During a recent appearance on CNN’s Crossfire, Daily Show host John Stewart got into quite the verbal sparring match with Tucker “Mr. Bowtie” Carlson. Stewart, forgoing his familiar funny man approach lit into the conservative Carlson and said that as a regular viewer of Crossfire, he was very disappointed in the show. Claiming they had a real chance to engage in political debate on their program they too often pandered to partisan politics. Carlson accused Stewart of lobbing softball questions during a Senator Kerry interview and that Stewart was wasting his chance to ask serious questions when guests were on his show. Stewart then went on to explain that his show is a fake news show and that is follows such shows as “Crank Yankers” therefore it wasn’t his responsibility to try to get the real story. Furthermore he added, if CNN is looking to Comedy Central for centralized rules of political questioning techniques then they are in bigger trouble than they realize.

To take Stewart’s side in this argument is the easy route, especially since The Daily Show is at the top of charts right now in terms of Q rating, their book “America” is selling great and Stewart himself is being featured on the cover of Rolling Stone. However, that is not a reason to take his side. The reason to take his side is that what he is saying is absolutely true, not about the sad shape of Crossfire, but about the role of the Daily Show and his “responsibilities” as it’s host.

First and foremost is that The Daily Show is a “fake news show”, a point Stewart makes constantly. The fact that many of its viewers use it as their prime news source is not something Stewart is proud of. Furthermore, while he is most certainly a supporter of Democrats, he has an extremely diverse roster of guests, from both sides of the aisle, on his show. Additionally, in regards to the questions he asks them, they are supposed to be funny and off the cuff. Who is John Stewart to engage John Kerry in serious debate about fiscal policy, the man is just a comedian after all, a very intelligent one, but still a guy who gets paid to tell jokes. And you know who would be the first one to tell you that, Mr. Stewart himself. He recognizes his position and embraces it. Is it his fault that the show has become a desirable place for politicians to go? Absolutely not. Has he has asked that his show become more of a required viewing choice than a show like Hardball or Crossfire? Again, no, and if you have ever watched the show, you can see Stewart cringe whenever his own audience confuses the meaning of the show. A perfect example of this is when he had Ed Gillespie, Chairmen of the RNC on his show. The interview was extremely cordial, and at points downright funny. Stewart playfully jabbed at Gillespie, but when the audience started to act up he quickly toned down his act. He knows how to toe the line without coming off as obnoxious or an expert on things. All of which makes this battle on Crossfire that much more interesting.

It seems that there is only one thing that really riles up John Stewart, and that’s when people who should know better about things don’t. When Tucker Carlson starts calling out Stewart for not living up to his requirements, Stewart can’t help but get agitated that Carlson has not grasp of what this “fake news anchor’s” requirements are. Additionally, the fact that such verbal visage came in response to Stewart criticizing Carlson’s own show reflects an absurd level of jealousy and bitterness from someone who should know much better. Carlson is the host of a respected news show on CNN, and yet he is taking pot shots at a show on Comedy Central over their role in informing America about politics? Maybe his bow tie is too tight, or perhaps in the presence of a man who is funny first and smart second, not the other way around like Carlson, he felt overmatched. No one can be sure, but it made for absolutely compelling television, proving that maybe John Stewart is that good? His Daily Show is great, and even when he crosses over to other programming; he gives them more press than they know what to do with.