NYT: No Jokes or Spin. It's Time (Gasp) to Talk. (J. Stewart v. Xfire)

[BlueEyedSon]

There is nothing more painful than watching a comedian turn self-righteous. Unless of course, the comedian is lashing out at smug and self-serving television-news personalities. Jon Stewart could not resist a last dig at CNN's "Crossfire" during his monologue on Comedy Central on Monday night . "They said I wasn't being funny," the star of "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" said, rolling his eyes expressively. "And I said to them: 'I know that. But tomorrow I will go back to being funny," Mr. Stewart said, adding that their show would still be bad, although he used a more vulgar expression.

And that is why his surprise attack on the hosts of CNN's "Crossfire" was so satisfying last Friday. Exchanging his usual goofy teasing for withering contempt, he told Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson that they were partisan hacks and that their pro-wrestling approach to political discourse was "hurting America." (He also used an epithet for the male reproductive organ to describe Mr. Carlson.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/20/arts/television/20watc.html?oref=login

[lil-petunia]

1. Stewart was great, both on crossliar and his own show.

He managed to portray little bowtie peep as the cretin imbecile that he is.

[w13rd0]

2. Crossfire was exposed...

...as is CNN and the entire pundocrity class. They are wastes of time and bandwidth, and do a disservice to our democracy. Stewart spanked them, and as much as they like theatre, they must be hurting from being beaten so severely.

[The Backlash Cometh]

5. Give Carville & Begala their due.

I remember a time before them, when Democrats were toothless Colmes drones. Yes, Crossfire does come across like Professional Wrestling, but before Carville and Begala, Democrats were too...nice... to do the work that needed to be done to wake up the sleeping giant.

[IrateCitizen]

13. Yeah, they're getting their due -- as partisan hacks...

... who represent the corporatist line and contribute to the dumbing down of civil discourse in this country.

Maybe that's why Carville was so incensed at what Stewart had said, and called him a "pompous ass" at the end of Monday's Crossfire.

[qanda]

3. Good article...

Thanks for sharing.

[belle]

4. I love how prim the ol' Grey Lady can be...

"although he used a more vulgar expression"

"an epithet for the male reproductive organ."

god bless their little cotton socks.

[BlueEyedSon]

7. Translation:

"SUCKS"

and

"DICK"

[Bread and Circus]

6. Great article, very supportive of Jon

This was my favorite quote:

Mr. Stewart's Howard Beal (of "Network") outburst stood out because he said what a lot of viewers feel helpless to correct: that news programs, particularly on cable, have become echo chambers for political attacks, amplifying the noise instead of parsing the misinformation.

[JPZenger]

8. NYTimes Way of Writing

I also enjoyed the New York Times' "ephitat for the male reproductive organ". The New York Times is the only paper that refers to serial killers as "Mr."

[Raster]

9. Great piece, but left out the best line of the night:

<snip>

And of course it was fun just to see television pundits who think they are part of the same media version of the Algonquin Round Table as Mr. Stewart lose their cool when he tore off the tablecloth and shattered the plates. "Wait,'' Mr. Carlson said querulously. "I thought you were going to be funny. Come on. Be funny." Mr. Stewart was funny. And it was at their expense.

Stewart countered with: "No, I'm not your monkey."

I swear to Gawd, I thought fucker was gonna start crying.

[myopic4141]

10. Normally

I do not watch Crossfire because the format gets tiresome rather quickly; however, I heard that John Stewart was going to appear as the sole guest and made a special effort to watch it. I am a regular watcher the the Daily Show with John Stewart and heard his commentary on Crossfire as well as other talking head faux news shows (even familiar with Stewart's war with Chris Mathew's Hardball). Watching was well worth the effort and both guests got what they deserve. I also enjoyed Monday's Daily Show about the altercation. My spirits have been so lifted by his show.

[MODemocrat]

11. Jon Stewart is a unique personality

My husband and I (both old dudes) watch Jon every night.He is so spontaneous and brilliant.
I believe it was James Carville who called Jon a pompous ass; and it seemed to me as if that remark was borne out of jealousy. Stewart is deserving of every award he's received.

:eyes: Jon Stewart :yourock:

[johnnyrocket]

12. Just in case, see the film here...

http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2652831