Jon Stewart for President

Jon Stewart is my hero. And while I am, of course, half joking, I am also half serious. I'm not sure exactly how much press coverage Stewart's honest, incisive critique of Chris Matthews' new book (and of Matthews himself to a certain extent) is getting but I think it is a decent amount. Though I would hope it ultimately gets the same attention his 2004 remarks on (and about) CNN's Crossfire got.

In the end it is quite astonishing and also quite sad that the act of courage I am championing (and thrilled to have witnessed) was simply a television host (Jon Stewart) stating his honest opinion, telling the truth, and calling a TV personality (who happens to host a cookie cutter political views program) on the bullshit that so easily pervades cable and network TV (as well as much of the mainstream media).

And for those unfamiliar with Jon Stewart and The Daily Show, this isn't a gimmick ... Stewart and company have a track record of frank, genuine analysis (usually in the form of piercing satire) and inquiry. Before the Matthews interview, there was much buzz amongst the blogs and columnists over the incisively witty satire about Hillary Clinton's cringe-inducing, inauthentic strategy of laughter in her Sunday News Shows media blitz.

Here's the Chris Matthews interview:





Here's the Clinton Laugh Track clip:



In case the above embeds fail or the clips are taken down, you can also find the videos here at the TDS official website (unfortunately TDS' parent company Viacom has taken down the clips from YouTube). You can find the Matthews interview here. Unfortunately you'll have to do a little searching for the Clinton Laugh Track clip under the videos section. You can also try this link to milkandcookies.com and search for the vids.

And for those who can't watch the interview vid just now and want to read about the interview check out these two columns (Jennifer Pozner@Huffington Post and/or Greg Mitchell@Editor and Publisher).