John Stewart on Crossfire

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 5:48pm

Another reason to love this beautiful, beautiful man. I WANT John Stewart!!
John Stewart on Crossfire

[Plum]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 6:45pm

Okay, this needs to be bumped. Here's the video- I don't care what party you're in; seeing the talking heads get their butts kicked by a frickin' fake news anchor is a beautiful thing.
iFilm Updated On: 10/18/04 at 06:45 PM

[Jess1483]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 6:48pm

I haven't watched TV in a month (I'm at school and it takes too much effort to find a TV) but I was in a hotel this weekend, and this was what randomly happened to be on when I turned on the TV. It's hilarious!!!!

[touchmeinthemorning]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 6:57pm

As usual, John is consistantly smarter and more articulate than those who bring us our news.

[Plum]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 6:59pm

The funny thing is, in Stewart's ideal world he wouldn't have a job. His point is that he shouldn't even appear to be the smartest news source- he's not even a news source; he's a commentator.

[Jess1483]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 7:00pm

I lived his comment about "the show before me is puppets making crank phone calls." (sorry for the paraphrasing)

[Plum]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 7:01pm

"I won't be your monkey."

[GovernorSlaton]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 7:02pm

"I'm not suggesting that you're not a smart guy, because those are not easy to tie." :)

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 7:09pm

John Stewart for President!!

[ElphieInMyHeart]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 7:20pm

my dad knows him and said hes nice when hes off the sauce

[Plum]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 7:20pm

Uh huh.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 7:25pm

I think it is so funny how those guys were asking him why he didn't ask John Kerry "serious questions" and stuff while he was on the show. I don't see what they don't understand that the Daily Show is a FAKE NEWS PROGRAM. It is not real. The stories they choose to investigate are out of this world and hillarious. It is not meant to be CNN worthy.

[Plum]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 7:27pm

Exactly. Stewart isn't a content creator- he regurgitates it in funny form. Those news networks are supposed to be the content creators, and debate shows are actually supposed to produce some kind of debate rather than a bunch of idiots yelling at one another.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 7:30pm

I have said this before, but this country has gotten too republican/democrat oriented. Instead of telling the american citizens the truth and give them every angle to look at, people are accusing one another of doing this and doing that and you are wrong because of this. I think we need to stop the media from swaying our votes and just listen to what the presidential contendors are saying and choose for ourselves who we think needs to be President based on the actual men, not what people on shows like CROSSFIRE say.

Updated On: 10/18/04 at 07:30 PM

[Plum]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 7:35pm

That's the thing, though. The candidates and the media just feed on each other in this giant BS loop. The candidates speak in soundbites so the media can repeat them ad nauseum. Everything is oversimplified so it can fit into a 1-minute news story.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 7:44pm

Yet is is important for the media to expose the truth about politicians and events--in a factual, journalistic manner. I enjoy the non-partisans aspects of the news, For example, CNN always did a fact check following the debates to cover anything that was said by either candidate that was false or misleading. This is a valuable thing--because you can't just listen to what the candidates say.

[touchmeinthemorning]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 7:47pm

I think the real problem is a misunderstanding of what journalistic intergity is. We've been taught it is to be unbiased by letting both sides speak. However, the true job of a news organization is to filter out the truth from the fiction, and confront the lies and the lying liars who tell them. The news now just lets each side speak, and doesn't act as a truth filter like it is supposed to. And, the result is a population of citizens who don't know how to think through issues, but instead simply vomit up short phrases the talking heads barf on them while they watch Crossfire.

[Plum]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 7:48pm

I don't remember what network this was, but after the second debate they did what they called a "fact check" - one false fact per candidate.

WHAT?

Look, first of all, that isn't nearly enough. But I have the feeling that even if they had an hour to expound on the finer points of the candidates' accuracy, they would have done, say, 20 facts per candidate, just to be "fair." Which is BS. Sometimes "fair" isn't true. Sometimes when you're letting both sides talk, you're letting one side lie.

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 10:12pm

I thought Jon Stewart on the Daily Show was amazing. They wanted him to do cute little comments and he ripped them apart, especially Tucker, for the hacks that they are.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 10:21pm

I loved how he kept saying how bad the show was. It was like, "In your face you bastard." It was perfect.

[Plum]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 10:26pm

Well, Tucker was the one presenting really pathetic counter-arguments.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 10:28pm

I know. The other guy was quite and just let it play out between John and Tucker

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 10/19/04 at 11:39am

Here is a follow up on what happened Friday on Crossfire. Bob Novac really did deserve to get the "Congressional Medal of Douche Bag" awarded to him by The Daily Show. Every time he opens his mouth , slime comes out. And James Carville calling Jon Stewart a "pompous ass" is definitely the pot calling the kettle black. The show Crossfire deserved everything that Jon Stewart said about it. He just had the guts to say it directly to the hosts faces.

Bravo Jon Stwart.
By Lisa de Moraes "Tuesday, October 19, 2004; Page C07

The left and the right on CNN's "Crossfire" finally have found something they can come together on.

Both sides hate "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart.


Round 2 of "Crossfire" vs. Jon Stewart:

On Friday, you'll recall, the Comedy Central late-night star appeared on CNN's afternoon screamfest, ostensibly to promote "America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction."

Instead, to the surprise of hosts Tucker Carlson and Paul Begala, Stewart blasted the show and the two men personally, calling them "partisan hacks" who "have a responsibility to the public discourse" but "fail miserably."

Carlson, who also has a public policy show on PBS, responded by calling Stewart the personal "butt boy" of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. (Note to self: Call PBS chief Pat Mitchell to chat.)

Stewart, not to be outdone, called Carlson a part of the anatomy unique to men.

By yesterday afternoon, both sides had had three days to figure out how to spin it, and damage control began in earnest.

At the end of "Crossfire," Robert Novak on the right and James Carville on the left said they'd received loads of comments from viewers about the Friday telecast. They read two of the messages.

The first, from Toronto, said Stewart's appearance confirmed his suspicions: "Jon Stewart is the most overrated, overhyped comedian in the world today."

The second viewer comment -- because "Crossfire" is about presenting both sides of an issue -- thanked "Crossfire" for "having the guts" to let someone like Stewart speak.

After that, Novak did what the show is supposed to do: present opposing points of view.

"Let me say something about Jon Stewart. I don't think he's funny. And I know he's uninformed," Novak said, peering meaningfully at the audience.

"I think he's funny," said Carville. "I just think he's a pompous ass."

He continued: "Attacking Ted Koppel -- why would you want to attack somebody that's been in this business this long?"

He was referring to a squabble that broke out when Koppel interviewed Stewart on "Nightline" during the Democratic National Convention, and said how uncomfortable he was that so many people got their news from Stewart's show, as if anybody cared. The interview ended when Koppel cut Stewart off, saying he was through with him. Koppel appeared at a later date on "The Daily Show" and both men insisted it was much ado about nothing and that they were really quite chummy.


Interesting that Carville chose to discuss that bit of ancient history, instead of, say, Stewart's long-standing hatred of Novak.

Back in September, Stewart awarded Novak the "Congressional Medal of Douche Bag" for having first published the name of a CIA operative.

Getting back to "Crossfire": In response to Carville's sort of rhetorical question, Novak fell back on "because he's ill-informed," while casting a meaningful look. He never did explain what he was talking about.

Meanwhile, Stewart used the Martin Lawrence defense when telling his adoring audience why he did what he did on "Crossfire."

"Let's face it, I was dehydrated," he said, adding, "I had always in the past mentioned to friends and people I meet on the street that I think the show blows. I thought it was only the right thing to do to go say it to them personally on their program.

"Here's the thing about confronting someone on their show. They're there.

"Uncomfortable!"

But, in fairness, Stewart admitted that the "Crossfire" gang had come back at him pretty strong.

"They said I wasn't being funny. And I said to them, 'I know that, but tomorrow I will go back to being funny, and your show will still blow.' "

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 10/19/04 at 11:51am

Another great moment:

"What do you think of the Bill O'Reilly scandal?"

"I don't."

Sometimes brilliance can be so simple.

[Plum]

Posted: 10/19/04 at 3:36pm

"I think he's funny," said Carville. "I just think he's a pompous ass."

Ooh, that's rich. Few people in the political news world are in any position to call someone else pompous.