Politics - Comedy

They are strange bedfellows; politics and comedy. Comedy and comedians can embody the true manifestation of our freedom of speech. Take George Carlin and the seven words for instance. When media outlets like New York Times and MSNBC have begun to act as propaganda tools of the powerful, who do we have but the comedians. To me, nowhere has this fact been demonstrated better than Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Jon was voted the most trusted newsman recently and if anything, it is a telling repudiation of 'real' journalists. His Daily Show has won the Emmy eight years in row. They have not taken this role willingly. The white noise of demagoguery, fear-mongering and name-calling that has taken over our TV sets have forced these comedians to take up serious issues. (I am reminded of the tongue-whipping that Jon gave Tucker Carlson on what used to be Crossfire. He said that he was perfectly happy to go back and make fart jokes all day if the 'real' journalists would just do their jobs.)

There were two interviews in the last week that highlighted the seriousness with which Jon carries his role as 'not just a comedian'. First the interview with former British Primeminister (and Bush lapdog) Tony Blair. I don't watch a lot of TV but I doubt if someone asked Blair, "Are we confronting something with a sledgehammer when we need a scalpel?" or "Didn't we create the problem which we want to solve now?" (namely the presence of Al Qaeda in Iraq). And I don't know what others heard but Blair was totally unconvincing in his justification for the war in Iraq or the drum-beating that has already begun to bomb Iran. Jon asks about the disingenuous "...conflating Sept. 11 and the religious extremism and the war to overthrow a secular dictator" and it was like a Frost-Nixon moment for me.

And as if to prove that this was no flash in a pan, Jon follows it up with another brilliant interview, this time of former President, Bill Clinton. To be fair, Clinton stole the show and one wonders how Americans could vote for the bumbling, 'most of our imports come from other countries' Bush. His grasp of Economic minutiae and his ability to communicate are unsurpassed. Policy Wonk Clinton details his ideas and Jon sits back and lets him. At one point he asks, "Why don't I ever hear that from anybody but you?". Seriously, Hall-of-fame stuff.

Last week, Jon and the satirist Colbert (pronounced koʊlˈbɛər) announced that they were going to organise a rally (2 competing rallies, actually) in Washington D.C. This could well be a turning point. It appears that they will move from being passive commentators to political activists. Notwithstanding the success or failure of this endeavour, it is clearly a sad state of affairs when the world needs a Stew Beef to step up. May the Force be with them.

Update: There are no Gods among men. Clinton for all his brilliance is still responsible for much of the present economic mess. The de-regulation regime started during his tenure. Geithner and Bernanke and Greenspan were part of his legacy. DADT and DoMA were his too (though it was supposed to be an improvement on existing law).

Similarly, Jon Stewart has his own failings. In his efforts to appear non-ideological, an objective centrist, he often employs false equivalencies. "The right is calling Obama 'Hitler'. The left is calling Bush 'A war criminal'. Stop bickering, you crazy people on both left and right," is not exactly objective. Glenn Greenwald has more to say and he says it better than I could. Over to you, Glenn.