Is the Rally for Sanity actually a Foothold for Politics?

 

 

As any reader of this blog would know, I am a major fan of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report. I try to watch every night (although midterms have made this more difficult lately), I’ve been to see The Daily Show taped live quite a few times, I own both Earth and America, I even own a super-nerdy t-shirt that says “I Get My News from The Daily Show”.

Part of the beauty of Stewart and Colbert’s humor – particularly Stewart’s – is that it’s basically this everyday guy responding to the news and asking questions all of us who are rational, reasonable people want to know. We don’t always buy political and government rhetoric, and are just trying to kind of make sense of it all by laughing at it. And it’s HILARIOUS to laugh at. I mean, come on. Some of the stuff politicians do is just crazy – like advocate for raising spending for federal programs but then freaking out when we want to raise taxes to raise spending; or crusade against gay rights and then have gay affairs. I mean, you can’t even make this stuff up.

But the reason Stewart and Colbert have been able to get away with all this poking fun at the news and at politicians is because it

 

 

seems they do it to everyone, regardless of political leanings. But lately, Stewart seems to have taken Glenn Beck in particular head-on; between his ten minute impression of him (out of a half-hour show, that is quite a chunk); and now his announcement of the “Rally For Sanity”, seemingly aimed directly at Glenn Beck’s lack of reason and calm attitude in his political rhetoric.

So — is this Stewart being partisan intentionally? Without knowing it? I was surprised – and THRILLED – when he announced he was coming to DC, my current city. But I did wonder – is the the beginning of him entering the political scene?

I’m glad he chose a non-political landmark/area f the National Mall to have the Rally for Sanity – It would be too heated if he had chosen, say, The Lincoln Memorial – but I still wonder if this is the start of a new chapter of The Daily Show.

Thoughts?