Both Glenn Greenwald and James Wolcott have recently pointed to signs of hope that there may be a "sea change" coming in our political discourse. I hope their right, but I find it interesting that both writers cited Jon Stewart. Specifically, Wolcott wrote
The thumping success of Rosie on The View, like Keith Olbermann's ratings insurgence and Jon Stewart's masterful fencing with John McCain, is testament that the feargrip headlock of the Bush era is well and truly over, the days of deference to daddy-knows-best authority are done.
I'm as big a Daily Show fan as anyone, but those guys have been doing what they do for a long time now. I don't think you can point to them as any marker of a larger change in politics or the media. Same goes for Rosie, who has also never been shy about speaking her mind (anyone remember the Tom Selleck/NRA bit on her old talk show?). I'm glad that Olbermann's getting good ratings, but perhaps because he's a sportscaster he's also something of an anomaly. The true test will come when the network personalities and Washington press corps start taking cues from the comedians and sportscasters.
Posted by Jason at April 28, 2007 12:11 PM