The Daily Show almost had me back…

I used to really enjoy The Daily Show. I watched it for years nightly. Whether John was on ‘my side’ of an issue or attacking it he was usually intelligent and respectful. His commentary gave me a second point of view and I respected him for it. It’s never been a secret where Johns politics were, but he was able to keep it in some perspective.

That all changed in 2004 when President Bush was re-elected. John (and presumably the writers at TDS) pretty much lost their minds. Gone was the well meaning objectivity. Gone was respectful discourse. Gone was any sort of fairness.

In it’s place we got angry, snide, smug and bitter. Guests interrupted with insulting jokes and humor used to derail any point an opponent may have made. The same skills that had previously mad John such a good interviewer mad him a master at what became an ambush interview that used humor as it’s primary weapon.

I stopped watching, and I know a lot of other people who did as well. The Daily Show became a echo chamber for an audience from one side of the political spectrum.

Recently I checked back in and watched some recent clips. I was heartened. It looked like the balanced John was back. However as I look deeper into the video archive of even recent interviews and found an example of exactly what I was afraid of. John still simply can’t get through an interview with an opponent without a healthy dose of sneer and smug.

Too bad.