By Howard KurtzWashington Post Staff WriterMonday, August 25, 2008; 1:37 PMDENVER, Aug. 25 -- Jon Stewart ripped the cable news networks Monday as a "brutish, slow-witted beast" and castigated Fox News as "an appendage of the Republican Party."Wearing a gray T-shirt and a healthy stubble, the "Daily Show" host told reporters that Fox's fair-and-balanced slogan is "a (expletive) you to people with brains" and that only "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace "saves that network from slapping on a bumper sticker . . . Barack Obama could cure cancer and they'd figure out a way to frame it as an economic disaster.""I'm stunned to see Karl Rove on a news network as an analyst," he said of the Bush White House aide-turned Fox commentator. But Stewart included CNN and MSNBC in a far-ranging indictment of what he called "that false sense of urgency they create, the sense that everything is breaking news. . . . The 24-hour networks are now driving the narratives and everyone else is playing catch-up."Stewart declared his love for newspapers as a better source of political coverage, but said they are fighting "a losing battle because they're getting overshadowed." He pronounced the network evening newscasts "obsolete" because of the growing speed of news, and he predicted they will die.The TV funnyman also tackled the tricky and sensitive question of whether an African American presidential nominee can be appropriately ridiculed.Comedians are "shying away" from Barack Obama because of "liberal bias and not wanting to be racist," he said. "They want him to win badly and yet don't like black people." It's just like with Bill Clinton, when "we desperately tried to defuse the Monica Lewinsky situation."News flash: He's joking.Stewart does make fun of Obama as a messiah-like figure, but he warned that comedy has a short shelf life. "An age joke about McCain is at this point somewhat meaningless -- because it's already trite."Asked if John McCain, a frequent guest, ever complained about his treatment, Stewart said the Arizona senator understands his role: "He knows we're there to introduce him to 20-year-olds smoking out of apple bongs."He also took a swipe at the Democrats' choice of Denver, saying it hardly helps a party accused of elitism. "They chose a place that is literally one mile above the American people," he said. "I guess Mount Olympus was booked."
DENVER (CNN) - As Comedy Central's "Daily Show" descends on Denver for four days of coverage, Jon Stewart took after the "established" media for getting too cozy with candidates and regurgitating campaign spin when it comes to political coverage.In a breakfast with reporters, Stewart directed most of his ire at the 24-hour cable news networks, which he called "gerbil wheels," and said the media at-large had "abdicated" to what he called the "slow-witted beast."He said the never-ending television news cycle creates a "false sense of urgency" and forces reporters to "follow the veins that have been mined," instead of pursuing serious and in-depth reporting.Even as Stewart shredded reporters for, in his estimation, getting too cozy with and used by political candidates, he readily admitted that candidates flock to his show to attract his much sought after younger audience. "It's just one part of their sales pitch," he said.Stewart said he found neither Sens. McCain or Obama particularly funny and it was "absolutely irrelevant" which one takes the White House because "the jokes will be there." He dismissed criticism that comedians are having a hard time joking about Obama because of his race and said "the age joke with McCain is somewhat meaningless because it's already trite."The choice of Joe Biden as Obama's runningmate, Stewart said, was refreshing because of the Delaware senator's large personality and endless possibility for jokes. "Biden is really nice. His style is so effusive and unguarded," Stewart said. "He's emotion plus."Stewart said politicians in recent campaigns are "animatronic" because all of the "humanity has been managed out of campaigns." He referenced the back-and-forth during the Pennsylvania Democratic primary over Obama's lack of bowling skills."It's stunning where this election is going to be decided on," he said. "Or what we allow it to be decided on."
