Jon Stewart leaving The Daily Show - Intelligent World Mourns

https://ricochet.com/day-mourning-left/

--
A Day of Mourning for the Left

Jon Gabriel, Ed.C

Obama abandoned our embassy in Yemen today, three honors students were murdered in North Carolina, and Boko Haram has kidnapped 270 more girls in Nigeria. All terrible stories, but the American press is mourning another tragedy that hits much closer to home.

Jon Stewart is leaving The Daily Show.

On MSNBC, Rachel Maddow commiserated with Lawrence O’Donnell that Stewart does news “better than us.” A Washington Post columnist asked “where will young liberals get their news now?” Time magazine called it “a sad day for anyone who cares about news — fake or otherwise.”

Our media elites on Twitter were morose:


The online press was even more devastated, perhaps because a Stewart clip usually serves as at least one of their posts each day. Mashable headlines included “How Jon Stewart lifted America out of the gutter” and “The 10 stages of grieving Jon Stewart.” Huffington Post insisted that “Jon Stewart leaving his fake news desk is a loss to real news” while Deadspin claimed that “Jon Stewart should run for office.” From now on these sites will need to get all their “Watch Jon Stewart DISEMBOWEL the GOP on Top Marginal Rates!” stories from John Oliver instead.

It’s odd to see the hold that this aging comic with drooping ratings has on the leftist media/political complex’s self-identity. During the dark days of Dubya, Stewart comforted out-of-sync liberals as a nation supported the knuckle-dragging Texas cowboy. As the GOP fell from grace, Stewart gleefully spiked the football on Team Bush to the cheers of loyal Democrats. He preened as Obama took power, mocking all detractors as obvious racists and dunces. Even when the progressives took an obvious misstep, he would spin the error in a flattering way to point out the real enemies of progress.

Stewart’s formula was simple: he would play an out-of-context clip, stare at the camera, widen his eyes, tap his pencil and smirk. The audience would howl their approval, with more hooting and clapping than laughter. To quote an attendee at a progressive comedy clinic, “what makes Jon Stewart brilliant is that he only has to say the first line and the audience starts laughing because they already know the punchline.”

At its heart, Stewart’s schtick wasn’t comedy to progressives but reassurance. They’re dumb; you’re smart. They’re evil; you’re good. They’re square; you’re hip, you’re now, and you’re in on the joke. To be fair, liberals have needed Stewart more as the Obama era predictably lost its luster. In his first couple of years, Democrats could plausibly claim that their President’s actions would lead to positive outcomes. But now, you can tell that even Obama’s most ardent fans have trouble believing that.

The world is in flames, the economy lackluster, corruption epidemic and Obamacare a disaster. Why think deeply about these failures when you can just listen to Jon Stewart tell you that you’re better than those mean people who predicted the disaster all along?

 

Fact. You are a known Jay Leno #1 fan.

 

Probably because none of these four things is true, and are objectively false for the most part.

It's exceedingly difficult to have to live in a pretend nightmare world rather than just admit you're wrong. It was laughing at the contours of this pretend universe that made Stewart famous.
.

 

Sam -- I'd also note that Greta van Susteran averages a higher viewing audience than Jon Leibowitz.

VAN SUSTER3WND

Spoiler

 

Indeed - Fox is riding that audience to corner the market on adult disposable undergarment and reverse mortgager advertising that Viacom can only dream of

 

and no one has seen anyone who is very funny that is conservative.

 

Fact: Jon Stewart has never asked a coworker to use a sex toy for him or said he wanted to be her tampon.

 

A poorly executed hatchet piece that ends up sounding like sour grapes. Was this really worth cutting and pasting?

 

No, but this is:

 

I didn't know anyone under 75 liked Leno. He is cafeteria food of comedians.

I bet he has been to a Gallagher show...

Paula Poundstone on your bucket list?

Taking the fan to see Wild Hogs II?

 

His comedy was limited to making a funny face after a clip was played.

 

Very tough to lose Colbert and Stewart in the same year.

I sincerely hope there are diamonds in the rough waiting to step in.

 

bigtexxx is taking over for Colbert so the Report won't skip a beat.

 

They are great at unintentional comedy!:grin:

 

Seinfeld was on Stern, said that Leno was actually a great comedian in their New York and Carson days. Stern asked if he was one of the best and Seinfeld said the best; he seemed to appreciate or adopt something technical about Leno's act.

Paula Poundstone's actually pretty quick on that weekend NPR show. She, Bernhardt, Lang and Navratilova were kind of the Mount Rushmore back then.

 

Even Letterman admits Leno was the best stand up. He made his tonight show vanilla because that is what got ratings and his job was to get ratings. I always preferred Conan and Letterman. They have both fallen off now.

 

Letterman was good for a while about 20 years ago but I'm surprised anyone still watches it. Leno was never all that good, but I could see a case for him being the better of the 2 after Letterman fell off...not that him being the better of the 2 in that period of time would mean anything, they were both awful and I can't understand why anyone would have watched either show in the last 10 years or so.

Conan was better than either of them were when he had the late show and Fallon is currently better than either of them ever were.

 

There are two ways to deal with stress 1. comedy 2. panic. One is humanizing and one is dehumanizing. Conservative politics ( not actually living a conservative life) is about self-interest. If you make jokes that serve your own self interest you always come off looking like a prick. That's why conservatives are never funny. But stimulating people's visceral reaction to stress (adrenalin) is a very natural and evolutionarily dictated response. That's why FAUX works.

Human beings are evolving, from primitive 'reactors' to civilized thinkers; we are just somewhere along the path. But of course there is no set course or goal. Reactors might fare as well as thinkers as a survival strategy, or they may blow up the planet. That's the drama and entertainment of life.

 

Guys, he's Jewish! Look at him!

 

Question to bigtexxx and Bandwagoner:

What was your favorite Leno segment, Iron Jay or Jaywalkers?