Did anybody see Georgia lunatic Zell Miller promoting his book on The Daily Show the other night? Yet another reason I love me some Jon Stewart…
It would be easy to go after Miller for everything from his Deep South drawl to his dinosaur positions on any of a dozen issues, but Stewart
*let him talk
*accepted his criticism of the show’s over-the-top Laura Bush sketch gracefully
*did not try to mock him (a little two way good natured ribbing)
*actually told him as he left (paraphrase) “we don’t agree on many things… or anything, for that matter… but I think you’re a very good man”.
Such a class act- respect for elders, didn’t try to turn it into a “look what I can do” lampoon, etc… Stewart’s adamant about being a “fake newsman”, but his media ethics are the most developed on TV now that Brokaw’s left. (Katie Couric would never self identify as a fake newsperson and she’s not a tenth of the interviewer or twentieth of the analyst Stewart is; I think Matt Lauer knows he’s whoring for big bucks and just waiting til he can get away from Katie “I’m a mother, so I know something about global warming” Couric and retire with his teenaged concubines to Switzerland or whatever.)
As soon as Stewart gets over this straight and having babies things and finally heeds my telepathic romantic overtures like the prophecies command him to do, I’ll be so happy… ;j
That was a very interesting interview. Miller came off as a bit out of touch, as you’d expect of someone of his age, but not nearly the ogre that he can seem. I liked that he said, of his RNC speech, “I was angry, but not as angry as it seemed” (paraphrased).
There was some discussion awhile ago about how Stewart bashes right wingers. But I’ve seen him act with grace and tact for most every political guest he’s had, including Newt Gingrich, Karen Hughes, Ari Fleischer, Zell Miller, etc. If anything he fawns a bit too much, but that’s part of why he can get these people as guests. They know they’ll get a fair shake.
Whenever I’ve seen him get confrontational it’s been when he’s being fed bullshit and doesn’t agree to just lap it up.
Who was it… Some flapping mouth on Fox Network, I think, that got ‘zinged’ rean to death by Stewart? IIRC (I don’t watch Fox mutch, so all their flapping mouthes look alike to me ), this was a classic case of someone not playing straight with John, and paying for it.
Wish I’d stuck around to watch the whole thing, now, but I was on a channel-surfing mission, and couldn’t be stopped.
I agree, usually he is a class act - and his interviews are usually interesting too. In my area I have the choice between watching The Daily Show and Conan O Brian at 7:00 each night (reruns from the night before.) Jon Stewart usually wins hands down. (Sometimes Conan has a hot woman on, and then I watch him.)
The only thing I would change is more Jon and less of the others.
IMHO, what makes Stewart so Ogdamned good at his job is that first and foremost he’s a comic and as such, won’t let ideology get in the way of a good joke. (Now if regular newscasters would just stop letting ideology get in the way of a good news story.) It seemed obvious that Stewart liked Zell Miller as a person and found Miller to be the kind of person that even if they disagreed with you, they could have rational discussion on the matter with you. Which I’m sure that Stewart feels it’s much more important to have a rational disagreement with someone than to engage in shouting matches.
Zell Miller, to his credit, came across as a likeable person, IMHO. I certainly don’t agree with much of his philosophy, but he certainly conducted himself better than he did on Hardball With Chris Matthews, and I think that one could have a reasoned debate with Miller on various issues and both parties would come away, not necessarily changed in their viewpoints, but more respectful of the otherside.
Is it going to be on Comedy Central or somewhere else? I can’t believe that they’d let Colbert get away. He’s the master of the deadpan smartass comment!
From the article: “Comedy Central said yesterday that it was giving Mr. Colbert his own show: a half-hour that is expected to follow “The Daily Show” on weeknights and will lampoon those cable-news shows that are dominated by the personality and sensibility of a single host. Think, he said, of Bill O’Reilly and Chris Matthews and Sean Hannity.”
Looks like I won’t be going to bed until midnight, earliest.
Lewt’s hope to high heaven they pay Stephen Colbert enough so he can stop whoring himself out on those painfully unfunny Mr. Goodwrench commercials . . .
NPR’s All Things Considered is doing an interview with Colbert talking about his new show. Apparently, one of the things he wants to play off of is the O’Reilly sex scandal.
), this was a classic case of someone not playing straight with John, and paying for it.