While Stewart's leftward leanings are nothing short of obvious, his public endorsement of Senator Kerry weakens his credibility with viewers who expect equal parody of both parties. And according to a recent Drudge Report scoop, The Daily Show's audience has been rapidly slipping despite a publicity blitz and best-selling book.
Stewart, who announced last week that he plans to support John Kerry, pulled 1,040,000 total viewers for month of September -- down 7% from August, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.
Jumbo hype from media writers and a bestselling book apparently has failed to translate into any TV audience improvement.
CNN editors were busy this weekend cleaning up a transcript from Stewart's Friday appearance on CROSSFIRE. One CNN executive called Stewart's performance "belligerent."
During the live program, Stewart slammed host Tucker Carlson: "You're as big a dick on your show as you are on any show."
The awkward exchange came at the end of an 8 minute segment between Stewart, Carlson and co-host Paul Begala.
***
CARLSON: You had John Kerry on your show and you sniff his throne and you're accusing us of partisan hackery?
STEWART: Absolutely.
CARLSON: ...you have this marvelous opportunity not to be the guy's butt boy, to go ahead and be his butt boy. Come on. It's embarrassing.
STEWART: I was absolutely his butt boy. I was so far -- you would not believe what he ate two weeks ago.
STEWART: You know, the interesting thing I have is, you have a responsibility to the public discourse, and you fail miserably.
CARLSON: You need to get a job at a journalism school, I think.
STEWART: You need to go to one.
The thing that I want to say is, when you have people on for just knee-jerk, reactionary talk...
CARLSON: Wait. I thought you were going to be funny. Come on. Be funny.
STEWART: No. No. I'm not going to be your monkey.
BEGALA: Go ahead. Go ahead.
STEWART: I watch your show every day. And it kills me.
CARLSON: I can tell you love it.
STEWART: It's so -- oh, it's so painful to watch...
CARLSON: Is this really Jon Stewart? What is this, anyway?
STEWART: Yes, it's someone who watches your show and cannot take it anymore. I just can't.
CARLSON: What's it like to have dinner with you? It must be excruciating. Do you like lecture people like this or do you come over to their house and sit and lecture them; they're not doing the right thing, that they're missing their opportunities, evading their responsibilities?
CARLSON: I wouldn't want to eat with you, man. That's horrible.
STEWART: I know. And you won't.
0 comments:
Post a Comment