Comedian Jon Stewart apparently thinks the economy is just fine and that any news outlet that says otherwise must be doing it because they don't want President Obama to get reelected.
Even more preposterous, on Tuesday's Daily Show, the host did an entire segment on how Fox News reporting the national debt, unemployment, and rising gas prices is all a Republican National Committee conspiracy (video follows with highlights and commentary):
After playing some clips of various news organizations – hysterically including Fox! – reporting some of the recent good economic numbers, Stewart said, “You just had to go and get better while Obama was still in office, didn’t you? You couldn’t hold off nine little months, nine teeny tiny little months? So it’s good news, unless you work for a media organization whose job it is to make sure Obama doesn’t get reelected.”
From there, Stewart played video clips of various Fox anchors, hosts, and contributors having the unmitigated audacity to talk about the spiraling national debt, stubbornly high unemployment, and soaring gas prices.
Even funnier, some of the reports were from Fox Business Network. How dare a financial news channel talk about things like national debt, unemployment, and gas prices!
He continued, “But their early February pushback on the economic indicators is all over the place. You rarely see Fox this disorganized. Luckily on February 10, the Republican National Committee sent out this pundit prep document.”
After showing it to the crowd, Stewart said, “It emphasized how to mitigate any damage that may be occurring from the improved economy.”
Not surprisingly, the document mentioned three specific problems that pundits should be focusing on: national debt, unemployment, and the price of gas.
Shocking that the GOP would want pro-Republican pundits to focus on these items, especially as the debt and the unemployment rate have been on the minds of most Americans for years. Now that gas prices are approaching all-time highs, Fox apparently needed pressure from the RNC to cover them as well.
But Stewart wasn’t done, for he then aired more clips of FNC and FBN anchors, hosts and contributors talking about – wait for it! – debt, unemployment, and gas prices.
After this, Stewart played what he thought was the smoking gun to prove the connection: Fox and Friends co-host Steve Doocy actually reading from a newspaper report about the RNC edict, and then talking about high gas prices.
“You can’t do that,” Stewart exclaimed. “You just gave the game away.”
Actually, it was Stewart that gave the game away, as he exposed that much like virtually every liberal media member in the country, he is and has been rooting for Barack Obama since 2008.
It's not odd that news organizations would report the national debt, stubbornly high unemployment, and soaring gas prices.
What's odd is that for over three years, virtually every news outlet besides Fox downplayed budget deficits and the poor condition of the labor markets - and/or blamed both on former President George W. Bush - and are currently underreporting gas prices and/or making the case they're not Obama's fault.
Stewart is clearly displeased that Fox is going against this dishonest grain and actually telling its viewers the truth about these negative economic factors that threaten to derail any recovery that might now be taking root.
To Stewart, reports that undermines the President he loves should be ignored, at least until after the elections, and any outlet going against this tenet must clearly be in bed with the RNC.
It curiously doesn't bother Stewart that by withholding such information from the public virtually every other media organization including his is in bed with the DNC.
(H/T FBer David W. Livingston)
