Jon Stewart v. Chris Wallace

Unlike that time a few years back when Jon Stewart eviscerated Tucker Carlson on his own show, Stewart’s latest parry on Fox at least involved some give and take. I mean, Stewart still made Fox “News” look completely ridiculous, and he gave the lie to most of Wallace’s presumptions and assertions. But in addition to the schadenfraude fun of watching Fox look dumb on Fox, there were also some great thought-provoking inquiries into the current status of mainstream media (which Stewart says he and Wallace both deride, but for very different reasons).

The question of where Stewart himself lies on the spectrum between comedian and pundit is an interesting one, too. I think he can be somewhat disingenuous when he downplays his political influence. But at the same time, it’s funny to watch Wallace twist himself into knots trying to say that a) Stewart is more of an ideological force than he’ll admit while at the same time b) Comedy Central is a silly channel and somehow that means Fox can’t be silly too, or can’t be criticized by Stewart, or… actually, I don’t know what he was trying to prove with the South Park-is-so-vulgar bit.

Okay, see for yourself. Here’s part one of the two-part interview, go to YouTube to watch part two.