Giving Context To The Daily Show‘s Megyn Kelly Takedown: They Have A Point

Steve KrakauerMar 4th, 2010, 4:22 pm

• Peter Johnson, Jr. was on to talk about whether this type of proposed reconciliation was legal. He wasn’t going to say it was illegal, but he certainly bashed the idea, and was clearly against the move. As Kelly tossed up the softball, he hit it out of the park each time. When Kelly played devil’s advocate with one question, he was quick to praise her: “There’s no better lawyer or anchor than Megyn Kelly.”

• The Chris Wallace interview was interesting. Wallace is someone else who consistently has his detractors say he isn’t being objective, and works hard to prove his Sunday show is just as fair as any other. Leading into his interview, Kelly played grainy video and choppy audio of then-Senator Obama arguing against reconciliation. But Wallace wasn’t buying it. “I’m not as exercised about this as you are,” he told her, acknowledging the “rampant hypocrisy by both sides.”

So Kelly tried a different tactic – she played the clip of former Pres. George H.W. Bush and the “no new taxes” promise (see – fair and balanced!) and said, “A lot of people believe that’s what lead to President Bush being a one-term President.” Again, Wallace didn’t bite: “I don’t think you can compare what Pres. Obama is doing here to that.”

Two other notes. While discussing the “Al Qaeda 7” lawyers being outed, she was sure to say, “We don’t call them that, that’s what critics call them.” However the FNC chyron stated: “Fox News uncovers names of ‘Al Qaeda 7′ attorneys at DOJ.” In this case, it wasn’t Kelly’s fault – it was a decision made behind the scenes.

Then there was a strange intro to a story about Starbucks considering banning concealed weapons. “The Starbucks coffee chain is often seen as home to latte-sipping liberals and laptop workers,” she began, although her tone implied at least some level of sarcasm. Still, it was the most Hannity-like moment of the entire two hours.

So is there a difference between FNC’s news-designated hours, like Kelly’s, and their opinion programs (which includes Fox & Friends in the morning)? Absolutely. But is there some slant when it comes to Kelly’s show, and her personally? There appears to be. The same may be argued for MSNBC the other direction – it’s about story choice, and guest selection, and overall layout.

She’s a neo-anchor – the kind that may fit perfectly in FNC’s prime time at some point down the road. For now, she’s very anchor-like. She’s not Shepard Smith or Bret Baier, but she’s certainly not Glenn Beck or Hannity. She’s Megyn Kelly – a star at FNC, and, well, newsish.

Here’s Stewart’s segment:

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