Obama does the Daily Show

Erik Kain

Erik writes about video games at Forbes and politics at Mother Jones. He's the contributor of The League though he hasn't written much here lately. He can be found occasionally composing 140 character cultural analysis on Twitter.

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24 Responses

  1. Pat Cahalan says:

    The context of the two shows are rather diametrically opposed; it’s hard to pull of jokes when you can’t get the whole audience in the same vibe. These guys are both pretty accomplished comics, I’m sort of surprised that they went for a joint affair.Report

  2. North says:

    I didn’t watch it, maybe I should have. Huh.Report

  3. E.C. Gach says:

    What I realized later on after watching the interview and pondering my own grievances from the left, was how incoherent Stewart’s gripes were. The Daily Show host was obviously not content to let Obama spin his narrative, but rather than challenging the President on abstract things like “reforming Washington” and hurt feelings over a half-baked health care bill, I would have liked to have seen Stewart take Obama to task on something clear cut, that is, his foreign policy.

    If liberals like myself have one area in which to be extremely disappointed with the President, it’s our nation’s two wars. And yet drone attacks and increased military presence seems to be some of the few things Dems will look the other way on.

    “Well I guess it’s cool if we continue Bush era foreign policy, (after screaming about it for 8 years), but God forbid we don’t get every legislative concession under the sun!”Report

  4. Chris says:

    I figured Obama was making a Bush joke (remember his “heckuvajob” comment)? And The Daily Show audience would get that.Report

    • trizzlor in reply to Chris says:

      @Chris, Jonah Goldberg is a keen judge of character and could deduce immediately based on Obama’s posture, tone, and hand gestures that Obama had never intended to make the reference satirically, had been blind-sided by the audience reaction, and (for the record) may even be unclear on what constitutes a pun.

      From this masterful overture we can arrive to the obvious conclusion that Obama we so busy being an elitist snob over his poorly chosen words that he forgot to be an elitist snob over Stewart calling him a “dude”.Report

  5. 62across says:

    To my mind, what Stewart and Colbert do will be the least interesting element of the rallies this weekend. Lots will be written and said about whatever tone is set by their speeches and skits, with partisans on the right looking for signs to dismiss the event as lefty agitprop and partisans on the left calling the whole thing toothless. Those people will see what they want to see and it will all be a wash.

    But, the crowd could make things really interesting. If a massive crowd shows up AND they embrace Stewart’s call for reasonableness with their own “You’re wrong, but you’re not Hitler” signs (or Colbert’s call for satirical fear), then it would validate Stewart’s stated view that most people are willing to compromise and work things through despite the impression given when the noisemakers on both extremes get all the attention because they are being the loudest.

    That is a very big IF, but it is what I am hoping for this weekend.Report

  6. Katherine says:

    I was also very disappointed that Stewart didn’t bring up DADT, DOMA, or anything in regard to foreign policy.

    I’m with you there. He could have been a lot tougher than he was, and the complaints he made were easily-parried ones because they related either 1.) to topics Stewart doesn’t have in-depth knowledge of (economic issues) or 2.) places where the Republicans have been blatantly obstructionist, so Obama could just blame them.Report