# More on the Right Wing Daily show (commercial, specifically) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 13, 2007, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-on-the-right-wing-daily-show-commercial-specifically/392091 "2007-02-13T23:04:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-on-the-right-wing-daily-show-commercial-specifically/392091/161 "2007-02-15T20:46:10Z")
Thank you, thank you. I’ll be here all subscription. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-on-the-right-wing-daily-show-commercial-specifically/392091/162 "2007-02-15T20:47:55Z")
[QUOTE=stolichnaya] I no longer understand this thread. [/QUOTE] They’re acting out a sketch from the show. I told you, it’s really not funny. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-on-the-right-wing-daily-show-commercial-specifically/392091/163 "2007-02-15T21:03:11Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] I can only dream of attaining half your level of growth and maturity. Do you give lessons? [/QUOTE] We have been. All for naught, it would seem. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-on-the-right-wing-daily-show-commercial-specifically/392091/164 "2007-02-15T21:19:07Z")
[QUOTE=elucidator] We have been. All for naught, it would seem. [/QUOTE] Oh, shit, well why didn’t you just _say_ you were teaching me to bray and cackle like a jackass dodging buckshot? Why use coy codewords like “growth”? ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Dead\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Badger)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-on-the-right-wing-daily-show-commercial-specifically/392091/165 "2007-02-15T21:47:20Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] Me neither, seeing as how I didn’t and all. It was completely justified. Just because you have no grace or class doesn’t mean I feel any persecution from you. I feel vindication, if anything. You all just keep coming back to kick at the corpse. [/QUOTE] So, to recap: [ol] [li]The only thing you’ve retracted is your alleged “hypothesis” that right-wing people would like the show _because_ left-wing people dislike it;[/li][li]“Leftists” are apparently supposed to be gracious and grateful for this;[/li][li]You still believe “leftists” only disliked the show because they’re filthy partisans, and;[/li][li]The fact that “they” are annoyed by this merely proves that you were right.[/li][/ol] That’s what you’ve said, as I understand it. Perhaps you could point out which bit is wrong, because I’m utterly confused as to which point we were supposed to fall over ourselves and say, “gosh, isn’t that **Lib** a swell guy for owning up to his mistakes?” I do apologise to those who still want to discuss the OP, and will shut up if there’s any great impetus to do so; to be fair, though, it seems like there’s more or less unanimous agreement that the show appears to suck. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-on-the-right-wing-daily-show-commercial-specifically/392091/166 "2007-02-15T21:57:51Z")
[QUOTE=Apos] Boy, Ann Coulter sure can act, can’t she? I mean, when she comes in and says “Mr. President” it just SELLS the scene: I TOTALLY buy that she’s the Vice-President! [http://hotair.com/archives/2007/02/14/video-president-rush-limbaugh-vice-president-ann-coulter/](http://hotair.com/archives/2007/02/14/video-president-rush-limbaugh-vice-president-ann-coulter/) [/QUOTE] This bit was funnier when [Al Gore](http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3zwc_al-gores-state-of-the-union-51406) did it. ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-on-the-right-wing-daily-show-commercial-specifically/392091/167 "2007-02-15T21:57:56Z")
Right around the time of the 2004 election, there were a number of articles about The Daily Show. In the article, they declared themselves to be against BULLSHIT, regardless of the affiliation of the source.\* The fact that the right has had plenty of bullshit to spew and and unfettered access to channels to do so has meant that TDS has targeted them frequently. They frequently feature right-wing guests, and let them speak their minds, however, and one of the funniest lines I’ve heard all month was when Jon Stewart’s routine was suddenly interrupted by a choir of angel voices, and he said , “Wait! that sound can mean only one thing: Barack Obama did something!” They are not partisan, as a rule. The fact that a non-partisan show frequently targeting the being an indication that the right currently has more bullshit on display seems to be lost on creators of “right wing comedy shows”. If the right is getting attacked, then they must attack back! Hence the faulty premise of this entertainment. - Of course, they also said they were glad they were doing more stories about bullshit coming from the powerful, as opposed to propping up some eccentric nobody for ridicule, but I have noticed them returning all too frequently to THAT well in recent months. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-on-the-right-wing-daily-show-commercial-specifically/392091/168 "2007-02-15T22:29:22Z")
[QUOTE=scotandrsn] The fact that a non-partisan show frequently targeting the being an indication that the right currently has more bullshit on display seems to be lost on creators of “right wing comedy shows”. If the right is getting attacked, then they must attack back! Hence the faulty premise of this entertainment. [/QUOTE] Would you be good enough to rewrite this sentence, please? It’s making my head hurt. ---
**Author:** ![stolichnaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@stolichnaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolichnaya)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-on-the-right-wing-daily-show-commercial-specifically/392091/169 "2007-02-15T22:52:55Z")
This is what I’m getting from **scotandrsn** : “The fact that a non-partisan anti-bullshit show frequently targets the right is an indication that the right currently has more bullshit on display. This seems to be lost on the creators of “right wing” comedy shows.” True. I don’t really buy that TDS is “non-partisan”. They are pretty obviously liberal in worldview. However, they are extremely talented comedians, and they serve the funny first. Apos’ point also can’t be repeated enough, in my opinion, _this is MEDIA CRITICISM on balance, not political satire_. This does not remove that fact that the Bush administration could not be creating a more conducive environment for satire. They are the Fertile Crescent of satire. ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-on-the-right-wing-daily-show-commercial-specifically/392091/170 "2007-02-15T23:17:12Z")
[QUOTE=scotandrsn] The fact that a non-partisan show frequently targeting the **right is** an indication that the right currently has more bullshit on display seems to be lost on creators of “right wing comedy shows”. If the right is getting attacked, then they must attack back! Hence the faulty premise of this entertainment. [/QUOTE] :smack: Before I started my Masters program, I couldn’t even SPELL software engineer, and now I ARE one! ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-on-the-right-wing-daily-show-commercial-specifically/392091/171 "2007-02-15T23:29:56Z")
[QUOTE=Debaser] I’ve been a fan of TDS since the Kilborn days. It was funnier then than now since it was more balanced and made fun of everyone equally. Also, back then it was kind of a combination of the current TDS with Steward and the Colbert Report. Kilborn was always sort of playing a character of the self absorbed news anchor. [/QUOTE] That was no act. Did you never see him on the Late Late Show? ---
**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:** [February 15, 2007, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-on-the-right-wing-daily-show-commercial-specifically/392091/172 "2007-02-15T23:32:15Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] Well, found a [segment](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjIfaMwIFxU&NR). Wow, a Marion Barry joke! Way to stay on the cutting edge! And the laugh track is clearly stuck on infinite loop. [/QUOTE] That was… awful. The “popularity down to 99.9%” joke might have been funny with decent delivery (coming from someone who sees the omnipresent Obama coverage in the _Chicago Tribune_) but that was the only part even approaching amusing. And that laugh track couldn’t have been any more obvious. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-on-the-right-wing-daily-show-commercial-specifically/392091/173 "2007-02-16T00:10:05Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > That was… awful. The “popularity down to 99.9%” joke might have been funny with decent delivery (coming from someone who sees the omnipresent Obama coverage in the Chicago Tribune) but that was the only part even approaching amusing. Y’know, this could potentially pan out really well for the _Daily Show_. If _THHNH_ dependably puts out truly feeble and witless footage lamely poking fun at the left, _TDS_ can just use bits of it straight-up on their own show to highlight the quality differential. They could do a mock-serious bit about wanting to add more balance to their reporting by including more voices from the conservative media—then show the dumbest, most unfunny anti-liberal clip from _THHNH_ that they can find. The more ham-handed and clumsy _THHNH_ is at handling political comedy, the funnier _TDS_ will seem when they draw viewers’ attention to it. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-on-the-right-wing-daily-show-commercial-specifically/392091/174 "2007-02-16T03:30:56Z")
[QUOTE=Harborwolf] That wasn’t the point. The point was that liberals are astonishingly pro-Obama. So much so that his cocaine use barely put a dent in his popularity. Hence the “all time low” of 99.9% [/QUOTE] Again, considering that Obama is trailing Hillary badly in every poll, the basis of the joke makes no sense. ---
**Author:** ![athelas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-on-the-right-wing-daily-show-commercial-specifically/392091/175 "2007-02-16T03:49:05Z")
Sure it does; it’s a reflection of the media’s obsession with BO (as it were), rather than the poll numbers, which are rather less frequently reported. And I thought the first bit of that clip was funny, but the transition to the fake magazine presentation was just awful. ---
**Author:** ![stolichnaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@stolichnaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolichnaya)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-on-the-right-wing-daily-show-commercial-specifically/392091/176 "2007-02-16T04:18:33Z")
It’s a common error. 33% is reality, 70% is funny, so 99.9% must be extremely funny! Comedy follows the goldilocks rule, like many other things. The porridge can be too hot, as well as too cold. The key is to exaggerate just enough to make your point. Of course, analyzing humor kills it as surely as fox-a-cizing it. I’m sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Nancarrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c37758/32.png) [@Nancarrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nancarrow)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-on-the-right-wing-daily-show-commercial-specifically/392091/177 "2007-02-16T11:04:02Z")
[QUOTE=stolichnaya] I no longer understand this thread. [/QUOTE] Look it’s really quite simple. _You_ are a blind partisan hack, whereas _I_ am a fair-minded, completely unbiased paragon of logical and rational discusssion. You={set of all people who are not this one}, I={this poster}. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-on-the-right-wing-daily-show-commercial-specifically/392091/178 "2007-02-16T12:35:13Z")
[QUOTE=stolichnaya] It’s a common error. 33% is reality, 70% is funny, so 99.9% must be extremely funny! Comedy follows the goldilocks rule, like many other things. The porridge can be too hot, as well as too cold. The key is to exaggerate just enough to make your point. Of course, analyzing humor kills it as surely as fox-a-cizing it. I’m sorry. [/QUOTE] Now, _that’s_ funny. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![stolichnaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@stolichnaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolichnaya)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-on-the-right-wing-daily-show-commercial-specifically/392091/179 "2007-02-16T13:48:59Z")
Okay- I’ve been thinking about this 99.9% thing. It’s my curse. Anyway, I realize this is contradicting myself somewhat and the elegance of the goldilocks thing goes out the window, but: If the number had been _over 100%_, I think it would have been funny again. The number I am thinking of is 114%. This is why comedy is so fun to argue about. ---
**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:** [February 16, 2007, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-on-the-right-wing-daily-show-commercial-specifically/392091/180 "2007-02-16T15:15:00Z")
On further rumination, is it funnier to point how _dumb_ someone is or how _immoral_ someone is? If one had to choose a 90/10 split, which would work better comically? Is the _HHNH_ more inclined to the latter? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-on-the-right-wing-daily-show-commercial-specifically/392091.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-on-the-right-wing-daily-show-commercial-specifically/392091.md?page=10)