The Rally!

Well, I made a post out of Glen Beck's Rally, so I may as well write something about John Stewart's rally, in order that I might remain, as they say, fair and balanced.

But its not something I take on easily. You may have noticed a lack of posts lately. There are two reasons for this:

1. I've been ridiculously busy lately. I have been too strapped for time/too tired to really sit down and write.

2. I have recntly suffered from a....how should I put this? A loss of mojo? A loss of confidence? Writer's block? I realized that I had let myself get too wrapped up in politics, and I also realized that on some of the issues I really have nothing to say becuase I don't really know what I am talking about. Of course, that doesn't stop most pundits...but I don't want to be a pundit. So I have had nothing to write about, and I don't know where this blog is headed. But if there are less politics, it may be going to a better place.

That being said, I need a few minutes to gush over this rally. Aside from the fact that the first hour was pretty much a concert by "The Roots", I really enjoyed it, at least the parts that I got to see.

Like Beck's rally, Stewart's rally was, on the face of things, not overly political. At least I would say so. Sure, there is no question Stewart and his cohorts are at least left of center. But if these guys were satirizing anything today, it is the tone of the rhetoric, not conservative opinion or a subset of that population. Stewart didn't attack ideas or opinions but rather the way they are being presented on 24 hour news channels and by our leaders. And if Fox News is a part of that, well, they deserve it. But CNN and MSNBC are also a big part of that too, and they desrve a shot across the bows as well. I'd say Stweart was pretty even handed.

The similarities end there. Beck's rally was perhaps for a higher purpose. Stewart's was really just his show in a rally format. But Stewart's had way better music, cooler guests (hotter guests? Depends on how you think Sarah Palin stacks up against Cheryl Crow), and was way, way funnier.

A lot of people have been asking just what John Stewart is these days. Is he a mere satirist? A comedian? A journalist? A pundit? A sort of a mix of all these? I don't know about all that, but I will tell you what I think he is: awesome.

Huzzah to you, John, and I hope you stick around at the Daily Show for a few more years.