# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/41 "2009-08-20T16:40:13Z")
> [@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. When Biden says dumb shit, it gets laughed at. It’s not Stewart’s fault Biden hasn’t resigned from the Vice-presidency, threatened to sue bloggers, and accused the President of trying to kill his Down Syndrome baby. What’s Jon supposed to do, make stuff up? He can’t do that! What about the American soldiers? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/42 "2009-08-20T16:51:52Z")
> [@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. They don’t want him to say anything nutty about how health care reform will kill his Down Syndrome baby. Please don’t do that. S.A. likes to run off in his imagination. Facts just get in the way and he has to find away around them. Stewart gives the dems plenty of grief. He rants about their lack of guts often. He points out the defense of the health care option is being weakened by blue dogs and the power of insurance companies. He calls them gutless for not staying together and fighting as nastily as the repub do. He has skewered plenty of dems. The problem is that the facts have a democratic slant, according to Colbert. ---
**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, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/43 "2009-08-20T17:07:28Z")
> [@bup](#): > > For arguments’ sake, let’s assume this is true. > > So? So it negates **Scotty Mo’s** apparent admiration for Jon Stewart’s alleged talent as virtually anyone with a bully pulpit can make their opponents look bad. It also negates the message that conservatives are dumb to begin with and Stewart does a good job of pointing it out. He’s really just a left-wing Limbaugh with pretentions of skewing toward middledom. ---
**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, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/44 "2009-08-20T17:07:55Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Please don’t do that. S.A. likes to run off in his imagination. Facts just get in the way and he has to find away around them. Please take note of what forum we’re in and don’t criticize other posters personally. ---
**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, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/45 "2009-08-20T17:09:48Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > So it negates **Scotty Mo’s** apparent admiration for Jon Stewart’s alleged talent as virtually anyone with a bully pulpit can make their opponents look bad. It also negates the message that conservatives are dumb to begin with and Stewart does a good job of pointing it out. He’s really just a left-wing Limbaugh with pretentions of skewing toward middledom. So you’re saying Limbaugh is a talentless hack? 😉 ---
**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, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/46 "2009-08-20T17:10:15Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Please don’t do that. S.A. likes to run off in his imagination. Facts just get in the way and he has to find away around them. > Stewart gives the dems plenty of grief. He rants about their lack of guts often. He points out the defense of the health care option is being weakened by blue dogs and the power of insurance companies. He calls them gutless for not staying together and fighting as nastily as the repub do. He has skewered plenty of dems. The problem is that the facts have a democratic slant, according to Colbert. Every late-night comedian for decades has been defended by the allegation that they hit the Democrats too. The difference is that the joking is relatively benign and collegial when it comes to Democrats and scathing, disgusted and condescending when it comes to Republicans. ---
**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, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/47 "2009-08-20T17:13:48Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Every late-night comedian for decades has been defended by the allegation that they hit the Democrats too. The difference is that the joking is relatively benign and collegial when it comes to Democrats and scathing, disgusted and condescending when it comes to Republicans. It _certainly_ couldn’t be that the Republicans might actually _deserve_ it, no. Gotta be bias. ---
**Author:** ![drgnrdr07](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/71e660/32.png) [@drgnrdr07](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drgnrdr07)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/48 "2009-08-20T17:17:04Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > 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. In case anyone else wanted to see the clip: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa69puS7J0Q](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa69puS7J0Q) ---
**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, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/49 "2009-08-20T17:23:13Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > So it negates **Scotty Mo’s** apparent admiration for Jon Stewart’s alleged talent as virtually anyone with a bully pulpit can make their opponents look bad. It also negates the message that conservatives are dumb to begin with and Stewart does a good job of pointing it out. He’s really just a left-wing Limbaugh with pretentions of skewing toward middledom. Except that Stewart’s approach is to let his targets skewer themselves. Limbaugh’s approach requires repetition of the idea he wants to get across (“Hitler! Genocide! Healthcare reform!”). It requires hammering home his talking points, unencumbered by any supporting evidence. Stewart’s approach is “Here is what Sarah Palin said. Here is what she said 90 seconds earlier which is the exact opposite.” “Here is Glenn Beck repeatedly talking about how the US has the best healthcare system in the world. Now here is Glenn Beck a year and a half ago before he moved to Fox, repeatedly talking about how bad the US healthcare system is.” “Here is Sean Hannity talking about something Obama said. Here is a clip of what Obama actually said, which is the opposite of what Sean Hannity just claimed he said.” His material writes itself; he doesn’t need to hammer home the lie. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/50 "2009-08-20T17:41:08Z")
We’re still using “sick” to mean “cool”? ---
**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, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/51 "2009-08-20T17:45:39Z")
Veterans’ Adminstration health care had for decades been the laughingstock (or fearingstock, in the case of it’s potential patients) of the medical industry. Veterans with any alternative at all would avoid it like the plague. But something has changed and it is indeed very good now. My unkle developed Alzheimer’s a few years ago and wound up in a very, very nice VA facility. It was a combination residence facility and care center. People who qualified for VA benefits could live there for a reasonable fee and the care center was available for veterans who needed it. The people there were all very pleasant but still managed to be efficient and business like, and much thought had obviously gone into providing a nice environment with lots of amenities. My only complaint was that the doctor in charge of the facility’s health care took him off of all his medications so as to prescribe what he thought was needed instead, and added them back or adjusted them one at a time so as to observe their effect. My unkle had had both knees replaced a few years before but was still under considerable pain due to continuing knee problems, and it was months before the doctor deigned to give him back his pain meds. I’m not sure who or what was behind the change that has apparently taken place in the VA system, but they’ve done a damn good job. Still, if any segment of the population deserves to benefit from government health care and to be protected from the potentially ruinous cost of it, it should be veterans who gave years of their lives and in some cases suffered the loss of limbs or head injuries in service to their country. Further, veterans’ care is aimed at a narrowly targeted minority of the U.S. population. It would be exceedingly optimistic at best, and foolishly ignorant at worst, to assume that because the VA is being run well, it natually follows that a government UHC system, which will undoubtedly grow to cover everyone at some point, will be operated and financed just as well. ---
**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, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/52 "2009-08-20T17:50:07Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Except that Stewart’s approach is to let his targets skewer themselves… Not true, unless Limbaugh has changed his modus operandi in the last few years. I haven’t listened to Limbaugh in a long time, but back when I did he did exactly the same thing. Even now on his web site (which I peruse only occasionally, usually in order to find out more about something that comes up in the news or around here), he freqently posts quotes and comments by conservatives and liberals and uses them as a jumping off point for statements he wants to make or to illustrate points he wants to make. Limbaugh (and I’m sure Stewart) both take advantage of selective editing from time to time, but it doesn’t mean that that’s all they do. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/53 "2009-08-20T17:55:27Z")
> [@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.. I…disagree. Limbaugh’s been much more successful, over the years, at making himself look stupid. I’m not really a liberal, support the dems only tenuously, and have voted GOP in the past. Limbaugh’s humorless aggressive-aggressive bullying, misinforming, and strawmanning (not to mention the ugly hypocrisy in his private life) make him look obtuse, unpleasant, and morally flawed. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/54 "2009-08-20T17:55:48Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Stewart’s approach is “Here is what Sarah Palin said. Here is what she said 90 seconds earlier which is the exact opposite.” “Here is Glenn Beck repeatedly talking about how the US has the best healthcare system in the world. Now here is Glenn Beck a year and a half ago before he moved to Fox, repeatedly talking about how bad the US healthcare system is.” “Here is Sean Hannity talking about something Obama said. Here is a clip of what Obama actually said, which is the opposite of what Sean Hannity just claimed he said.” His material writes itself; he doesn’t need to hammer home the lie. What allows The Daily Show to do this is a massive video library. I get the impression that they have multiple DVRs recording all of the cable new channels and a bunch of other stuff, and then several interns who have to watch and catalog everything. So if Glenn Beck’s current statements about the healthcare system directly contradict what he said previously, they’re going to have the footage to call him on it. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/55 "2009-08-20T18:35:15Z")
> [@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. Which innocuous comments are these? “death panels?” “I’m quitting to do my job better?” During the campaign small pieces of idiocy were used to re-enforce the comedic (and accurate) perception of her ignorance. Remember, Tina Fey got laughs by quoting a portion of her interview verbatim. Possible with Biden? Don’t think so - he says stupid things, true, but not at such length. The other difference is that Dems admit when Biden is being stupid. We don’t have the equivalent of Bill Kristol masturbating all over his brilliance. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/56 "2009-08-20T18:49:24Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Which innocuous comments are these? “death panels?” “I’m quitting to do my job better?” > During the campaign small pieces of idiocy were used to re-enforce the comedic (and accurate) perception of her ignorance. Remember, Tina Fey got laughs by quoting a portion of her interview verbatim. Possible with Biden? Don’t think so - he says stupid things, true, but not at such length. Heck, William Shatner got big laughs just by reciting Palin’s resignation speech as if it were bad poetry. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/57 "2009-08-20T18:50:17Z")
Biden makes gaffes. Palin makes unnerving crazy. There’s a very wide difference, no matter how you spin it. ---
**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, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/58 "2009-08-20T19:10:52Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > 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. It’s a cute moment, but doesn’t prove anything. On the assumption the the military does indeed get excellent healthcare (and ignoring for the moment that the military is overwhelmingly male and thus doesn’t have to deal with women’s health problems in nearly the same proportion as the general population), the cost of that healthcare is bundled in with the already huge amount of money the Americans spend on the military in general. Keeping soldiers healthy is critical aspect of keeping the military effective. There’s no indication this can readily be extended to the general population where individual fitness standards are nonexistent. If Kristol had been a little more on the ball, he could have countered Stewart easily enough. ---
**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, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/59 "2009-08-20T19:27:37Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Not true, unless Limbaugh has changed his modus operandi in the last few years. I haven’t listened to Limbaugh in a long time, but back when I did he did exactly the same thing. Even now on his web site (which I peruse only occasionally, usually in order to find out more about something that comes up in the news or around here), he freqently posts quotes and comments by conservatives and liberals and uses them as a jumping off point for statements he wants to make or to illustrate points he wants to make. Ah, yes, such salient points. Like how [Obama is just like Hitler?](http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2009/08/limbaughs_inciteful_rhetoric.html) Yeah, you hear Stewart making specious analogies like that all the time! :rolleyes: Comparing a prize-winning thoroughbred to a syphalitic hamster may work in your world (“they’re both mammals, after all”), but it doesn’t make it any less pathetic. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032/60 "2009-08-20T19:46:59Z")
> [@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. How dare you pick on the dead like that. For shame. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-sick/507032.md?page=4)