[drewprops]

Did you folks catch the video of Jon Stewart righteously kicking the ass of the two hosts of CNN's CROSSFIRE program? The transcript is here and the video is now available on iFilm (thank you FARK).

This is remarkable.

It's one lone voice, crying out in a wilderness of partisanship and spin. Stewart begs for the end of what pass as hard-hitting political shows today. He calls these guys on hosting shows that do nothing but play into politicians' talking points, becoming part of the story instead of getting to the BOTTOM of the story.

Regardless of your political stance, Jon Stewart's actions on Crossfire should be the first shot fired in a battle to reclaim governance from the claws of the spinmeisters.

Of course, I can't see how this will change popular culture's present take on politics - but this certainly endeared Stewart to me, even if we do disagree on politics.

Read and/or watch the links.

I wish that guests on other political talk shows would take up this cause.

[Eugene]

Saw this when it first aired since I follow everything Stewart. The bowtie and Crank Yankers comments were precious.

[Barto]

My God, I didn't think Jon Stewart could be funnier or more insightful than he usually is but it's like he went into OVERDRIVE!

AVI and WMA BitTorrents via Boing Boing.

[Wrao]

The ending was kind of disappointing, but other than that, it was pretty entertaining, I think that jon would have liked to have said a lot more, but that dork on the right kept being a dork. I was expecting more of an all out gloves are off tirade, but I guess the show hosts had to keep control.

You know what it reminded me of though, when people parse posts in political threads online, they often get down to the sentence, sometimes even parsing sentences into many pieces, that's kind of the vibe I got from that, only it was in real time, as the guy on the right kept interjecting every fucking 2 seconds.

It was still very entertaining though, Jon is such a funny person.

[InactionMan]

That was incredible. Clearly those douchebags weren't expecting that. Stewart is probably a pretty passive guy but it seemed like he really would've enjoyed breaking Tucker Carlson's nose.

"I thought you were going to be funny"
"I'm not going to be your monkey."

Man. That was just fantastic.

[Akumulator]

Thanks for the link to this... I finally got to see it. I read the transcript this afternoon after my girlfriend, who also works with me at CNN, told me what happened. She said they were all watching the live feed in between commercials and that Jon Stewert and Fucker Carlson were talking back and forth in what appeared to be a heated exchange.........but there was no audio.

[Akumulator]

I'm just going to cut and paste this because there's no direct link to it on Salon.com

Jon Stewart: Crossfire "hurting America"

"I think you're a lot more fun on your show," said Tucker Carlson to "Crossfire" guest Jon Stewart this afternoon. "And I think you're as much of a dick on your show as on any other," Stewart shot back. It wasn't the faux avuncularity we've come to expect from Stewart on "The Daily Show" but there, of course, he's playing a role. Here he was himself -- and he wasn't buying any of it.

From the moment Stewart sat down he made no secret of how repugnant he found the show. In fact, he said to Carlson and co-host Paul Begala that he had been so hard on the show he felt it was his duty to come on and say to their faces what he has said to friends and in interviews. What he said was that their show was "hurting America," and he was being only slightly hyperbolic. Stewart told them that when America needed journalists to be journalists they had instead chosen to present theater.

Carlson, trying to affect an air of dry amusement that a comedian would presume to lecture him, important pundit that he is, but looking as if his bow-tie were about to start spinning, could barely contain his outrage. In an absolutely mind-boggling moment, Carlson tried to counter Stewart's criticism by pointing out that during John Kerry's recent appearance on "The Daily Show," Stewart asked the candidate softball questions. "If you want to measure yourself against a comedy show," Stewart said, "be my guest."

Paul Begala tried to put a more conciliatory face on things by pointing out that theirs was a "debate" show. Stewart was having none of it. "I would love to see a real debate show," he said. And went on to tell them that instead of holding politicians' feet to the fire by asking tough question, "you're part of their strategy. You're partisan -- what's the word? -- uh, hacks."

It's almost a cliche by now to talk about "The Daily Show" being more trusted than real newscasts, but Stewart showed why. He pointed out to Carlson that he had asked Kerry if he really were in Cambodia but "I don't care," and when Carlson asked him what he thought about the "Bill O'Reilly vibrator flap," Stewart said, "I don't." It was as concise a demonstration of the triviality of the media as you could hope for.

"I thought you were going to be funny," Carlson said toward the end of the interview. Stewart responded, "No, I'm not going to be your monkey." And that was what was so bracing.

Stewart's "Crossfire" appearance is going to generate talk about how prickly he was, how he wasn't "nice" like he is on "The Daily Show." But prickliness is just what was needed. If you've built your reputation as a satirist pointing out how the media falls down on the job, you're not going to make yourself a part of their charade.

I've heard people talk about "The Daily Show" as an oasis of sanity, a public service. I couldn't agree more. Stewart's appearance on "Crossfire" was another public service. He went on and acted as if the show's purpose really was to confront tough issues, instead of being the political equivalent of pro wrestling. Given a chance to say absolutely what he thought, Stewart took it. He accomplished what almost never happens on television anymore: He made the dots come alive.

[alcimedes]

the lead in to my show is puppets making prank phone calls. you're CNN.

[curiousuburb]

It was good. Not totally gloves off like Stewart could have been, but good.

I liked the monkey retort.

[Brad]

Wow! My respect for Jon Stewart just went up another notch.

The guy really is amazing for telling it like it is.

[Paul]

WOW, reading it and watching it are two completely different experiences...
I thought he was making jokes half the time (because of the laughter pauses) but he was dead-pan serious; the laughs were NERVOUS laughs (from the audience and the hosts). The jokes he did make were not meant to be funny...

The definition of irony.

The sad thing is that Jon will probably be blacklisted from major media other then Comedy Central from here on out.

[Eugene]

Huh? The transcript is pretty representative of what transpired. It is, of course, funnier to watch the video since it captures the moment a bit better.

CARLSON: I do think you're more fun on your show. Just my opinion. (CROSSTALK) CARLSON: OK, up next, Jon Stewart goes one on one with his fans... (CROSSTALK) STEWART: You know what's interesting, though? You're as big a dick on your show as you are on any show. (LAUGHTER)

[Paul]

They were all pretty surprised by that... and again, I don't think Jon was trying to make a joke there. He is serious about Carlson being a dick.

From the (TV) viewer's perspective it all seemed funny; but for the audience and the two hosts especially, very little was humorous about the segment. That is why Carlson made that "fun" comment.

I got the feeling that these guys were being yelled at by their producers through their earpieces (extremely unlikely) but they were clearly unconfortable. The audience felt that too. Stewart really got to them and they were doing all they could to keep from losing their composure while on the air.

Also, I read the transcript four or five hours before I watched the clip and it was a rougher earlier work-in-progress transcript. Your quote seems much more refined compared to what I remember reading.

[Eugene]

Of course he's being serious. Even if there wasn't any paragraphing or direction in the transcript, it's crystal clear... I don't see how any word-for-word transcript of his appearance could be cited as ambiguous.

[ast3r3x]

Jon needs to get some qualifications, and run for president.

He'd have 18-24 yr olds probably. Just run on medicare for the old and social security and you have elderly votes.

Seriously though, I really love Stewart, he is funny, but he knows hit stuff. I mean, I really believe he sits around and watches news, and soaks up as much information as he can, he seems very informed on real news topics.

Has anyone read, or started to read his book? I am not a big book reader, but I'd be willing to give that a try.


It's sad when the comedians are telling the truth and the politicians are the joke.

[_Ω_]

Originally Posted by ast3r3x It's sad when the comedians are telling the truth and the politicians are the joke.

Look up a comedian named Bill Hicks - he was telling the real deal

(RIP)

[drewprops]

I'm not sure if I'd agree with all of Jon's platforms but it would certainly be nice to see him run for office one day....but what is that Douggie once said?

Oh yes:

"Those who most desire to rule are, by definition, those least qualified to do so."

[ast3r3x]

Originally Posted by Omega Look up a comedian named Bill Hicks - he was telling the real deal (RIP)

I liked him.

[Moogs]

John Stuart is a good one but Real Time with Bill Maher kicks all of their asses. Real guests and satellite guests, not overdone on the comedy thing and Maher is a liberal thinker who actually thinks (and admits when the right has a good idea or the left is off-base on something); he brings up the subjects that the media never will.

[Chinney]

Good show and good thread. Thanks

[psmith2.0]

I agree with Stewart. These "debate" shows (Crossfire, Hannity & Colmes, etc.) are such unwatchable, annoying trainwrecks these days. There's no true debate, just the usual cast of characters from both sides spouting scripted talking points, flinging around veiled insults, being smartasses, interrupting each other, acting like morons.

And those are the hosts!



When you add "guests" to the mix...holy shit, what a disaster. Four people all talking at once (yeah, that's enjoyable television!) and people going totally off the topic to insert their pre-made points and echo their side. No one budges an inch, the hosts egg it on, the guests are the same 15-20 people, all acting like assholes and just angling for face-time and going for the big "gotcha" comment.

An embarrassment, all of them.

Honestly, how many more times can we see Ann Coulter, Terry McAuliffe, Dick Morris, Gloria Alred, and about 15 others (always the same ones from a small, select pool who never have anything substantive to say) do this?

I've never learned ANYTHING watching Crossfire, H&C, etc. Just an excuse for grown-ups to act like 11-year-olds for an hour each evening.

Double with sauce and extra pickles.

[Brad]

Originally Posted by drewprops I'm not sure if I'd agree with all of Jon's platforms but it would certainly be nice to see him run for office one day....but what is that Douggie once said? Oh yes: "Those who most desire to rule are, by definition, those least qualified to do so."

Or better yet, to quote the great warrior Kahless:

"Great men do not seek power; they have power thrust upon them."

[curiousuburb]

Kplah!

[curiousuburb]

My only beef with the scheduling gods is the fact that all the best teevee hosts are on at the same time.

Charlie Rose, Jon Stewart, Bill Maher (not that I get HBO anyway).
If I time it right, I get the Detroit PBS feed of Charlie, then Jon on Comedy... if not they duel at midnight.

[Naderfan]

As always, Jon hit the nail right on the head. I don't remember where I read/heard this but Cable News isn't news, it's op-ed pieces. And yet, that's where the majority of our fellow citizens get their news.

[Wrao]

Originally Posted by Naderfan As always, Jon hit the nail right on the head. I don't remember where I read/heard this but Cable News isn't news, it's op-ed pieces. And yet, that's where the majority of our fellow citizens get their news.

Apparently the majority of college students get their news from the daily show.

[Akumulator]

The shows like Crossfire are definitely op-ed pieces, that's obvious. It's all opinion based. The rest of what's on these channels that's made to look like news is more infotainment than anything.

Btw, my girlfriend just told me that after the show.. on the feed they were watching a couple security guards come out to make sure they didn't get into it.

[murbot]

For the non-torrenting members here, I've put the .avi file on my iDisk:

http://homepage.mac.com/murbot/.Movi...hn_Stewart.avi

Enjoy. I sure as hell did.

(save linked file to desktop, play with VLC or similar player)

[Moogs]

BTW, I forgot to mention earlier, Tucker Carlson is a fucking moron. I've seen this guy a few times and have a weaker constitution than Stewart because I can't even watch the guy for more than about 30 seconds.

It kills me that he wouldn't even acknowledge the difference between Stewart interviewing a politician on a COMEDY show, and Crossfire AS JOURNALISTS (i.e. it's their job to make the candidates present and address facts, not provide entertainment). What a complete GOP dickhead.

The fact that he'd rail Stewart for those three questions, which are all perfectly normal questions to ask a person whose been through a tough race, is indicative of the backwards-ass mentality the GOP tools carry around with them.

Dodge, dodge, dodge and counter-attack. CNN should be ashamed to even have him on as the GOP rep.

[autodata]

Carlson, in a series of political attacks, has also been making jokes about a real incident where a little girl got disemboweled.