It’s a sad state of affairs in America when the fake news show, The Daily Show on Comedy Central is doing some of the best journalism on television.
To that end, take a look at this sequence wherein The Daily exposes Dick Cheney (and with him, the entire Bush Administration) to be the manipulative dissemblers that they are.
Jon Stewart is discussing the Administration’s recent bone picking with the Media for supposedly mischaracterizing the 9/11 Commission’s report that Iraq and al-Qaeda had no substantial cooperative ties and what the Bush Administration may or may not have said about all of that in the lead up to war.
Cheney is seen on tape speaking to a CNBC reporter in an “exclusive” interview:
STEWART (live): “Never been proven, never been refuted”?…Well, I’m not unconvinced! … [audience laughter] … For the record, the 9/11 Commission said of the alleged Iraq/Atta encounter or meeting; “We do not believe that such a meeting occurred.” But still that’s okay because Vice President Cheney never said such a meeting occurred… He just said that you couldn’t prove that it hadn’t. He never acted like Atta had had that meeting and that meeting had been confirmed. Am I, am I right?
CNBC (on tape): You have said in the past that it was quote “pretty well confirmed…”
CHENEY (on tape): No, I never said that.
CNBC (on tape): Okay…
CHENEY (on tape): I never said that…
CNBC (on tape): I think that is…
CHENEY (on tape): That is…Absolutely not…
STEWART (live): He never said that? Hmm….
CHENEY (on tape, 12/9/01, Meet the Press): It’s been pretty well confirmed…[audience cheers] that he did go to Prague and he did meet with a senior official of the Iraqi intelligence service in Czechoslovakia last April.
[cheers continue]
STEWART (live): Mr. Vice President…I have to inform you…your pants are on fire. [laughter, applause]
Funny? Yes. But also terribly sad that such “reporting” on what our “leaders” are saying to us, and the lies that they are selling to justify a horrendous foreign policy, is virtually only being done on a “fake news” show on a basic cable comedy channel! A disgraceful indictment of the supposedly “liberal” media if you ask me.
That wasn’t the only ball that The Daily hit outta the park on last night’s show. Stewart’s interview with Stephen F. Hayes, author of The Connection: How al Qaeda’s Collaboration with Sadam Hussein Has Endangered America was nothing less than brilliant. If I find time later today, I’ll try and transcribe some key moments…Yes, really good journalism.
But for now, for “fair and balanced” sake, here’s a great line from a Clinton story that lead last night’s show featuring tape from Sunday’s 60 Minutes Dan Rather interview:
STEWART (live): “If there had been no Ken Starr”…he would have confessed! [laugher] You know I’ll say this for Bill Clinton, his integrity is at it’s highest, when the situation is at it’s most hypothetical. [audience laugher, cheers]
So there’s a bone for you Fake Conservatives. Unfortunately, while the Clinton bit is funny, yes, it has no importance to anything. His “lies” haven’t lead to the death of thousands of innocent human beings. I wish I could say the same for the Dick Cheney stuff…And for the media’s part in standing down and/or aiding and abetting that effort throughout the entire shameful chapter.
"His "lies" haven’t lead to the death of thousands of innocent human beings."
Unless you count the "lies" he told about Kosovo, but hey, those human beings weren’t innocent. They were probably snorting coke or kicking a dog when the bombs fell into their living rooms.
Besides that, all he lied about was sex.
Oh, and the thing with the communist chinese connections…but he’s no rich republican who can get millions in campaign contributions from his rich oil buddies. Sometimes you just gotta be creative.
Larry,
Notice how Brad’s fair and balanced here? If you have a problem with Clinton, fine (although I’m not sure what your problem is with Kosovo, considering what the Serbs were doing there, but maybe that’s why you put the word lies in quotation marks). The problem is that Republicans have pissed and moaned about Clinton’s "lies" for 14 years now, but you can’t bring yourself to admit that your guy is a much more blantant, quotidian liar than Clinton ever was.
On one hand I agree, it’s shameful and even frightening that our best resource for honest news comes from a comedy show. On the other hand, I’m just grateful that we Can get some honest news, even if it’s through a comedy venue. I found your site by accident, but from just this quick look…I have a feeling I’ll be back around.
Wishing You Laughter
Good to have you here, Quinn! Please don’t be a stranger…and keep spreading the good news!
Who will liberate us from all the conventional foolishness of the conservatives and liberals? GOD HELP AMERICA….