We're doing it! We're heading to DC for the Jon Stewart/Steven Colbert Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. And my god, there's already so much blowback I can't even believe it. I mean, I agree with some points: the closer a satirist is to his subject, the less effective he'll be at his job. Stewart interviewing a sitting President, for example, gives me a strange feeling: how can he possibly put the screws to this guy if he's appearing on his show, something I'd never imagine, say, Bush or even Clinton doing? But then I remember, he's a fucking comedian. Why am I holding him to the standard of an actual pundit? The only scale worth judging him by is how funny he is. Now, you can argue that he's less funny than he used to be, and I don't necessarily disagree; but that's the conversation we should be having. He isn't the one trying to paint himself as a serious journalist-- that's what the rest of the media is doing. And it speaks volumes to the state of journalism in America, that the line is so blurry that a fucking comedian is the most trusted name in news. If I were Stewart that would annoy the shit out of me.
Anyone taking this rally seriously is taking it too seriously. I just want to scream, "he's a comic, people! Stop looking to him for answers!"
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