I saw Jon Stewart’s stand-up show this past weekend in Columbus. He was terrific. The enthusiasm in the Palace was intense and genuine. He’s in an interesting position, isn’t he? He’s got a strong following. And unlike other non-conservatives, like Michael Moore, who seems to capture our anger and thirst for scandal more than anything else, Stewart has an amazing ability to retain a casual sense of logic. His new motto: be reasonable! It’s funny how conservatives seem threatened by him and how liberals latch on to him like the messiah. Watching his act, it’s clear that he sees himself as a moderate. In fact, he recently reviewed John Avlon’s new book about the moderate tendencies in the US, clearly showing intellectual curiosity in the role of moderates in modern politics. I saw a direct link from this interview to his act this weekend. He seems to have adopted this position that moderates need to step up their game. I say, he’s right. Is it time for a third party of moderates so that the current Democrats can stop being portrayed as extreme liberals when they’re not?
I recently saw Matt Drudge give an interview where he criticized Stewart for publicly denouncing the hosts of Crossfire while on their show. He said he takes Stewart seriously and implied that this was an act of hypocrisy because Stewart executes a similar style of entertainment. Really? I don’t think so at all. I think Stewart is a comedian—albeit a very smart, well-informed, comedian—who calls it like he sees it; not for some broader political gain or for advocacy of any positions on issues, but for an entertaining commentary on the state of things. He’s not a pundit. He doesn’t have a career in politics. He’s never worked in journalism or in policy environments. In this sense, he’s just a guy—a very smart guy—with a loud microphone. It amazes me how this scares people, especially when supporters of both parties are being driven by other ‘regular guys’ like Michael Moore and Rush Limbaugh. The right has Limbaugh, the left has Moore, and moderates have Stewart.
Anyway, he was funny. He was very funny. But he was also sending messages. ‘Be reasonable!’ was the theme. How can we argue with that?
Nan
1 comment:
I saw Jon Stewart not long ago--it sounds like his act has changed, which is good. The act I saw a year or so ago was very much like the one I saw him do in college.
When people like Drudge say things like Stewart is a hyprocrite, it really brings me down to earth about idolization of celebrities. That is, it's often the case that famous writers, pundits, show hosts, or e-news leakers (in this case) are taken for their word rather than required to actually show how they are right. We think they're intelligent because we hear them above everyone else, when really, they make nonsensical comments like the one you mentioned. I've never actually seen Drudge. He sounds ugly.
Post a Comment