Stewart Blasts Media Coverage Of Debates, "Gloves Off" Politics, And The "Race Card"

Last night on "A Daily Show," Jon Stewart took the media to task for over-hyping "gloves off" politics. In particular, he blasted his one of his favorite targets, Chris Matthews (about 1:30 in), for dramatizing Tuesday night's debate with phrases like "let's talk fight talk" and "will there be an upper cut?" But, as he shows, CNN, Fox, and about a year's worth of commentators have been using the "gloves off" terminology to describe the Clinton-Obama race:

Of course, "gloves off" isn't the only media trope Stewart blasted last night. He also lambasted the media's reliance on the "race card" storyline playing out in the Democratic primary:

Comments

[Calmuse]

Yet another brilliant segment from Jon Stewart.

He's far more entertaining without his writers.

[auramac]

"Your mic is on!"

Genius...

[Stomcey]

How about getting angry they hardly even talked about Edwards afterwards.

[tom928]

Right on

Stewart is right on. What excellent work. The monotonous repetition of the 'gloves off' metaphor and the the relentless baiting and prodding for a divisive 'war' over race across all the MSM channels painfully shows a media culture that is intellectually uncreative and addicted to battle metaphors. The theme here recalls Stewart's point in stimulating the implosion of "Crossfire" a few years ago - "You are hurting America".

BTW, I felt grateful for both Barack and Hillary in how they turned the Nevada debate away from the media vultures prodding for slime and toward a cordial but intellectually substantive debate. They gave us engaging arguments regarding the question of vision versus managerial skill, but unfortunately most of the media vultures were too disappointed by the lack of blood to notice.

[tom928]

Stewart is right on. What excellent work. The monotonous repetition of the 'gloves off' metaphor and the the relentless baiting and prodding for a divisive 'war' over race across all the MSM channels painfully shows a media culture that is intellectually uncreative and addicted to battle metaphors. The theme here recalls Stewart's point in stimulating the implosion of "Crossfire" a few years ago - "You are hurting America".

BTW, I felt grateful for both Barack and Hillary in how they turned the Nevada debate away from the media vultures prodding for slime and toward a cordial but intellectually substantive debate. They gave us engaging arguments regarding the question of vision versus managerial skill, but unfortunately most of the media vultures were too disappointed by the lack of blood to notice.

[courgood]

Love Stewart too but he abridged the lead up to the so called 'race war' - which began as Obama swallowed Shaheen's drug dealer hint, Kerrey's Hussein/Muslim, Cuomo's shuck & jive, Johnson's back in the 'hood comments -- all made, ignored, then acknowledged then x-plained away, then finally apologized for. As if we're supposed to believe one of the most disciplined campaign operations ever run had suddenly run amok. Gimme a break. Context is everything - had that MLK comment been the only thing said it would have largely gone unnoticed as it's legitimate historical debate that has been ongoing. However coming out of the mouth of a candidate who either sanctioned or implicitly encouraged the aforementioned Hortonizing of Obama one read condescension and a patronizing tone. It's sickening. So in a rare diasagreement w/ Stewart I have to challenge his analysis.

[ClevelandTom]

Clearly, Stewart's satire on the media is right on target.

Personally, I think the country would be well served if all the media, and especially the cable news outlets, adopted a tone more along the lines of PBS and NPR when they report on the elections. Ie., more facts, much less drama.

[godlessclif]

I was waiting for Chris Matthews to compare Obama to Mohammad Ali.

[ParacleteofKavorka]

That show was great. This election is so different from previous ones in so many ways yet the pundits keep trying to compare it to the past. I hope one of the many outcomes is the marginalization of those same pundits in the future. The news media is supposed to be a watchdog on our government yet it is unable to self-correct no matter how often they make mistakes.

[KeysDan]

Jon Stewart's piece of the media's insistence on a horse race, or prize fight was masterful. The Democratic National Committe should secure the rights for campaign purposes. It is required viewing for the electorate.

[Laprawler501]

Thank God he is back to keep the media in check every night for TV.

[SpindrainDotCom]

Love love love Stewart ant the Daily Show.

And damn, do we need that sort of levity these days. :)

[geobushono]

Stewart is a genius.I loved his Vince Foster nugget.

[cwfutureboy]

What else is there to talk about when you're pussy -footing around the real issues that America wants to hear them discuss?

[johnhummel]

Of all those who spoke to the King, it was the jester who most often spoke the truth to him. And it was a wise king who listened.

Don't be fooled. Stewart isn't a "comedian" - he's a flashlight, shining the absurdities and fallacies we and the media feed ourselves.

It reminds me of the story of the man who was asked what his purpose in life was. He held up a mirror, and said "This mirror can shine light wherever I can, and it is my purpose in light to use it to bring light to every place in the world." That's what Stewart does, and while he makes me laugh, I am grateful that he does it.