Jon Stewart: I’m Bipartisan-Curious, Let’s Talk Health Care Reform Theatre

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by Glynnis MacNicol | 8:27 am, February 26th, 2010

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Probably you caught at least some of yesterday’s health care reform summit as all the cablers ran with it for most of the day — even Fox which preempted ratings powerhouse Glenn Beck. After day long complaints, highlighted by Jon Stewart (below) of the summit merely being a piece of political theater (Shakespeare, Kabuki, or otherwise!) the proceeding were actually mostly tame. Mostly. Also it’s questionable whether anything was accomplished. Says Stewart:

So there we have our opening bids: One side wants to find common ground, the other side wants to start over. Let’s start negotiating!

Actually, in the end, Stewart appeared more encouraged than not about yesterday’s summit. He even threw around the word “substantive.” Now if only he could have moderated the day-long proceedings and provided even more little descriptive nuggets like this:

“That is Senator Tom ‘killing abortion doctors might not be such a bad idea’ Coburn’” and “That’s Senator Chuck ‘if I was any more Liberal and Jewish I would be Barbara Streisand-Shumer.” Who Stewart points out, were actually having a conversation about health care! Video below.

Glenn Beck, Health Care Reform, Jon Stewart, The Daily Show

J Baustian

The “straw dog” argument is the lowest and crudest form of illogic, but Jon Stewart just loved Obama’s “saving money on food by firing the meat inspectors” argument. It is so crude that the target of such an attack inevitably senses hatred and responds with increased hatred of his own…. hardly the way to find common ground during a televised negotiation. What can you say? The only appropriate response to what Obama said was something that congressmen should never say to a president.

Here’s an idea: Why is there so much incivility in politics today? Could it result from all the prohibitions against dueling? What if a public insult could lead to an invitation to a sword fight? Might public discourse be slightly less rabid?