LBeaux

Even when I don’t agree with him, Christopher Hitchens is one of my favorite people to watch or read. And, like many in my demographic, I watch the Daily Show every night. (Less so the Colbert Report–it was a great idea at first, but the shtick seems to have mostly run its course.)

It turns out Hitchens is not pleased with the prominence and credibility many Americans are giving to these political comedians. Responding to a zeitgeist in which opinion polls name Jon Stewart America’s most trusted newscaster and Al Franken is elected to the Senate, Hitchens asks us not to get crazy about their level of wit, humor, or cultural importance:

“Al Franken for Senator” is one thing (especially when the alternative is or was “Norm Coleman for Senator”). But Jon Stewart for Samuel Langhorne Clemens is quite another. What next? Stephen Colbert for Zola? Al Franken for Swift?

Franken very often refers to himself as a “satirist,” which is a piece of hubris that comes to him too glibly and naturally. One wants to say, on hearing or reading such a claim, “Actually, sunshine, we’ll be the judge of that.” Swift famously compared satire to a mirror in which people could see every face but their own: if Franken desires to be considered a connoisseur of the satirical, he might want to paste that line into his hat.

Hitchens goes on to take each of them, not just Franken, down a notch. With respect to Stewart–by far my favorite of the three–I love his show, and as I said I watch him every night. But I agree that he gets far too much credit for journalistic importance. Informal conversations among my friends give me the alarming impression that he’s one of the primary news sources for twenty- and thirtysomethings. At times he’s devastating (for example, last week’s Glenn Beck send up), and generally he’s a fun way to keep up with pop culture and get an amusing take on current events. But ideally, political comedians would be just one part of a balanced news-consuming breakfast. And probably a minor part (like maybe the raspberries on your cereal) if you’re hoping to stay reasonably well-informed.

(Thanks to Splice Today for the link.)

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