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July 26, 2005
Jon Stewart and Rick Santorum
Ann Althouse puts up some thoughts on last night's interview between Jon Stewart and Rick Santorum.
New Republic seems upset that Stewart did not batter Santorum, but Althouse says she thought the interview was pretty good.
Stewart made his points subtly, in the middle of the mushy niceness. Santorum kept talking about the "ideal" of the man-and-woman-with-children family, and Stewart accepted that ideal but asked why not include other people in that positive model even if it's a step away from ideal. He noted when Santorum equated heterosexuality with virtue and got Santorum to back away from that equation a tad.
I concur. I am also remembering Stewart's appearance on Crossfire, when he discussed how harmful the constant sniping from both sides is to public discourse. Stewart could have simply been an attack dog last night, but instead he proved his point, that people with almost nothing in common can still engage in civil conversation. It is, frankly, something the nation needs to come to understand. So I say good for Stewart!
Yes, I know The Daily Show with Jon Stewart is on Comedy Central, but that doesn't mean people don't actually get their news from the show. College students, especially, sometimes do, which is why you see politicos and authors make the trek to NY to sit with Stewart, who is a pretty smart fellow. Cute, too.
Crossposted at http://www.theclamauro.blogspot.com
Posted by Thecla at July 26, 2005 03:46 PM
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I appreciate your kind treatment of Jon Stewart, however, he descends into moral relativism a bit too much for me. I remember him saying that Fox News was just like Al-Jazzera since one backs America and one backs the Muslim World: now, it is just fine to dislike Fox News, but come on, there is no comparison between to the two news networks. Al-Jazeera publishes lies that incite violence.
Posted by: Justin at July 26, 2005 05:25 PM