19
the part of the person being questioned. For his consistent annoyance of the revered and
powerful, Plato called Socrates the “gadfly of Athens.” Could Stewart be considered the “gadfly
of cable”? This doesn’t bode well for Stewart; Socrates was, of course, made to drink hemlock
for questioning the dogmas of the time. And one of the charges at Socrates’ trial was corrupting
the young.
40
In addition to Stewart’s Socratic emphasis of his lack of knowledge during Daily Show
interviews, he consistently downplays the possible effects of The Daily Show in general: “I
follow a show about puppets making crank calls,” he says about his 11:00 slot on Comedy
Central.
41
He thanked Meet the Press’s Tim Russert for “meeting the fake press” when Russert
was on The Daily Show to talk about his new book.
42
When asked by Larry King if he thinks
The Daily Show could influence someone at the polls, Stewart replied:
… the message that we put into the show for the young people is subliminal and
it’s all about Communism….That’s what’s threaded in there, but at a very
subconscious level. Every eight seconds we flash a picture of Trotsky.
43
While on Nightline during the Democratic National Convention, he told Ted Koppel, “I know
my role. I am the dancing monkey.” Despite these protestations, many people link him with the
“truth.” Later in the interview Koppel asks him about this point:
Stewart: But we are a separate, we are a peripheral, we’re a sundae bar, and I
don’t think that… We’re reactive and not actual news. So I don’t think… If you
don’t like Jon Stewart, then you’ll have to go to another comedy program. Not
another news program.
Koppel: You’re refreshingly honest about that. And I appreciate that. But the
reality if it is, and it’s not joke anymore, the reality of it is that there are a lot of
people out there who do turn to you for…
Stewart: Not for news.
Koppel: Well, they, they turn…
Stewart: For an interpretation. For a comedic interpretation.
Convention