Okay, I know that Jon Stewart has always aptly been able to use the fact that his is a comedy show to excuse the program from any sort of standards for legitimate political discourse...but at this point, we all know that we turn to "The Daily Show" for some of the most insightful commentary on current events available on TV. Not only does the comedy often illuminate the truth behind the story that the Administration or the media is spinning, but the interviews are often ten times more intelligent and interesting and just plain civil than the shouting matches between exasperated pundits that you find on other shows. Stewart is not afraid to ask tough questions of people he clearly disagrees with, but he usually gets there patiently, with a logical train of thought, and certainly never pounces on his guest. If you're in Jon's ideological boat, you usually end up at least understanding where the other guy is coming from, but respectfully disagreeing.

Forgive me, but I hold Stewart to these standards. Which is why Jon's interview with John McCain really disappointed me.

Make no mistake, I'm no McCain fan, nor apologist. As for Jon Stewart, I'd probably have his child, if biologically possible. But even a blindly dedicated fan could see that this interview is a bit warped. For one, it's hardly an interview. McCain barely gets a word in edge-wise. Stewart constantly interrupts him, talking over him so that he can articulate his point first, and win the applause of all his like-minded fans in the audience. The worst part is when they resort to a middle school bicker-fest over what the troops think about the war ("my friends in the army say this"..."oh yeah, well MY friends in the army say THIS"). Stewart's not conducting an interview, he's making a series of blunt, platitudinal points in the cloak of questions, which is PRECISELY the kind of bullying and anti-intellectual grilling for which Stewart and Colbert have prodded Bill O'Reilly. This isn't why I watch the Daily Show--to see Jon Stewart verbally suffocate the people he disagrees with, as his faithful followers cheer gleefully.

Because McCain has historically been a friend of the Daily Show, appearing numerous times and always respected by Stewart, it's safe to say that McCain's continued, unapologetic support of the War has left Jon less patient with him, and endowed with a certain amount of anger that came out all at once on Tuesday night. Stewart's moral indignation has always been at the heart and soul of the humor behind "The Daily Show," but sometimes it gets the best of him, and he ends up looking just plain self-righteous. The Crossfire stunt was one of these times, but I didn't care, because of the sheer balls that it took to do what Stewart did. But I fear that, at least for this interview with McCain, Jon Stewart resorted to the kind of counter-productive discourse for which he chided Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson.