Tucker Carlson has an ax to grind with Jon Stewart, but ax or no ax, he’s right. Stewart is not funny. Maybe he’ll elicit a couple of chuckles during a show, but as Carlson points out, he gets more cheers than laughs. He fashions himself as a court jester, but in fact, he has his agenda. His much-praised takedown of Jim Cramer was nothing more than a political hit.
My friends on the left might find him a barrel of laughs, and good for them. They have their Rush Limbaugh. Just like Stewart, Limbaugh will (sometimes quite viciously) eviscerate those whose political philosophies differ from his. Limbaugh’s politics are far right, but he’d be the first to tell you it’s entertainment.
Stewart takes on the politicians, unless, of course, it’s the politicians he likes. Then he’ll ask inane questions like “How are you holding up?” or “Is it hard not to take this personally?” as he asked John Kerry in 2004. Carlson asked Stewart on Crossfire in 2004 why Stewart couldn’t ask tougher questions of Kerry, and got Stewart to respond that his show’s only a comedy show.
What follows is Stewart ripping both Carlson and his liberal counterpart Paul Begala for “helping the politicians and corporations.”
The Daily Show is a comedy show that lectures. And it’s preaching more and more.
Jim Cramer is reckless, and he’s a fool. But he’s not responsible for the financial crisis. Even Richard Cohen could sympathize with Cramer.
Reason’s Michael Moynihan also takes exception to Stewart’s self-importance.
He is the left’s Rush Limbaugh, only thinner.
on Mar 24th, 2009 at 9:43 am
Y’know, I’m getting sick and tired of the lazy thinking that passes for sharp-edged analysis on the 10,000-or-so too many Internet blogs these days.
If you think there’s ANY similarity between Jon Stewart and Rush Limbaugh, then you can’t have paid enough attention to either of them. For one thing, I bet you can’t name a single “friend on the left” who finds Limbaugh tolerable. Stewart, OTOH, is a favorite of most of my “friends on the right.” Why? Because when he does what you call “preaching,” he’s incisive, respectful and yes, funny even when he’s serious. He can balance and more importantly, defer to other points of view. Limbaugh is a hateful windbag who, if what he said at CPAC is what he truly feels, believes that all “leftists” should be beaten into submission and forced to conform to the right wing’s agenda.
Tucker Carlson is merely a whiny, craven windbag who doesn’t understand what the Daily Show does. He has furthered the brain dead notion that Stewart “attacked” Cramer. That Is Not What Happened. Stewart took issue with the way CNBC presents financial news. I mean, they do bill themselves as “news” and put up tags like “In Cramer We Trust.” If they don’t want to be seen as accountable for the way in which they contributed to the financial mess we’re in now, they shouldn’t do shit like saying they’re trustworthy. This was Stewart’s main point.
And Stewart is not a comedian in the sense you’re probably defining it. He doesn’t play the Catskills. He is a media satirist. He was doing his job, satirizing what goes on at CNBC, when Cramer took offense and confronted him. If that hadn’t happened, the interview wouldn’t have happened. Stewart gave Cramer a chance to defend his network, as any fair person would have done, and Cramer blew it. Would Limbaugh have done that? Even Bill O’Reilly said he thought Stewart was right.
As for Tucker Carlson, he’s a whiny asshole who’s made a second career out of his grievance over something that happened five years ago because he has no other reason to stick his face out there. And as for Moynihan and Cohen, their logic sucks, too. I’m sure Moynihan comforts himself with the notion that the mainstream media is OK in the US and doesn’t need to be held to account for its endless BS, but apparently he’s never watched FOX News.
on Mar 24th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
Thanks for reading.
As the subtitle of this blog suggests, you will likely find little more than “Outlandish Claims, Extreme Opinions, Shallow Thoughts, Useless Information, among Other Things.” I am happy that you read my post and thought enough to respond. But rarely will you find “sharp-edged analysis” here. And if you feel that we have too many blogs, there’s no statute in any jurisdiction that I’m aware of requiring you to read them. That said…
… I don’t feel the need to defend every analogy, metaphor, provocation and opinion Rush Limbaugh uttered during his CPAC speech. He doesn’t need, and in some cases doesn’t warrant, defense. However, the reference of “beating the left into submission” might be referring to his explanation of why “bipartisanship” is overrated. He sees the political parties spinning capitulation into “bipartisanship” and “compromise.”
Limbaugh provokes. And he gets reactions. He generally doesn’t get left-handers to appear on his show, but I know he has invited a few. (I wouldn’t advise any politician of any persuasion to go on his show.)
In general, anyone expecting to get his or her news from television and radio will be poorly informed. Today, with the Internet and access to plenty of “sharp-edged” analysts and seasoned reporters (virtually free access, as well), there are so many ways of informing oneself.
At any rate, thanks for stopping by once again.
on Mar 25th, 2009 at 7:35 am
“As the subtitle of this blog suggests, you will likely find little more than “Outlandish Claims, Extreme Opinions, Shallow Thoughts, Useless Information, among Other Things.”
Well then, my point to you is, you’re just contributing to the noise (although you are the first blogger to remind me I don’t have to read you). Although really, why bother? As a journalist (admittedly regional), I don’t see why people feel compelled to state and restate the same bogus arguments over and over and over.
You know, it does remind me of what Jon Stewart was trying to say to Tucker C. all those years ago. The phrasing may be a little grandiose, but Tucker, Limbaugh and his ilk HAVE hurt America. Their constant posturing about “left fighting right” has helped make it near impossible for liberals and conservatives to speak civilly to each other in ANY venue. And we’re going to have to get past this and find some common ground. Limbaugh may have problems with the concept of bipartisanship, but that’s what is going to save us in the end.
This is why I think people should stop bashing Stewart, because frankly, for someone who admittedly supported Obama (although he did once say he might have voted for McCain in ‘00 if McCain had been the Repub candidate), he crosses the aisle more frequently than almost any talking head, comedic or otherwise, out there—the only guy who comes as close is Bill Maher. Yes, occasionally he’s had a contretemps with people whose ideology differs from his, but usually he’s the most civil guy out there. You can dislike him all you want, but misrepresentation sucks even on a “subjective” blog.
on Apr 22nd, 2010 at 8:50 am
i agree with this, i used to think stewart was funny until he decided to become walter cronkite. if he wants to be taken serious he should go after all the liberal news networks, instead he only attacks fox because they dont kiss obama’s ass, stewart is not funny period, only stoned slackers and college kids who dont want to work take him serious
on Apr 23rd, 2010 at 3:17 am
i cannot add much of anything to what girldreams stated..the kramer thing…jon stewart question or problem with them was they are supposed to be the line of defense…honest advice…when in reality they played along with wall street…jon stewart is in my opinion…besides some documentaries and charlie rose ….and some cspan programing,
the best television has to offer….he is not a genuis but he is very funny,
and if you cannot see that you are very sad…mr tucker carlson is a piece of shit…sorry but he is…
on Jun 7th, 2010 at 11:12 pm
I think The Daily Show is absolutely hilarious…but what’s even funnier is watching Fox News miserably fail 99% of the time to offer a solid rebuttal against what occurs on the show.
on Jun 24th, 2010 at 11:51 pm
April,
Fox news miserably failed rebuttals? Good god give me a break. I can’t believe how you spin. I watch both and I’ve seen Bernie Goldberg of Fox news bitch slap Stewart many times. Oreilly just ignores Stewart, he thinks of him as an irrelevant ankle biter looking for ratings. Fox news beats all other news networks every time in the ratings.