Yesterday we ran this post about Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist saying the Terri Schiavo case was closed in light of the autopsy results that showed she died of irreversible brain damage and there had been no abuse.
Frist also spent some of the day insisting he had never made a diagnosis of Schiavo (based on viewing a video of her) from the Senate floor. Later, we even got a comment on our post asking why our linked story differed from the one the link read to. The reason: Frist later gave reporters a smoother statement and THAT ONE replaced his more awkward replies on the morning news shows yesterdayon the link we used in a story rewrite later in the day. We did NOT change our original post since it’s frankly not our duty on this site to help politicians of EITHER party get their spin out when they see they didn’t do it effectively enough the first time. Frist said what he said in the morning.
Now, via Crooks And Liars, we see this absolutely devastating video from Jon Stewart’s Daily Show monologue where he discusses Frist — then shows video of what Frist actually said on the floor…then video from Frist’s comments in THE MORNING where he basically said he didn’t say what he said…which the earlier video shows he said.
Watch it yourself and whether you are a Republican or Democrat or Independent ask yourself this question: after seeing this with your own eyes how can you believe ANYTHING this guy says in the future?
But don’t stop there.
This clip actually runs a total of 15 minutes, showing the whole Stewart monologue. And it shows why he has become such a political influence due to the way he uses video clips and humor to make his points more effectively than most op-ed writers and blogs (including this one).
He also deals with the Patriot act and Guantanamo but there are two other things on the monologue that you CANNOT miss:
- His take on Republican F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. shutting down his committee and LITERALLY taking his gavel and walking off a shocked and outraged Democrats try to talk…with their mikes turned off. We dealt with that issue in this post. Stewart again uses clips to make his points.
One reader to that post defended him and insisted he didn’t take his gavel with him. Look the video and see for yourself. He most certainly did.
The Democratic website Buzzflash Report recently blasted Sensebrenner and included this INCREDIBLE, jaw-dropping quote of what Sensebrenner has written to Democratic Chairman Howard Dean (who we have criticized a lot on this site for his comments):” “I sincerely hope you refrain from further personal attacks. These attacks are contrary to the passionate – but respectful – political debate the public deserves.”
When you see the actual tidbits via video of went on ask yourself: is THIS GUY helping give Congress the passionate “but respectful…political debate the public deserves?”
- His truly awesome take on how BOTH SIDES use Hitler references when the going gets tough and how using a Hitler/Nazi reference can make a politico look “crazy.” He again makes effective use of undeniable video clips to show how BOTH SIDES indulge in this verbal overkill, then uses his wit to point out how the use of Hitler references undermines the speaker’s credibility…and how only Hitler was really like Hitler.
FOOTNOTE: TMV often misses Stewart’s show. This video clip is a great one and truly shows why he deserves the status he has achieved — and a trust factor with viewers that Dan Rather would envy. Stewart clearly has some political views, but he’s not just one more political hack attacking one side and never going after the other.
There’s enough hypocrisy, lying and stupidity in both parties — which Stewart taps into, which is what gives him such great material. His job would be far more difficult if the political class was dominated by politicos who adhered to consistent political values and thoughtful debate on issues..
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.