Daily Show done good

I'm somewhat predisposed to say good things about Comedy Central's The Daily Show, or The Daily Show with Jon Stewart if you want to split hairs, but this week they really outdid themselves. With the midterm elections next week, the show took to Washington for a week of talking about almost nothing but politics. I'd venture a guess that they're almost singlehandedly putting these races on the map for a big chunk of their audience, and for that, they should win another Peabody award.

As if that weren't enough, Stewart got his shots in with his guests. With Democratic Senator and presidential hopeful John Edwards (D-N.C.), he asked him, point blank, why the Democratically-controlled Senate hasn't been able to get anything done. Granted, that could have been seen as just setting up some bashing of Republicans for the gridlock, but I'm not sure if that was how it was intended. Then, with the press secretary for the Pentagon, he asked if they ever lie to the press, and he managed to intimate to a largely oblivious Pat Buchanan that he was insane, by likening him to the 1 out of 5 dentists who recommend sugared gum for their patients who chew gum as an analogy to fringe elements being able to pursue legisltation in a parliamentary system

The important thing is to re-read that last sentence and remind yourself that this is a show on the same network that features crank-calling puppets, fighting robots and girls jumping on trampolines. If there's a higher-than-expected turnout among males between 18 and 24 this Tuesday, we'll all have Jon Stewart to thank.