On Jon Stewart, President Obama, and the "Cult of Personality":

[Brigid]

I have just finished reading a thread here in GD about a segment from last night's "Daily Show." Apparently it dealt with the issue of transparency in the Obama WH. I have no opinion on the clip itself right now, as I am sitting in my favorite Mexican restaurant and using my Blackberry, which does not always allow me to watch video clips. I will have to wait and watch it on my computer at home.

But I will say this: I am very wary of following any person blindly (well, there is one, but the mere mention of that person's name sends some DUers into a foaming-at-the-mouth rage, so we won't go there). There is a bit of old film footage I've seen many times (you've probably seen it too) of an anonymous German woman at a Nazi rally back in the 1930s, her eyes glazed over with adoration. I sometimes wonder what ever happened to her. She picked the wrong idol to worship; that much I do know. Whenever I get to admiring any public figure too much, I think of the entranced look on her face.

My point is this: Obama is a human being, and so is Jon Stewart. I have liked Obama since I first saw him on TV, speaking at the 2004 Democratic Convention. I have been a Jon Stewart fan ever since I first saw him rip Tucker Carlson apart on "Crossfire.". But this does not mean that I think they can do no wrong. I see Obama as an intelligent, capable man who nevertheles may not have the right temperament to be President in these crazy times (he needs to channel LBJ now and then and stop worrying about whether the wackos in today's Republican Party like him or not; they are not going to, no matter what he does). Jon Stewart is without peer as a satirist, but sometimes doesn't seen too comfortable with people who, he feels, take him too seriously. He honestly doesn't seem to realize sometimes that he has become more than just a comedian.

Both of these men, along with any other public figures, are going to do things and take positions that will sometimes anger and sometimes please us. No use being surprised when it's the former; that is just the way things are. Believe it or not, even the Republicans once had something sensible to say.

[ZombieHorde]

1. You can place you faith with Gary Gygax, and you will never go wrong.

To love Gary Gygax is to love yourself.