Progressive Revival

Jon Stewart on Sarah Palin: All you need to know!

Saturday August 30, 2008

This is why newspapers are withering and "The Daily Show" is flourishing. It's not the fault of journalism--my chosen profession--but because in a world where John McCain picks Sarah Palin to be "a heartbeat away from the presidency," sometimes only...
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Comments
eastcoastlady
August 30, 2008 6:13 PM

Too bad I don't watch more of Jon Stewart - he's on too late for me. I really need to get that DVR!

Sooooooooooo funny.....

yarrr
August 30, 2008 8:18 PM

How much better is John Edwards than Sarah Palin?

Karen Brown
August 31, 2008 1:59 AM

Dunno. John Edwards isn't running for anything this time around. So, not sure how that matters. Though I would say (adultery aside, but we really do NOT want to be bringing up marital matters, now do we?), John Edwards DOES have a legal career that spans back to 1981 (you do know he's older than he looks, right? The man was, even at the time of his Veep run, 51 years old. Some kinda 'Dorian Gray' deal, or Dick Clark genes. Dunno.

But, he owned his own law firm since 1993, also. In a town that, itself, has half the population of the entire state of Alaska.

Politically, 5 years in the Federal Senate (at the time of his veep candidacy in 2004). Sorry, no beauty pageants.

So, for a Veep, not the most unusual level of experience out there.

Not that he's running for VP this time around anyway, so not sure why anyone was asking.

And I will note, the 'experience' issue is less about Democrats asking, as much as a hypocrisy one. If I went around saying that a person needed to be tall to do a job, then I picked an assistant who was barely five feet tall, someone in the same job, even if they are shorter than that person, has the right to bring it up. Because I made such a big deal about it.

Gideon Addington
August 31, 2008 2:13 AM

No, I'm gonna go ahead and blame journalism.

Not newspaper journalism, but television journalism. All you have to do is watch a few minutes of debate coverage to see what passes for news these days. They, and I mean everyone (not just Fox anymore), would give yellow journalism a bad name.

The Daily Show is great for its brilliant satire, but it wouldn't be nearly as poignant if it wasn't for the mainstream media being so wretched.

Emelie
August 31, 2008 11:23 AM

What kind of "Catholic journalist" are you, anyhow?

The other day you post a tasteless commentary about Gustav demonstrating a kind of karmic justice against the Republicans (thinking echoed by former Democratic Party Chairman Don Fowler as well as the notorious documentary film maker Michael Moore.) Boy, that certainly places you in great company.

Now you run this sexist diatribe by that smarmy smart-aleck on Comedy Central!

Perhaps your gig here on beliefnet is just an audition for getting a permanent assignment on The Daily Kos as their token "Catholic" commentator. That's obviously where you belong.

DCO
August 31, 2008 2:33 PM

Thanks so much for posting this... I found it hysterical... there is a place for satire, and they hit it spot on. I was equally appalled by the coverage, and spent most of the time on c-span that allowed me to see the whole thing, and make my mind up for myself. If you didn’t see the Governor of Montana, you missed a truly great moment. I am tired of MSM deciding for me what I should see and not see. They did it for the Olympics, they do it for any great event… we are not children, we just need to facts and be allowed to see the whole and decide for ourselves. As Obama said, “Enough!”!

Emelie
August 31, 2008 3:17 PM

DCO: "I am tired of MSM deciding for me what I should see and not see."


Fine, but don't think you're going to get a contrarian or independent view from Jon Stewart and his "show" on Comedy Central. He's nothing more than the Court Jester for the MSM -- and merely validates what comes out of the MSM.

Of course, for the intellectually lazy who prefer the "conventional wisdom" to be spoonfed to them with heavy doses of yuck-yucks, Jon Stewart is obviously their guy.

As for the Governor of Montana, he looked like Michael Moore in a bolo tie sans glasses. Or, perhaps, an aging college cheerleader who's eaten a few too many buffalo burgers over the years. But, of course, I agree that he was indeed one of the highlights of the Dem. Nat'l Convention ... which tells you everything you need to know about the Denver gathering.

Girn Blanston
August 31, 2008 7:03 PM

Emelie:

I hesitate saying anything to you for fear of being viciously attacked. But seriously? John Stewart's show is gold - it's witty, smart, and often a brilliant combination of inanity and truth. He makes the MSM, as you love to call it, look like I bunch of dolts - which isn't hard (and not because of this so-called "leftist media bias," which doesn't exist). And it's totally unfair to say that people who watch The Daily Show are the "intellectually lazy." You don't know anything about me or my intelligence, for instance, and I find your kind of hit-and-run blog behavior appalling. There is such a thing as basic politeness, and even though we all obviously aren't as smart as you feel you are, you could show a l i t t l e humility instead of biting our heads off.

Andy
September 2, 2008 1:55 PM

Emelie,
Those who look to Jon Stewart for their news are really no more "intellectually lazy" than Rush Limbaugh's "Dittoheads" who look to Rush for their news, and there are plenty of them (in spite of the fact that Rush himself tells them he's not a journalist).

And the "MSM" as you call it doesn't really report news anymore. The news media must now make money, unlike the days when the networks and affiliates lived with the fact that the news department lost money, because reporting news was considered a civic duty. Nowadays, we get Anna Nicole and Brittney and Caylee and God-knows-what-else that isn't really news.

I agree, though, with you calling Jon Stewart a court jester. That's a good thing, IMO because, going back to medieval times, the court jester was the only one in the court who was allowed to tell the king the unvarnished truth.

Katharine Walker
September 2, 2008 3:19 PM

I am appalled that this woman has, with with fore-knowledge chosen to subject her 17 year old daughter to national scrutiny at this sensitive and tender time in her life. I know the young actresses do it all the time. I know, it is more acceptable now than it was even 20 years ago. (How many of you remember that the U. S. Congress banned (!) Ingrid Bergman from re-entering the United States some 55 (+ or -) years ago for having "illegitimate" twins with her director while on shoot in Italy?)
All that aside, how many mothers today would subject their young daughters to the national spotlight at a time like this.
Katharine Walker

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About Progressive Revival

Diana Butler Bass and Paul Raushenbush both stand firmly within the Mainline Protestant tradition and, along with guest bloggers of all religious backgrounds are dedicated to the revival of religious progressivism and its influence in American politics.

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Diana Butler Bass
Diana Butler Bass is a commentator and scholar in American religion. She is the author of seven books including A People's History of Christianity: The Other Side of the Story (HarperOne, 2009).
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Paul Raushenbush
Moderator of the Progressive Revival blog and the Associate Dean of Religious Life at Princeton University.
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