Jon Stewart VS Dick Cheney - What If

[lame54]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/what-if-jon-stewart-inste_b_175503.html

What If Jon Stewart, Instead of John King, Interviewed Dick Cheney?

Jon Stewart's Jim Cramer interview was a pivotal moment -- not just for Stewart, Cramer, and CNBC but also for journalism. It was a bracing reminder of what great research and a journalist more committed to getting to the truth than to landing the big get -- and keeping the big get happy, and ensuring future big gets -- can accomplish.

Stewart kept popping into my head as I watched John King interview Dick Cheney on Sunday. Each time King let Cheney get away with spouting gross inaccuracies and revisionist history, I kept thinking how different things would have been had Stewart been asking the questions. Stewart without the comedy and without the outrage -- just armed with the facts and the willingness to ask tough questions.

King opened the interview by showing clips of President Obama saying that his administration had "inherited an economic crisis" and "inherited a big mess." He then asked Cheney: "Did you leave him a mess?"

"I don't think you can blame the Bush administration for the creation of those circumstances," responded Cheney. "It's a global financial problem... So I think the notion that you can just sort of throw it off on the prior administration, that's interesting rhetoric but I don't think anybody really cares a lot about that."

"You are pretending that you are a dew-eyed innocent," Stewart might have said, as he did to Cramer. But even without Stewartesque flourishes, shouldn't King have challenged Cheney's ludicrous claim with some facts about how the fervor for financial deregulation championed by the Bush administration fueled the economic meltdown? Instead, King let Cheney off the hook: "We may get back to how we got here. But let's talk about where we are."

But what's the point of having one of the architects of how we got here on your show if you're not willing to ask them questions about it?...

[Mr. Ected]

1. A Cheney/Stewart Interview Would've Been TORTURE For Cheney

And, of course, he's opposed to that.

[Lost in CT]

2. I will never happen but each of us can keep the dream alive. nt

[cherokeeprogressive]

3. Jon Stewart is a comedian, not a journalist.

He hasn't had a single day of journalistic training in his life.

People who equate him with journalists because they like what he says do a great injustice to people like Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite.

Jon Stewart would approach Cheney with a specific outcome in mind. I don't think TRUE journalists do that.

I guess the definition of "journalist" has changed.

[Mr. Ected]

4. John King ALSO Had A Specific Outcome In Mind

And that's the only outcome the American people will ever be presented with.

[cherokeeprogressive]

5. That doesn't change the fact that Jon Stewart is a comedian and not a journalist.

Besides, I think Dick would have laughed in his face. Cheney is responsible for some of the most horrible actions ever taken by a supposedly civilized nation. He's so cold inside that he'd smile in Stewart's face and answer only the questions he chose to.

[lame54]

6. he is more than a comedian...

The Daily Show acts as a media watchdog - constantly calling him on their bullshit

I don't see a lot of Carrot Top threads on this board

[cherokeeprogressive]

7. So right. More than a comedian, less than a journalist.

I won't waver on that point. Stewart is no more a journalist than is Dennis Miller.

[Mr. Ected]

10. Jon Stewart Is No More A Journalist Than John King

Just sayin'

[11 Bravo]

15. The difference being that Jon doesn't claim to be a journalist. King does.

[xxqqqzme]

11. That may be what is listed on Jon's

CV & tax return but if you think that is all he is, you haven't been paying attention. Jon's observation's & questions to some recent economic/financial guests on TDS, have revealed Jon's depth of understanding & comprehension of the depression. Jon does his homework in addition to being very, very smart. Jon is often the target of lowered expectations because he is 'just a comedian'. But I pity the interviewee who goes on w/ that pre-conception. He may be a 'comedian' but he continually demonstrates (and hs been doing so for quite some time) to the whorporate media exactly what they should be doing.

[immoderate]

9. You can also call Jon a satirist.

I'm not sure where you are getting your definition of journalist. I don't think the rules ae as strict as you do. Too many people who are called journalists have failed us because they have put being "fair" above revealing the truth. They are too anxious to "report the controversy" rather than the facts.

Jon would interview Cheney with the idea of exposing his bullshit. If no TRUE journalist would do that, what good are they?

Jon may not possess an official journalist's hat, but he is better than most at bringing out the truth.

--imm

[Liberal In Texas]

13. Stewart is a pundit, not a journalist.

"...a person who makes comments or judgments, esp. in an authoritative manner; critic or commentator." -Dictionary.com

The airwaves are full of pundits, especially RW ones. The general public many times thinks if they see someone on a TV "news" show, they're looking at a journalist. Most of the time anymore they're looking at a pundit. They're aren't nearly enough real journalists anymore.

Stewart is a comedian. But he's also a pundit. Like Will Rogers was.

[NeedleCast]

8. Didnt Cheney go on Daily Show once?

I know his wife did, and I feel like he did at some point, but I might be wrong.

[lame54]

12. no

[Flubadubya]

14. Dick Cheney is a real coward...

He would never face off with Jon Stewart... or anyone else who would give him the smackdown he actually deserves.

BTW... neither would/will George W. Bush. :mad: