This Is (Why We Still Watch) CNN

Jon Stewart is the host of Comedy Central's The Daily Show, which actually reports news, but stops long enough to make fun of it. There is more to lampoon than just the stories themselves, but the smugness with which the talking heads (ostensibly) report it. It is that well-crafted approach that makes the show a mildly refreshing alternative to "real" news programs.

This abridged segment features an interview with Jonah Goldberg, contributing editor of National Review and author of Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left. Stewart could save his mockery for the moments that really need lightening up, like when he interviewed Bill O'Reilly and was smart enough to know who could chew whose head off. But no, he scorns every thoughtful idea Goldberg was trying to express, and then wonders why he can't follow what the guy is saying. Well, Jon, pull you're head out of your hindquarters and shut the hell up long enough to actually listen. That's what an interview is for, right? How can you parody something that isn't there to be parodied? And don't worry, the sycophants in your audience will not forsake you for a modicum of erudition on your part.

Then maybe the rest of us will finally stop watching Keith Olbermann long enough to think you're an improvement.

If only out of desparation.
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