Judith Miller Dismantles Jon Stewart; Stewart Declared Winner
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Judith Miller Dismantles Jon Stewart; Stewart Declared Winner I was perusing Twitter late last night when I couldn’t help but notice that the name “Judith Miller” was trending. I knew that the former New York Times journalist was promoting a new book about her coverage (from over a decade ago) of the build- up to the Iraq War, but I was surprised that she was the talk of the town on social media. Curious, I clicked on her name and was immediately overwhelmed with comments and headlines like “Jon Stewart destroys Judith Miller over Iraq!”, “Jon Stewart shows Judith Miller what REAL journalism is!”, and “Judith Miller’s still lying on the floor after that beating. Owned!” There were literally thousands of them, and they weren’t just auto-generated from phantom accounts. They came from actual people (some from popular news sites) that had seen Miller’s appearance last night on the Daily Show, and absolutely believed that comedian Jon Stewart had verbally torn her to shreds. You see, Miller has taken a lot of heat from the American left over the years for the pieces she wrote in the New York Times in 2002 and 2003 that substantiated the belief of intelligence agencies all over the world that Saddam Hussein did in fact have a significant, active WMD program in Iraq. Even though her articles were based on information from a variety of well- placed sources within the intelligence community that had steered her right on multiple big stories in the past, the liberal mantra is that Miller was essentially a stooge for the neocons in the Bush administration. They think she allowed herself to be used as a propaganda tool by the likes of Dick Cheney to take our country to war. Miller’s stated explanation for why she wrote her new book, The Story: A Reporter’s Journey, is that she wanted to dispel the many myths and popular misconceptions surrounding what our country knew and what it didn’t prior to the Iraq War, and also to explain her reporting on it. Being that Jon Stewart is an anti-war liberal who has wholeheartedly subscribed to (and perpetuated) several false narratives on Iraq, I envisioned that the interview was probably every bit as rabid as it was being described. Then, I actually watched it. Stewart did indeed take an uncomfortably stern tone with Miller, venting his frustrations over Iraq and asking tough, accusatory questions that at times felt more like part of a censure than an interview. Still, they were fair questions, and they were perfectly legitimate. What surprised me was Miller. She was perfectly composed, and effectively dismantled each and every charge thrown her way. She explained her reporting methodology in great detail, and described her diligence in presenting the best available information to the American public. She also pointed out that there was a strong consensus on Iraq, not just in the intelligence community, but also among our political leaders (including the Clinton Administration) and the media as a whole. She left that interview having validated her journalistic integrity. Stewart, on the other hand, left with very little. The notion that Miller had somehow been “destroyed” by Jon Stewart, or that he had “wiped the floor” with her wasn’t just inaccurate… It was pure delusion. It’s just not a conclusion that any objective mind could have possibly reached, even as the same headlines continue to pour out across news websites this morning. Heck, I doubt Stewart himself thinks he ended up on the winning side of that exchange—if there was even a winner to be had. Yet, because he was aggressive, angry, and venting the frustrations of many liberals, he was somehow deemed to have resoundingly “won” the debate. It apparently didn’t even matter what Miller had to say. Learn about John Daly’s upcoming novel BLOOD TRADE. I find that incredibly sad. Our nation is so depressingly partisan right now that we’ve completely shut ourselves off to reasoned, constructive dialogue. Facts just aren’t important. We’re on the constant lookout for some sort of knock-out punch that bolsters our point of view, and we turn a blind eye to anyone who challenges that point of view. Instead of placing our faith and smarts in the hands of comedians who use the power of hindsight to deliver stinging one-liners, we should think about investing in our own objectivity, and listening to each other every now and then. We’d most certainly learn something. Unfortunately, objectivity isn’t nearly as entertaining as grand displays of self-righteousness. ———— If you’re interested in a signed, personalized copy of my novel “From a Dead Sleep” you can order one from my website. It also makes a great gift! Jon Stewart’s Legacy is Comedy, Not Truth A little over 20 years ago, a much younger John Daly who had few responsibilities, a 32-inch waist, and a full head of hair used to return to his college dorm room after a long day of classes and routinely flip on some mindless television to unwind. MTV was typically the channel of choice. It was the era of The Real World, Beavis and Butt-Head, and that infectious, Seattle sound that redefined the Rock genre. One day, quite possibly between a Road Rules marathon and a rebroadcast of the latest Aeon Flux episode, I discovered a new show with little fanfare called You Wrote It, You Watch It. The show invited MTV viewers to send in stories that would then be acted out on the show by a comedic group of actors. The skits weren’t very funny, but the same could not be said about the show’s host. He was a short fellow with dark, wavy hair and a pointy nose named Jon Stewart. I had never heard of Stewart before, but I became an instant fan. There was something refreshingly unique about his dry wit, his playful, self-deprecating delivery, and even the subtle facial expressions he’d make. I found the man to be downright hilarious. You Wrote It, You Watch It didn’t last very long, but Stewart soon turned back up on the network with his own talk show. It didn’t have much of a budget, and the guests weren’t exactly making anyone’s A-list, but it was funny; really funny! One of the show’s best qualities was the way Stewart mocked MTV and several of its on-air personalities for how seriously they took themselves. I watched the show religiously, and got several of my friends interested in it. “You know why you like this guy, don’t you?” I remember a friend asking me while we were watching the show together one night. “He’s just like you.” Though I would never proclaim to have an ounce of Jon Stewart’s comedic talent, I understood what my friend meant. Stewart and I shared the same sense of humor. We were equally immature. We found absurdities in the same societal narratives, and we refused to take ourselves seriously. In a way, he tapped into my inner adolescence and simplistic worldview, and I suppose that’s what I appreciated the most about him. I felt that he spoke to my generation, and at that point in my life, I guess that meant something. When The Jon Stewart Show left MTV for an hour-long syndicated show, I continued to tune in. I even once sent a fan letter to the show, and was admittedly excited when I received an autographed photo of Stewart in return. It hung on my apartment wall for the duration of my college years, and I actually discovered it in a box in the basement of my house just a few weeks ago. The ratings for the syndicated show ended up being pretty abysmal for whatever reason, and it was soon cancelled. Though Stewart put on an upbeat face for those last few episodes, it was clear to me that he was hurting over the situation. One of Stewart’s final guests was the late comedian David Brenner. I remember Brenner offering Stewart words of encouragement, saying something like, “There’s one thing you can’t keep down in this business, and that’s real talent. And you have real talent.” As we all know, Brenner was right. Stewart rebounded by landing the hosting role on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show (which turned into a 16 year run). I didn’t follow Stewart as closely once he began that stage of his career, though I was happy for his success. I wasn’t much into politics (for which Stewart mocked both political parties equally at the time). I had graduated from college, and was moving on with my life and my own career. I did manage to score some tickets for me and my girlfriend (who would become my fiance the next day, and later my wife) to The Daily Show on a trip to New York in 2001, just a few weeks before the 9/11 attacks. It was an interesting experience. Contrary to what we were told earlier by the show’s producer, Stewart didn’t engage the audience before, during, or after the taping. He spent every second of his downtime on stage sifting through papers without actually reading what was written on any of them – almost as if he was going out of his way to avoid having to talk to us. It was kind of weird, but no biggie.