Tuesday Night Fights: Bill Kristol Accuses Jon Stewart of Interview Bias

December 20th, 2006 12:13 PM

Say what you will about the Weekly Standard’s Bill Kristol, but he is certainly a good sport. On Tuesday, the well-known conservative set himself up as a witting punching bag for the liberal comedian Jon Stewart on the “Daily Show,” and in between low-blows and kidney punches, Kristol got some good jabs in of his own (video available here).

Stewart’s focus predictably was how poorly the Iraq war is going in his view, and just how wrong President Bush and folks like Kristol were in their predictions for this incursion. As Kristol sat and took the comedic beating with grace and aplomb, he made a marvelous observation about how much differently he was being treated by Stewart as opposed to liberal guests like Barack Obama, and, just the night before, Iowa Governor and presidential candidate Tom Vilsack. What follows is a rough transcript of Kristol’s views concerning Stewart’s interview biases:

I feel I’m here to be cathartic for you. You know, once every three or four months…You have all these love-fests -- Barack Obama, Tom Vilsack, “Oh so good to see you, sir…What an honor it is to have you. You’re such a fine pleasant(?) fellow.” And then I show up as a punching bag every few months. Did you have a tough time with the little kids, the ten-month old, the two and a half year old. Estrange(?) you a little bit. You come in here and say, “Hey, let’s get Kristol.” Do you tell your crack staff, you know…

Wonderful stuff, and oh so accurate.