You can watch the full interview on the Daily Show website. First off, I think the television interview was completely fair, despite Thiessen's whining at the end otherwise.
And, secondly, at least in the initial discussion about the 'Al Qaeda 7,' Thiessen completely falls flat. There's a moment when Stewart asks him if a lawyer who represented only pedophiles would be open to disrepute (i.e., sympathetic to pedophilia), and Thiessen replies something to effect of, "Yes; why does this lawyer keep representing them?" That's just absolutely unbelievable.
There's some notion on the right that were it not for excessive lawyering, the complex legal questions about detainee rights and habeus corpus would not have arisen. I just don't think that's the case, and the fact that the Supreme Court again and again sided with these lawyers moves me in that direction. These were legitimate arguments and disputes that needed to be heard and decided, not frivolous lawsuits that somehow managed to persuade five of the nation's most eminent jurists.
As for the rest of the interview -- on torture, etc. -- I think Thiessen does a better job holding his ground.
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3 hours ago
I haven't watched the interview yet, but probably will (it's a battle for me because I really dislike Jon Stewart)..
ReplyDeleteBut let me politely argue that there's no such thing as a "fair" Jon Stewart interview. He's a master of 'gotcha/when-did-you-stop-beating-your-wife' questions and misrepresentation. And if any of his interviewees gets a good rejoinder back to him, he doesn't answer them. He merely makes a(n often unfair) joke in response as a way of deflection.
That so many young people look to him for guidance is scary. But at least they typically don't vote...
Berchmans,
ReplyDeleteWow. Jon Stewart. Can the discourse get any lower for you? You know that he's a comedian, right? He is not a serious person; you shouldn't confuse serious discourse with the fact that every once and a while he has important people on his show.
I heard that just last week, a segment on his show introduced Yefim Bronfman, the world-class pianist, to a man with an over-endowed penis, claiming both have 'artistic' merit.
Absolutely disgusting.
I stopped watching Jon Stewart years ago. Before your sensibilities become completely debased, I suggest you do too.
VM
(Seriously, I don't know how that man sleeps at night. How can someone his age make millions and not feel completely ashamed with himself on what amounts to fart jokes and artless Photoshopping?)
Esquire: It's really a worthwhile interview, and I think Marc Thiessen was given ample time to make his point (and in part 3 of the unedited version, Stewart even tries to find common ground, which was heartwarming -- if futile).
ReplyDeleteYou were probably being facetious, but the whole young-people-look-to-Stewart sounded just as condescending as we liberals are supposed to. Well done.
VM:
First off, you're clearly lying about not watching Jon Stewart. I seem to recall your sending us clips from the show within this past year, if not since 2007.
Second, granted the man's humor isn't all that funny, that's not really why I watch him, or why so many critics think he holds the media's feet to the fire. He's made some excellent points about the silly narratives the mainstream media pushes, as well as the inherent absurdities of cable news (CNN, Fox and MSNBC all under indictment).
Third, isn't it possible, however, that a non-serious person can still make serious points? To a certain extent, Esquire's right when he says Stewart can be unfair: he broaches serious topics (he covers the news as well as any other cable figure), but when he gets called out on it, he reverts to the comedian's stance.
But on the other hand, I think that's the position many a wise fool has taken. Comedy's not all for laughs, you know.