# Jon Stewart is SICK! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 20, 2009, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032 "2009-08-20T03:30:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/21 "2009-08-20T13:23:42Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Now that the Republicans no longer have power Stewart’s schtick seems a little lame. He does criticize Obama sometimes, but the problem is that the tone is much different from when he went after Bush. The tone of his critiques of Obama is “hey, go do better!” which is a lot less funny than “God, you’re horrible!” It’s not surprising given Stewart’s own political leanings and all, but I think there’s better material out there. Some of it’s been good, but I’d like to see more teeth in the jokes. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/22 "2009-08-20T13:30:06Z")
I too thought the OP meant “Sick” as in “Demented.” Like, look how demented Stewart is for picking on wholesome real Americans like Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/23 "2009-08-20T13:31:33Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Now that the Republicans no longer have power Stewart’s schtick seems a little lame. The most effective (and dangerous) satire is always that directed at those with power over us. The Dems have power now and yet Stewart still, week after week, launches himself at the Right. Sure, it’s amusing, but now it also seems safe and cosy. > > I could be wrong. Maybe he still has teeth to go after the follies of those in power. Or maybe he’ll just turn into the Government’s attack dog. We’ll see. If you pay attention, he does take on the left too, pretty regularly, when they present a fat target. ---
**Author:** ![Theodore\_Striker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Theodore\_Striker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theodore_Striker)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/24 "2009-08-20T14:14:11Z")
I agree with **sailboat** , he is equal opportunity, when the opportunity presents itself. In the past few years, the right side of the spectrum has seemed to give opportunity after opportunity to be skewered, but I am guessing that when a lefty spouts off something full of the crazy, he will be equally as critical. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/25 "2009-08-20T14:29:05Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Now that the Republicans no longer have power Stewart’s schtick seems a little lame. The most effective (and dangerous) satire is always that directed at those with power over us. The Dems have power now and yet Stewart still, week after week, launches himself at the Right. Sure, it’s amusing, but now it also seems safe and cosy. > > I could be wrong. Maybe he still has teeth to go after the follies of those in power. Or maybe he’ll just turn into the Government’s attack dog. We’ll see. While the Republicans no hold majorities in the Senate, House or the Presidency, they still hold power, as shown by the way they are dominating the health care issue. Sure, they’re doing it with shouting and strawmen, but they’re still controlling things. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/26 "2009-08-20T14:49:11Z")
And, as with Palin and Sanford, just because they don’t have any national majorities doesn’t mean there aren’t many areas where they have power. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/27 "2009-08-20T14:53:40Z")
Damn. When I saw the thread title I was hoping he had long-term laryngitis. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/28 "2009-08-20T14:55:24Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Yeah, but now folks are going to think he’s not just sick (out for a week with yak-tongue), but SICK! EMERGENCY! READ THIS THREAD BEFORE HE’S GONE!!!1!!11ONEONEONE > > 😛 > > Man, can’t please everyone, can you? > [@joebuck20](#): > > I too thought the OP meant “Sick” as in “Demented.” Like, look how demented Stewart is for picking on wholesome real Americans like Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck. Some days I’m lucky if I can please anybody. :smack: I’ll change the title to something like “awesome” if the OP approves, if not, we’ll have to move on. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/29 "2009-08-20T15:00:05Z")
> [@Theodore\_Striker](#): > > I agree with **sailboat** , he is equal opportunity, when the opportunity presents itself. In the past few years, the right side of the spectrum has seemed to give opportunity after opportunity to be skewered, but I am guessing that when a lefty spouts off something full of the crazy, he will be equally as critical. I think he’s at his best when calling people on their bullshit and inconsistency. It’s hard to do that on someone you support. He did something pretty good recently while commenting on the lack of specifics of health care reform, and wound up by saying something like “Enough with the analogies! I don’t want to know what my deductible is _like_, I want to know what it _is_!” For that matter, he was very funny the other night with his response to Obama’s comment about how a public option won’t kill private health care because we have a public mail option and FedEx and UPS are fine - ‘it’s the post office that’s always in trouble.’ He said something like, “Maybe you shouldn’t have dumped on the post office, but it’s okay, you’re only the most gifted speaker of your generation.” ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/30 "2009-08-20T15:04:05Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Not too familiar with the show, but I was under the impression that Elisabeth Hasselbeck is the View’s Alan Colmes. That sort of fits with her rather diffident manner. Pending further explanation from **Markxxx** , this says much. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/31 "2009-08-20T15:33:05Z")
> [@Scotty Mo](#): > > Just watched his show and damn does he make conservatives look dumb. Does it better than anybody else. Frankly, most of the conservatives don’t need his help- but if it weren’t for Stewart and his crew, they wouldn’t be as amusing (and we probably wouldn’t know about them). I was watching an old episode I hadn’t seen yesterday where this senator was making a bizarre metaphor involving Sur Taxalot and the Debt and Deficit Dragon and laughing my ass off, both at the bizarreness of the metaphor and Stewart’s comments on it. “The goose that laid the golden eggs? That’s not even in the story! That’s an Aesop fable! Is that how you tell the story to your grandchildren?” _Entertainment Weekly_ had an article recently about the passing of Walter Cronkite and how Stewart probably now holds Cronkite’s mantle of “the most trusted newsman on television.” Sadly, since the TV newsscape is now batshit insane, they may be right. It’s kind of sad that the sanest of the crazy news anchors out there is a comedian by trade who often points out that his show is “fake news”- but when the news itself ends up as unintentional comedy, it seems that the comedian is the only sane one. Or to steal a line from Shakespeare, “Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.” ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/32 "2009-08-20T15:34:56Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Now that the Republicans no longer have power Stewart’s schtick seems a little lame. The most effective (and dangerous) satire is always that directed at those with power over us. The Dems have power now and yet Stewart still, week after week, launches himself at the Right. Sure, it’s amusing, but now it also seems safe and cosy. > > I could be wrong. Maybe he still has teeth to go after the follies of those in power. Or maybe he’ll just turn into the Government’s attack dog. We’ll see. I wasn’t under the impression Stewart’s main target was Republicans or Democrats, or politicians in general. His primary always seems to me to be the media itself, including the wild and blatant inconsistencies at Fox News but also when CNN segues from a story about a terrorist attack to one about tiger cubs. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/33 "2009-08-20T15:55:44Z")
> [@Scotty Mo](#): > > Just watched his show and damn does he make conservatives look dumb. Does it better than anybody else. > [@mobo85](#): > > Frankly, most of the conservatives don’t need his help. One can say the same about Rush Limbaugh and liberals. Limbaugh, better than anyone since, does an excellent job of making liberals look stupid as hell. And it can certainly be argued by those who don’t share liberal beliefs that he doesn’t need much help. It’s easy to make people look dumb/bad/whatever when you have your own bully pulpit and can select which of your opponents’ remarks will be presented and how. To use the nation’s media as an example, if Joe Biden’s gaffs and outright stupid remarks got anywhere near the coverage that Sarah Palin’s minor ones receive, she’d look like Stephen Hawking. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/34 "2009-08-20T16:03:38Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > To use the nation’s media as an example, if Joe Biden’s gaffs and outright stupid remarks got anywhere near the coverage that Sarah Palin’s minor ones receive, she’d look like Stephen Hawking. Biden’s gotten plenty of coverage for running off at the mouth, starting with calling Obama clean and mainstream two years ago, then when he talked about people watching FDR on TV during the Great Depression, and his confusing comments about Russia (I think) a few weeks ago. All of which is why the White House tries to keep him away from the press. They don’t want him to say anything nutty about how health care reform will kill his Down Syndrome baby. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/35 "2009-08-20T16:08:49Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Biden’s gotten plenty of coverage for running off at the mouth, starting with calling Obama clean and mainstream two years ago, then when he talked about people watching FDR on TV during the Great Depression, and his confusing comments about Russia (I think) a few weeks ago. All of which is why the White House tries to keep him away from the press. Yeah, but even though a comment or two gets reported from time to time, it’s with nowhere near the frequency, intensity, ourtrage or incredulity visited upon even fairly innocuous comments by Palin. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/36 "2009-08-20T16:11:07Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Yeah, but even though a comment or two gets reported from time to time, it’s with nowhere near the frequency, intensity, ourtrage or incredulity visited upon even fairly innocuous comments by Palin. Probably because they don’t let the press near Biden, whereas Palin can’t get enough air time. If even FOX isn’t tearing into Biden, it’s probably because there’s been nothing to tear into. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/37 "2009-08-20T16:26:34Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > One can say the same about Rush Limbaugh and liberals. Limbaugh, better than anyone since, does an excellent job of making liberals look stupid as hell. And it can certainly be argued by those who don’t share liberal beliefs that he doesn’t need much help. For arguments’ sake, let’s assume this is true. So? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/38 "2009-08-20T16:29:17Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > I think he is good, but do remember having his own show he picks the battles he fights, I agree with most of what he says, but I could take him down on his points quitel easily as could anyone familiar with rules of debate. > > Stewarts fine for entertainment but just remember when you can pick and choose what you want and ignore everything else that refutes what you say, it’s easy to come off as slick or good. Did you happen to see the show where he got Bill Kristol to admit that the best healthcare in the country is the government-run VA. Kristol (and I) never saw it coming. Very slick indeed. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/39 "2009-08-20T16:35:06Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > One can say the same about Rush Limbaugh and liberals. Limbaugh, better than anyone since, does an excellent job of making liberals look stupid as hell. And it can certainly be argued by those who don’t share liberal beliefs that he doesn’t need much help. > > It’s easy to make people look dumb/bad/whatever when you have your own bully pulpit and can select which of your opponents’ remarks will be presented and how. It’s absolutely no surprise that this point is lost among the righties time and time again, but there’s no comparison between the two. Rush has an idealogical agenda first, and takes whatever quotes he can to push this agenda. This means he frequently takes things completely out of context just to make liberals look “foolish” or “dumb”. Sure, there’s plenty of raw material to work with, and Dems are often quite guilty of saying idiotic things, but whenever Rush is speaking Truth to Power, his priority is always power over truth, so even the points he does make effectively have to be taken with skepticism because of his track record of brazen manipulation. Stewart has political leanings, without a doubt, but he has a larger axe to grind–hypocrisy and bald-faced dishonesty from the left and right, politicians or media. I’m pretty fluent in most of the material he uses, and I’ve never seen him take a clip out of context or use it in a way that completely distorts the original meaning of the text. And he’s merciless to Dems in a way that Rush is never to the GOP (except, of course, those who stray off the reservation). Of course, Stewart picks his battles judiciously, will concentrate on Republicans more than Dems, and doesn’t have as much air time to fill, but he’s still got a peerless reputation for honesty and fairplay (and his points aren’t coated in bile and vitriol the way Rush’s often are). It’s glib and convenient to say they’re just two peas in a pod, but it’s also a partisan fantasy. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/40 "2009-08-20T16:38:42Z")
Not to mention that I can’t honestly see how many of the clips shown on TDS could be at all improved or have their meaning changed through extra context. Is there something missing from the clips of Glenn Beck pissing on American healthcare and then lauding it? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032.md?page=3)