# Does anyone take Tucker Carlson seriously? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 23, 2005, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-take-tucker-carlson-seriously/336981 "2005-12-23T16:26:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-take-tucker-carlson-seriously/336981/81 "2005-12-29T17:12:43Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Well, that segment does sound like it was probably pretty funny. > > But it will take much more than that to convince me that the show was funnier when Kilborn hosted it. The only place i’ve ever seen Craig Kilborn is on his late-night talk show, where he was about the unfunniest person i’ve ever seen on television. Not only, that, he was, in my opinion, completely untalented and undeserving of having a show of his own, even one that ran after midnight. I literally could not bear to watch the guy. > > I guess i’ll have to try and track down some of his Daily Show work and see if he lost his talent all of a sudden, or if you and i just have a different idea of what constitutes funny. DS was pretty funny when Kilborn was on, though not nearly as good as it is now. Considering how totally lacking in humor his network show turned out, I’m pretty sure the credit for the show’s early success goes squarely to his writers on The Daily Show, particularly Liz Winstead, the head writer and creator of the show. I don’t think Kilborn was so much a creative force behind the show as a tool used to good effect by the show’s writers. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-take-tucker-carlson-seriously/336981/82 "2005-12-29T23:09:56Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > Obviously I meant his competition: other cable news shows in his timeslot. I don’t know why I bother to respond to you. “Obviously” indeed - you said “anything”, and being the top rated cable news (you did say “news”, didn’t you?) show weekdays at 8 is not worthy of mention by itself, even by you. You either lied or you really are dumber than shit, and you do need to be called on it or you’ll keep on lying. Being dumber than shit is probably unfixable, though. No go turn Fox back on and find out what you’re supposed to think _today_. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Cheatem_Undhow)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-take-tucker-carlson-seriously/336981/83 "2005-12-31T01:00:31Z")
I’d like to recommend to all particpants in this thread Tucker Carlson’s book, [Politicians, Partisans, and Parasites: My Adventures in Cable News](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0446529761/qid=1135990291/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-0331288-7339264?n=507846&s=books&v=glance), a decidedly non-partisan (and funny) trip through the looking glass of cable news punditry. Having read the book, I frankly don’t believe Tucker Carlson takes himself or his job all that seriously, and he doesn’t really aim for anyone else too, either. He knows his gob is goofy. Which is why, as much as I enjoyed Jon Stewart’s \*Crossfire \*explosion, I was disappointed that it was Carlson who ended up at the other end of the exchange – I really think Carlson was straitjacketed by the \*Crossfire \*format. Pity Stewart’s ire couldn’t have been directed towards other \*Crossfire \*talking heads, who, based on their appearances and writings elsewhere, seem to think much more highly of their jobs than Carlson. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-take-tucker-carlson-seriously/336981/84 "2005-12-31T05:18:13Z")
> [@Dewey Cheatem Undhow](#): > > Which is why, as much as I enjoyed Jon Stewart’s \*Crossfire \*explosion, I was disappointed that it was Carlson who ended up at the other end of the exchange – I really think Carlson was straitjacketed by the \*Crossfire \*format. Well, if you watch it, Carlson gets the brunt because he keeps talking. One point early in the segment, Begala says something to Stewart and Stewart looks at him and is about to rip into him when Carlson opens his mouth and draws the fire. From that point on, Begala stays down and doesn’t say a word and Carlson is the one who keeps things going. If Tucker had kept his mouth shut and let Stewart rip into Begala, then things would have gone better for him. I would have enjoyed it equally as much. Possibly more. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2006, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-take-tucker-carlson-seriously/336981/85 "2006-01-01T08:48:22Z")
Thing is, Bow-Tie Boy got way too pissy when Stewart said, “Stop, you’re hurting America”. Instead of playing along, or discussing things, he went on the defensive and just sounded like a whiny little schoolgirl. ---
**Author:** ![xcheopis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bc8723/32.png) [@xcheopis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xcheopis)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-take-tucker-carlson-seriously/336981/86 "2006-01-02T03:51:15Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Does anyone take him seriously? Sure, just as many people take Garry Trudeau seriously. > > But has Carlson **or Trudeau** ever had the slightest influence on public opinion? None whatsoever. …aside from that whole Tip O’Neill/mail-in-coupon strip, right? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-take-tucker-carlson-seriously/336981.md?page=4)