Like many, I adore the Daily Show. Unlike many, I don't direct all of my love at Jon Stewart, who, while a decent stand-up comic, is but one of dozens of writers in the show's stable. It's embarrassing how much credit he gets. But my stars-getting-credit-for-other-people's-lines rant will have to wait, because today's post is about the increasingly insipid Daily Show audience.
One of the things that sets the Daily Show apart is its unabashed point of view. These folks lean left, and they don't hide it. No "fair and balanced" smoke here. Yet they're the kind of biased I can respect. They're no DNC mouthpieces. If anything, they're infuriated by the Democrats' ineptitude. Contrast that with one-note partisans like, say, Limbaugh or Franken, who would sooner die than utter a thoughtful criticism of their own houses. In this, the Daily Show staff stands alone.
Which, sadly, brings us to my beef. Their studio audience. They're never shown, so I can't be sure, but I'm betting the audience is jam-packed with 19 year old College Democrats of America, each with a mug in hand so that he might drink mightily from the well of validation. It has some curious results. I don't begrudge them going batshit whenever W. is insulted, but now they're spring-loaded, ready to cheer anything that remotely validates their world view. Twice this week Stewart mentioned Iraq casualties and got raucous cheers.
Stewart: So today, the list of American dead in Iraq passed 2000—Audience: WHOOOOOO! YEEEAAAAH! WHOOOOOO! (applause)
I don't know about y'all, but the distasteful display of self-pleasuring irritates me. It makes me not want to watch.