My life, when it comes to humor, has reached its high point; itcannot be surpassed. I made Jon Stewart laugh.
Jon Stewart, hero of the Democratic National Convention,demi-god to liberal college students everywhere, laughed at a jokeI made.
It all happened due to my brother's fortunate friendship with aproducer of the NBC Nightly News. Thanks to this connection (yourule, Sam), I found myself working as a "runner" for NBC at the DNCthis summer.
It seems that from talking to other Tufts people, every Bostoncollege student and their brother worked at the DNC. Some of usworked for NBC, others for the DNC, or CNN, ABC, or any othercombination of letters which sound like a New Deal program. Thoseof us who worked for NBC were lucky. Others, who fell ass-backwardsinto working for the Fox News Channel, were not.
Week One of the job, the week preceding the convention,consisted of making trips back and forth from the Wellington Circleshopping center. It seemed a little silly to be driving betweenCostco, Home Depot, Bed Bath and Beyond (I don't know, I don't knowif we'll have enough time!), but with the company credit card inhand and the time clock running, I wasn't one to complain.
Then, I got my one-night plum assignment.
During Bill Clinton's speech on the first night of theconvention in Boston, I had the glorious assignment of sitting sideby side with the "Daily Show" host. Just me, Mr. Stewart, hishandler, and another NBC employee. While the former presidentelectrified the audience with the booming presence and skilledspeechmaking that made him so popular in the nineties, Stewartentertained his audience of three merely by his presence. Then, Imade my mark.
At one pause in Clinton's speech, someone in the FleetCenteryelled out something incomprehensible. To which I asked audibly,"Did he just say baba-booie?" in reference to the Howard Sternprankster calling-card. And Jon Stewart laughed at my joke. Iwas beside myself with joy. But in retrospect, I guess you had tobe there.
But you weren't. No one was. It was just me, and Jon Stewart(and two other guys).
The rock star phenomenon was something else. As Stewart and Iwalked through the Fleet Center and security, we stopped for photosa dozen times and heard countless "you are awesome" comments, orothers of the same ilk. He was perhaps, the best-loved attendee ofthe convention. But ... why?
"The Daily Show" is currently enjoying unprecedentedexposure. When John Kerry was flailing from the brutal attacks ofthe Swift Boat Veterans, he turned to Jon Stewart in a highlypublicized interview. During the Republican National Convention,"The Daily Show"'s ratings went through the roof. Last Thursday,the night of the first debate between Bush and Kerry, the show,which aired live, received its highest ratings ever, 2.4 millionviewers. This clobbered its previous high of 1.9 million viewersfrom a January episode with Senator John McCain. Fake news hasnever had it so good.
The recent CBS scandal reminded me why so many people,especially our peers, love to get their news and entertainment fromJon Stewart and his motley crew of writers. They know it's fake;they know the slant. With the controversies at "The New York Times"and CBS, public confidence in the mainstream media has fallen tonew lows. Fox News' uber-conservative slant, especially on itstalking head shows, has demolished any credibility the network mayhave had with liberal and moderate viewers. No one knows whether ornot news organizations are telling the truth.
So they turn to "The Daily Show." Yes, it mocks conservativesmore than liberals, and always skews the true story. But there isalways a degree of truth underneath all the joking.
I kid with my Red Sox-loving friends that I'd much rather bean Oriole fan than a Red Sox fan. With the Orioles, I know they aregoing to suck; I know they aren't going to make the playoffs; Iknow that only when they play the Sox, they will win. I don't liveunder the misguided optimism that my team will do well, only tosuffer heartbreak in mid-October.
Watching the "Daily Show" is the same deal. We know it willbe biased, as opposed to the network news, when who knows what thereal story is. One of my favorite quotes from the show was when"correspondent" Rob Corddry reported, "It's all too clear thatfacts in Iraq have an anti-Bush agenda." It's clear to me, andpretty much everyone at the DNC, that Jon Stewart and the "DailyShow" have an anti-Bush agenda as well. But at least we know wherethey're coming from.
