11 Dec 2014

Jon Stewart Admits His Error

Humor 18 Comments

I know you guys think I’m too soft on him, but I really like how Jon Stewart handled this. In particular, he could’ve, in a jokey way, blamed it on his staff without coming off like a total jerk. (E.g. “In retrospect, perhaps I shouldn’t have given my researchers shots of Jagermeister that day…” as he looks off into the distance.) But he didn’t go that route at all.

18 Responses to “Jon Stewart Admits His Error”

  1. Ag Economist says:

    Yeah, Stewart is just a SJW clown who shills for established interests. Does he occasionally get something right? Sure, but he’s really do different than any other talking head idiot on any other channel. In fact, he’s probably worse because he tries to escape criticism for his shilling by saying it’s just a comedy show.

    Yeah, I don’t at all get why you are so easy on this guy.

    • Keshav Srinivasan says:

      I think Jon Stewart is an honest liberal who doesn’t hide when he has criticisms of fellow liberals and Democrats. I don’t think he’s just a mindless shill for the Obama administration. He’s been vocal about the fact that he was disappointed by Obama’s failure to be a transformational president.

      • dave s says:

        The problem with Stewart is that he’s not in a position to be trusted. He’s a master of acquiring and spending reputation. He has $millions of reasons for saying the things he does.

        It’s hardly going out on a limb to criticize Obama. I’d be impressed if Stewart said something the majority of his audience disagrees with.

      • Ag Economist says:

        I think you’re being far too generous. I’ve not said anything about Obama, so I don’t know why you’re projecting that on me.

        He was very friendly to Ron Paul back when Paul was packing university football stadiums with his speeches but treated Peter Schiff like complete crap. The guy has no ideological consistency whatsoever. He simply gauges his audience’s view on something and feeds them whatever they want. Good for an entertainer, I suppose, but not for a journalist or commentator.

        • Delphin says:

          To Keshav’s assumption, Obama is surely one of the present established interests. That said, I agree with you about Stewart.

  2. Richie says:

    I’ll never understand why smugness and condescension passes as intelligence. Jon Liebowitz is the Paul Krugman of “comedy.”

  3. Erik says:

    He did, what, a whole week on police brutality and the racial disparity in the justice system?

    Yeah he promotes some “establishment interests”, but clearly the establishment is with the cops on this one! Due to the reach of his show, he’s probably raised the support for civil liberties more than any libertarian group ever has!

    And if you don’t take yourself way too seriously, he’s funny too.

  4. Bob Roddis says:

    The strategy of using one small mistake to refute everything you ever say forever is apparently a favorite tool of the Powers-That-Be. As in a few bad CPI predictions completely refuting the Austrian School.

  5. Bob Roddis says:

    They are using the same strategy with the torture report.

    Select as many as you want from the following list:

    There was no torture.

    That wasn’t torture.

    Hey, torture worked just great. We’ll do it again!

  6. Zack says:

    With respect, I completely disagree about this “apology.” Like him or not, Jon Stewart is an influential figure with a large audience. He made a very serious accusation on his show against the San Bernardino police when he clearly had no idea what he was talking about. After he got caught, he quickly said he was sorry and then immediately turned it into a joke.

    Also, I agree with AG Economist that he often tries to have it both ways- sometimes he wants to act like a serious commentator, but when he gets criticized he hides behind the fact that he’s a comedian.

  7. Dan says:

    I find him funny, even though I despise a lot of his views. I don’t really look to comedians to be my sources for political theory or economics. I pretty much look for them to be my source for laughs, and he manages to make me laugh, so I like him.

    • skylien says:

      Right.

      “Humor ist wenn man trotzdem lacht” (= Homur is if you laugh regardless)
      Otto Julius Bierbaum

  8. David R. Henderson says:

    I don’t think you’re too soft on him.

    • Z says:

      I don’t know what happened to him. Ever since he got a son, our ‘take no prisoners, leave noone alive’ Murphy has gone soft. I long for the good old days. If this was 2000, the bloody and decaying remains of Stewart would have left a stench so powerful that would warn others to stay away from Murphy territory.

  9. Brent says:

    I don’t like that he pretends he and his staff are not cutting and pasting for comedy’s sake. People believe The Daily Show is somehow different from the Fox stuff they attack. Of course, Stewart is a bastard of a hypocrite because he also sometimes defends himself by sliming into the “oh c’mon, my show is really just comedy” schick.

  10. George says:

    There are days that I think Mr. Stewart is just a few economic fallacies away from becoming a libertarian. Of course, then there are the other days.

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