Honest Debate

Well known conservative Senator Rick Santorum was tonight's guest on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. I found out he'd be the guest last week and was extremely eager to see the interview. Santorum is famous for being very right-wing while Stewart could be described as liberal in some respects. I was excited because, ever since the show changed its set, the interview portion has taken on a much more mature and interesting tone. Its turned away from the lame Hollywood interview seen on Leno and Lettermen and turned into one you'd see on Bill Maher or Charlie Rose. I was also excited because Santorum has done some pretty ridiculous things in public and I was kinda hoping Jon would make fun of him... since I really love to hate Santorum. (Remember when I wrote a piece on "Spreading Santorum"?)

Santorum was on promote his new book, It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good. The book's main focus is how the government should be helping to strenghten the basic core building block of a functional society: the family. Unfortunately, Santorum is only talking about one specific type of family, or the best type of family in his mind... the one with one mother, one father, 2.3 kids and a family pet, most likely living in Humbleton, PA (Simpsons reference anyone?).

Given the nature of political shows these days, which The Daily Show really has become, one could expect that it would be as ridiculous as if Al Franken appeared on the O'Reilly Factor or pretty much any other Fox News show... you know... lots of yelling, no real arguments, and the host cutting the microphone of the guest but that didn't happen.

The interview was great. Both sides engaged in civil and respectful debate about ice cream, homosexuality, religion, and family structure without lashing out at each other. It was thoughtful and interesting to listen to both sides. I actually think I started to respect Santorum a little bit (which is really odd for me). The crucial point that I liked was when Jon Stewart mentioned reaching the "point" where its obvious that neither side is able to gain ground in the argument. Unlike most political shows where this often leads to yelling and making ridiculous claims, the show cut to a commercial and came back talking about a new topic.

I'm not sure about anyone else but I'm so greatly encouraged by this type of debate. I am so disgusted by the type of debate that happens on CNN, MSNBC, and FOX News, because its not real debate. Typical shows will have two extreme pundits on and the contest is trying to judge who can yell louder, make more ridiculous arguments, and make themselves look like the biggest asses before time is up. The Daily Show didn't do this and therefore should be an example for the so-called news channels, because Jon Stewart was finally able to offer civilized discourse.

I am reminded of when Jon was a guest on CNN's Crossfire where he lambasted both Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson for exactly what I just described. He complained that they were failing to provide a debate show but instead were only offering up theater. Anyone who hasn't seen it should definitley Google the video clip... its easy to find.

Anyway, the point is that I'm so glad to see someone deliver a show on basic cable (I really miss Bill Maher since I don't have HBO) that engages in honest, real, and civilized debate instead of knee-jerk reactionary talk and bitterly hostile fighting where the host is always right and the guest is typically spat upon. We need more shows like The Daily Show. I think its a sad state when Comedy Central can provide better political debate and commentary than the twenty-four hour news channels. Thanks Jon.