miller was. Pretending to look up Miller’s sleeve for cards and stuff as if Miller was actually pulling the act out of a hat. They’re friends, I understand it and I won’t be wearing sackcloth over it but… meh. Didn’t care for it. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-miller-on-the-daily-show-3-27/397832/23 "2007-03-28T15:52:55Z")
For standup comedians their first loyalty is to each other in the profession. It was scripted and made Miller look pretty good. Except attacking Byrd because he is old is not right. Byrd likes to repeat thinking it will hammer the point home. This is not new and many pols do it during their speeches. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-miller-on-the-daily-show-3-27/397832/24 "2007-03-28T15:59:49Z")
The bit with Byrd was the one part where Stewart seemed uncomfortable with the tone and tried to diffuse the venom with his “dollar” comment. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-miller-on-the-daily-show-3-27/397832/25 "2007-03-28T16:02:47Z")
[QUOTE=Jophiel] I don’t think I’d ever actually heard him “interviewed” before, just giving prepared bits. Which is apparently the same thing 😃 Again, I’m well aware that TDS isn’t a serious news show but Stewart can be a strong, entertaining and interesting interviewer even when the guest isn’t a national leader or presidental candidate. Given that Miller has built his entire schtick on intellectual references, I had thought that a real interview between them would have been good viewing. So color me disappointed. [/QUOTE] I agree with you. I actually had to turn it off because I’m not a big fan of stand-up and I hated the canned manic delivery. I had hoped they could shoot the shit as pals; hosts do that with enough actors who are hawking their latest project but don’t have to Act during the whole segment. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-miller-on-the-daily-show-3-27/397832/26 "2007-03-28T16:04:48Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] For standup comedians their first loyalty is to each other in the profession. It was scripted and made Miller look pretty good. Except attacking Byrd because he is old is not right. Byrd likes to repeat thinking it will hammer the point home. This is not new and many pols do it during their speeches. [/QUOTE] Why is pointing out Byrd’s baffoonery not right? If he was retired and ranting at stop sign in West Virginia I would say it was not right. He was speaking on the floor of the Senate. He is a baffoon and he is getting worse as he gets older. And yet he keeps getting reelected. I wonder why? oink oink oink ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-miller-on-the-daily-show-3-27/397832/27 "2007-03-28T16:06:12Z")
[QUOTE=Jophiel] The bit with Byrd was the one part where Stewart seemed uncomfortable with the tone and tried to diffuse the venom with his “dollar” comment. [/QUOTE] I think he might have felt the need to give “equal time”, after all his ribbing of Strom Thurmond. ETA for those who don’t know: Thurmond was old enough to be Byrd’s father. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-miller-on-the-daily-show-3-27/397832/28 "2007-03-28T16:07:16Z")
I couldn’t care less if it was rehearsed or prescripted if it actually had been funny or insightful, but Miller was neither. Is that the best that “conservative” humor can come up with? Byrd’s old! Pelosi looks funny! With all the shit that comes down the pike from this administration, with all the fallout that has pervaded the news from the GOP’s policies, how in the world can he believe anyone but the kool-aid drinkers are taking him seriously when that’s the best he can harp on? I used to like Miller and his riffs but this was just sad. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-miller-on-the-daily-show-3-27/397832/29 "2007-03-28T16:07:38Z")
Miller’s bits always feel a bit more scripted than most, probably because he puts a lot into choosing types of words for their impact. The last time that he was on Stewart’s show, Jon did the usual setup kind of stuff, but then poked a little fun at him for his phrasing. I don’t recall exactly, but Miller said something like “mandibular hinge” instead of “jaw,” and Stewart asked him why. That time, he also asked him about whether or not he was going to stick with being a right wing suck up (my words, not his) and Miller gave a really weak reply to the effect that he was for fighting the terrorists. Even though this implies that other people are not, Stewart sadly let it go at that. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-miller-on-the-daily-show-3-27/397832/30 "2007-03-28T16:09:23Z")
It might be the case that a person wedded to a leftist agenda will seldom if ever find humor in right-oriented jokes. And vice versa. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-miller-on-the-daily-show-3-27/397832/31 "2007-03-28T16:13:11Z")
[QUOTE=ArchiveGuy] I couldn’t care less if it was rehearsed or prescripted if it actually had been funny or insightful, but Miller was neither. Is that the best that “conservative” humor can come up with? Byrd’s old! Pelosi looks funny! [/QUOTE] “Pelosi looks funny”? I haven’t seen the show from last night yet, but is that really what he was attacking her for? I find that really amusingly inconsistent of him, since (as we discussed around here somewhere before) Miller did a pre-recorded bit for some conservative show where he was trying to make jokes on the premise that Pelosi is stupid. I commented at the time that that was really lame because he seemed to be trying to both create a caricature and joke about it at the same time. It was also really, really lame because they did these little video and sound cut-outs that seemed to do nothing but cue the audience as to who Miller was referring to. That seemed to me to both undermine whatever humor there was, and to indicate that they thought his audience would be especially stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-miller-on-the-daily-show-3-27/397832/32 "2007-03-28T16:16:10Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] It might be the case that a person wedded to a leftist agenda will seldom if ever find humor in right-oriented jokes. And vice versa. [/QUOTE] Based purely on apparent commercial success, it seems that few people find right-oriented jokes funny. In fact, if one wanted to do the research, Miller might be a good example. One might look at sales figures or some other measure for “The Off White Album” or other things he was doing back then for example, compared to something of his recent vintage. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-miller-on-the-daily-show-3-27/397832/33 "2007-03-28T16:22:32Z")
Maybe Jeff Foxworthy would be a better example. He tells redneck jokes to rednecks. His comedy records have sold more than anyone else’s (more than 13 million comedy albums). I think you may be forgetting the whole Christian Right market. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-miller-on-the-daily-show-3-27/397832/34 "2007-03-28T16:33:25Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] Maybe Jeff Foxworthy would be a better example. He tells redneck jokes to rednecks. His comedy records have sold more than anyone else’s (more than 13 million comedy albums). I think you may be forgetting the whole Christian Right market. [/QUOTE] Are redneck jokes right-oriented or left-oriented? What political views does Foxworthy express in his jokes that would make him suitable to assess the question? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-miller-on-the-daily-show-3-27/397832/35 "2007-03-28T16:41:27Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] It might be the case that a person wedded to a leftist agenda will seldom if ever find humor in right-oriented jokes. And vice versa. [/QUOTE] Possibly. Although I did laugh a good laugh at Stewart and his bucket of peanuts 😃 ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-miller-on-the-daily-show-3-27/397832/36 "2007-03-28T16:54:08Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] It might be the case that a person wedded to a leftist agenda will seldom if ever find humor in right-oriented jokes. And vice versa. [/QUOTE] I dunno. While PJ O’Rourke is more libertarian than conservative, he has made a very good living poking fun at liberals and leftists. And i have bought many of his books, and know plenty of liberals and leftists who find him very funny, even when he’s skewering us. I’m happy to laugh at my political leanings, as long as the jokes are actually funny. As for _The Daily Show_ and other talk/comedy shows, the fact is that the interviews are really little more than extended advertising sections. The person being interviewed nearly always has something to sell (book, movie, radio show), and they are usually only appearing for that reason. I find the interviews the least interesting parts of all of those shows, and often go back to reading a book or playing on the computer when they begin. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-miller-on-the-daily-show-3-27/397832/37 "2007-03-28T17:10:27Z")
[QUOTE=Hentor the Barbarian] Are redneck jokes right-oriented or left-oriented? What political views does Foxworthy express in his jokes that would make him suitable to assess the question? [/QUOTE] The thing that’s struck me about Foxworthy and the two other guys on his show (Larry TCG & some other dude) is that they may take some little stabs at “PC-ness” and “coast/city culture”, but nothing I’ve ever seen strikes me as mean-spirited, and the sharpest barbs are always at their own kind (playing up stereotypes and “country culture”/tradition/tastes, etc.). I don’t think it’s wrong to say that they’re conservative comics, but I think that’s different from labelling it conservative humor. Their humor may have “mass” (or lowbrow) appeal and may largely be consumed by red staters, but it’s usually not all that political. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-miller-on-the-daily-show-3-27/397832/38 "2007-03-28T17:26:43Z")
[QUOTE=ArchiveGuy] I don’t think it’s wrong to say that they’re conservative comics, but I think that’s different from labelling it conservative humor. Their humor may have “mass” (or lowbrow) appeal and may largely be consumed by red staters, but it’s usually not all that political. [/QUOTE] Exactly. It would be like suggesting that _Seinfeld_ was humor from the political perspective of New York Jewish people. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-miller-on-the-daily-show-3-27/397832/39 "2007-03-28T18:03:07Z")
[QUOTE=Hentor the Barbarian] Are redneck jokes right-oriented or left-oriented? What political views does Foxworthy express in his jokes that would make him suitable to assess the question? [/QUOTE] I’d have to say they’re right-oriented. It’s kinda like blacks making jokes about blacks is one thing, but whites making jokes about blacks is another. Rednecks are gun totin’, deer huntin’, Bud drinkin’ alpha males who put flag decals on their pickup trucks. They’d likely take the same words from Foxworthy as a joke, but from Stewart as an insult. (He identifies himself as a redneck.) ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-miller-on-the-daily-show-3-27/397832/40 "2007-03-28T18:04:41Z")
[QUOTE=mhendo] While PJ O’Rourke is more libertarian than conservative, he has made a very good living poking fun at liberals and leftists. And i have bought many of his books, and know plenty of liberals and leftists who find him very funny, even when he’s skewering us. I’m happy to laugh at my political leanings, as long as the jokes are actually funny. [/QUOTE] That’s a good point, and I agree. O’Rourke has a gift for being inoffensive. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-miller-on-the-daily-show-3-27/397832.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-miller-on-the-daily-show-3-27/397832.md?page=3)