The Daily Show Disses Kucinich
Usually, I love watching Jon Stewart. Today, however, I feel ticked off at the host of the Daily Show. No, it’s not because he keeps inviting rightwing guests like John McCain and Dennis Miller. And it’s not because the current writers’ strike has thrown Comedy Central into perpetual rerun mode. Even a repeated dose of the Daily Show is still funnier, smarter, more irreverent, more informative, and, yes, more timely than practically anything else you’ll see on your TV.
What annoys me is the shabby treatment that Stewart has dished out to the only honest U.S. presidential candidate. Dennis Kucinich wants every American to have healthcare and social security. He’s the only Democratic candidate who voted against the Iraq War and the vile Patriot Act. He’s the only Democrat in Congress who has the guts to impeach White House criminals like Dick Cheney. He’s the only candidate who believes there should be a Department of Peace. He’s the only person who could lead the United States in a sane direction. And yet Stewart insists on treating him like a joke.
I became a Daily Show watcher practically from the first day it appeared on Canadian airwaves in 2003. I rejoiced over the fact that, finally, a TV program was skewering Republican bullies and shining a light on the rats pretending to be reporters over at CNN and Fox. Jon Stewart was, and still is, sharp and terrific at reporting events that the mainstream media ignore.
And then a couple of things happened.
Stewart, who stands a mere 5' 7", began taking cheap shots directed at Kucinich’s height and appearance. It’s tasteless, I thought, but I let it slide. It was just Jon Stewart, who admits to being a dick at times, being Jon Stewart.
And then Stewart turned his sights on Kucinich’s younger, taller, more eye-appealing wife Elizabeth. You wouldn’t know it from mainstream media reports (MSM), but Mrs. Kucinich is smart, concerned and articulate. Just like her husband. She would make a great First Lady, but first she has to get past the MSM’s perception of her as a tongue-studded bimbo. This view of her was reinforced on the Daily Show’s incredibly stupid FLILF skit (see The Urban Dictionary for the meaning) in which fake-news reporter Jason Jones ogled Mrs. Kucinich and delivered a loud, mindless voice-over while she talked about her husband’s plan for universal healthcare.
According to the website Daily Show News (no relation to the show), Stewart soon joined the moron set on the subject of Mr. and Mrs. Kucinich’s relationship. “He’s gotta be swinging some pipe,” the web site reported Stewart as saying. “It’s the only explanation.”
Just before the writers’ strike went into effect, Stewart took another underhanded swipe at Kucinich. He showed a film clip taken from the October 30th Democratic candidates’ debate in Philadelphia. In the clip, Tim Russert (a man whom Stewart says is one of the few serious journalists in America) asked Kucinich if it was true, as Shirley MacLain wrote in a recent book, that Dennis Kucinich had once seen a UFO.
“Yes, I did, Tim,” Kucinich replied. Daily Show viewers did not hear the rest of Kucinich’s reply, however. Kucinich knew he was being singled out and marginalized with this frivolous question, so he answered it in the spirit it deserved. He reminded Russert that Jimmy Carter had also seen a UFO. (He could have reminded Russert that Ronald Reagan also saw a UFO, but TV is the land of lost opportunities). Finally, he let Russert know that he wasn’t talking about seeing aliens, which is what the question implied. Kucinich’s complete reply is available on YouTube for anyone who is interested in what he actually said.
Immediately after he showed the clip, Stewart had one more mocking remark for Kucinich before cutting to a commercial.
“Sanjay,” he said, adopting a fake Indian accent, “Why are you still in the competition?” The line was a hip reference to a popular but untalented American Idol contestant. Stewart’s meaning was clear: Kucinich is not only a kook, but he’s pathetic as well.
Phony politicians are numerous and they are fair game for the Daily Show’s brand of satire. But Kucinich has integrity. He actually believes in a decent, honest republic. He does not deserve the insensitive one-liners hurled at him by late night piranhas like Jay Leno and David Letterman. He does not deserve the Dan Blathers of Media Land who ignore him in favour of corporate lapdogs and cheerleaders of war. He does not deserve the barbs of anonymous bloggers who sneer at his appearance without weighing his positions. He certainly does not deserve to be dismissed by the one man who surely knows that the Presidency is more than a beauty contest.
What annoys me is the shabby treatment that Stewart has dished out to the only honest U.S. presidential candidate. Dennis Kucinich wants every American to have healthcare and social security. He’s the only Democratic candidate who voted against the Iraq War and the vile Patriot Act. He’s the only Democrat in Congress who has the guts to impeach White House criminals like Dick Cheney. He’s the only candidate who believes there should be a Department of Peace. He’s the only person who could lead the United States in a sane direction. And yet Stewart insists on treating him like a joke.
I became a Daily Show watcher practically from the first day it appeared on Canadian airwaves in 2003. I rejoiced over the fact that, finally, a TV program was skewering Republican bullies and shining a light on the rats pretending to be reporters over at CNN and Fox. Jon Stewart was, and still is, sharp and terrific at reporting events that the mainstream media ignore.
And then a couple of things happened.
Stewart, who stands a mere 5' 7", began taking cheap shots directed at Kucinich’s height and appearance. It’s tasteless, I thought, but I let it slide. It was just Jon Stewart, who admits to being a dick at times, being Jon Stewart.
And then Stewart turned his sights on Kucinich’s younger, taller, more eye-appealing wife Elizabeth. You wouldn’t know it from mainstream media reports (MSM), but Mrs. Kucinich is smart, concerned and articulate. Just like her husband. She would make a great First Lady, but first she has to get past the MSM’s perception of her as a tongue-studded bimbo. This view of her was reinforced on the Daily Show’s incredibly stupid FLILF skit (see The Urban Dictionary for the meaning) in which fake-news reporter Jason Jones ogled Mrs. Kucinich and delivered a loud, mindless voice-over while she talked about her husband’s plan for universal healthcare.
According to the website Daily Show News (no relation to the show), Stewart soon joined the moron set on the subject of Mr. and Mrs. Kucinich’s relationship. “He’s gotta be swinging some pipe,” the web site reported Stewart as saying. “It’s the only explanation.”
Just before the writers’ strike went into effect, Stewart took another underhanded swipe at Kucinich. He showed a film clip taken from the October 30th Democratic candidates’ debate in Philadelphia. In the clip, Tim Russert (a man whom Stewart says is one of the few serious journalists in America) asked Kucinich if it was true, as Shirley MacLain wrote in a recent book, that Dennis Kucinich had once seen a UFO.
“Yes, I did, Tim,” Kucinich replied. Daily Show viewers did not hear the rest of Kucinich’s reply, however. Kucinich knew he was being singled out and marginalized with this frivolous question, so he answered it in the spirit it deserved. He reminded Russert that Jimmy Carter had also seen a UFO. (He could have reminded Russert that Ronald Reagan also saw a UFO, but TV is the land of lost opportunities). Finally, he let Russert know that he wasn’t talking about seeing aliens, which is what the question implied. Kucinich’s complete reply is available on YouTube for anyone who is interested in what he actually said.
Immediately after he showed the clip, Stewart had one more mocking remark for Kucinich before cutting to a commercial.
“Sanjay,” he said, adopting a fake Indian accent, “Why are you still in the competition?” The line was a hip reference to a popular but untalented American Idol contestant. Stewart’s meaning was clear: Kucinich is not only a kook, but he’s pathetic as well.
Phony politicians are numerous and they are fair game for the Daily Show’s brand of satire. But Kucinich has integrity. He actually believes in a decent, honest republic. He does not deserve the insensitive one-liners hurled at him by late night piranhas like Jay Leno and David Letterman. He does not deserve the Dan Blathers of Media Land who ignore him in favour of corporate lapdogs and cheerleaders of war. He does not deserve the barbs of anonymous bloggers who sneer at his appearance without weighing his positions. He certainly does not deserve to be dismissed by the one man who surely knows that the Presidency is more than a beauty contest.
posted by jgl at 1:45 AM
0 comments
