So I don't know if you guys watch The Daily Show and Colbert Report as religiously as I do, but if you didn't see it you should check out last night's episode on comedycentral.com.
Firstly, there was a great, funny but half-serious Stewart/John Oliver bit about the Mumbai attacks. Just worth watching.
But then, Ariana Huffington was the guest, proving what I knew from previous interviews with her but always manage to forget: Bitch is crazy. Just crazy accent (not her doing, obviously, just adds to the effect), crazy mannerisms, crazy awkward quasi-flirting with Jon. The whole segment is essentially her call for everyone to "blog your secret passions" and, rather than mulling over and refining your random thoughts before putting them out in the world, immediately posting them on the internet. And using it to form intimate relationships without that pesky face-to-face contact. Not what I want to read, but I guess I have no real problem with people doing that, but if that's what the head of The Huffington Post considers the standard, my respect for it has lowered considerably.
But that's just her wackiness. The part I'm really pissed off at this: The night or two previous, Jon had done a great segment comparing MSNBC to Fox News (kind of obvious, but still funny and worth checking out). Chris Matthews is Bill O'Reilly, Joe Scarborough is Combs, etc., including Keith Olbermann as Sean Hannity ("partisan ideologue who fears for the world if it's in any way touched by the hands of his political enemies"). So Ariana was clearly offended by it and says something to the effect of "liberal bloggers are blogging very angrily about that." Jon seems genuinely surprised ("don't people have better things to do?"), as was I: I mean, it was a comedy bit, right? So I went to HuffPo to check it out, and indeed, people are mighty pissed that Jon defiled their god, Olbermann, but putting him the same sentence with the devil, Hannity.
I hate Hannity as much as anyone - more for being an ignorant asshole than a conservative - and I tend to agree with Olbermann's positions more often, but Jon's assessment was correct: they're both over-the-top partisan ideologues. And this is the part that pisses me off: All over liberal blogs, especially HuffPo, and even in real-life conversation, I hear people blasting Bill O'Reilly, Fox, & Co. for their spin tactics, selective information, and misleading, out-of-context quotations, and lauding Olbermann as a hero. He's exactly the same, just on the other side. It frustrates me to no end that these people hide behind the argument of journalistic integrity, when that's clearly not what's important to them - it just sounds better than "he's a jerk whom I disagree with."
Ok, sorry, this has turned into a rant. But I find lack of logic among the people I agree with much more frightening than any amount of power, misinformation, or pure evil in the hands of those I don't.
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*tears up*
ReplyDeleteBeautifully said. I've never really liked Keith Olbermann (except I thought he was awesome on Sportscenter back in the day, but found out quickly after he left that he's kind of a jerk). As an aside, I like Rachel Maddow a lot more than it feels like I should. Still figuring that one out, but prolly only seen the show 5-10 times.
I also saw the interview, and it was one of those rare moments where - if I read Jon's face correctly - he seemed totally disgusted with the guest. Now, he's not going to lose his cordiality, but you could see the wheels turning, and him in his head saying "oh my god, you're encouraging people who whine to their audiences of three about their opinions that no one cares about to continue doing so, and you want them to be even more emotional (and partisan)?!"
But yeah, I know there's a degree of inevitability to it, but I really do hope that the right gives Obama a chance and the left doesn't go into gloat mode, or an "Obama is infallible" mode. I mean, the right stood behind everything Bush did for seven years and now no one will back him up. I hope the left doesn't do the same.
But I also hope the right gives him a chance. I really did give Bush a chance early on, though my interest in the news (which was high) at the time was still very apolitical to the point where I didn't even have a preference in 2000. Nonetheless, I knew he wouldn't be my favorite early on, but I still think the address he gave on the night of September 11 was one of the best ever given by a president. Too bad everything after sucked.
Now I too have ranted. Here's to a reasonable left during the Obama administration.
"I like Rachel Maddow a lot more than it feels like I should. Still figuring that one out, but prolly only seen the show 5-10 times." = are you reading my thoughts? I was THIS close to adding basically that exact aside, verbatim, to the end of my post.
ReplyDeleteShe gets one month on my DVR Season Pass before I make up my mind (I've been trying to ease my way into TV punditry this way). I didn't even make a whole month with Olbermann or Campbell Brown (who for some reason I had high hopes for), so we'll see. Thus far:
What I like about her: She's clearly smart, and throws dorky little asides about stuff like ballot measures and comic books and 'The Great Gatsby' into her analysis. She seems to actually understand what's going on. She's more balanced, more reasonable, and less snarky than Olbermann and crew.
What I dislike about her: She couldn't get further up Olbermann's ass (I'm willing to forgive her a bit for this, though - as I understand it, he's pretty much single-handedly responsible for getting her her own show), and, more than anything, she's MORE balanced and LESS snarky. But she's still plenty of both. There are times when find myself liking more than I should (she's a PUNDIT!) and times I find myself wanting to like her more than I actually do (she's nerdy and clever, rather than a blowhard, but she's still playing the same game and is very much a PUNDIT).
And I 100% agree about Jon's reaction to Huffington. He seemed really excited to have her on, and probably hoped they talk about current events, new media, etc., and was pretty disgusted as soon as she opened her mouth. While exactly how my train went.
That last paragraph is obviously missing a "would" (I assume you can find the appropriate spot for it), and "while" should be "which." I hate that you can't edit comments.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteLeading to even more confusion about her is that she seems to me to have some of the shrewdest commentary, but also at times the most shrill. There's that at-least-once-a-show-feeling of discomfort that you get when someone is being really awkward, and that's a real buzzkill, but she is getting better about it.
ReplyDeleteThings you should know about her in case you didn't (in no order):
1. She's gay.
2. She's a Rhodes Scholar with a Ph.D. in political science from Oxford.
(Wiki)
I did know those things. I do my research (when I should be working, of course...like now).
ReplyDeleteOne more thing I forgot to mention I dislike about her: She seems to have a recurring segment with Bill Maher, whom I kind of can't stand (he's entertaining enough, but as much of a hack as any of the guys mentioned above).