Stewart's Moment of Zen last night...Edward's vanity

[Bandit]

Edwards spent considerable amount of time going over and over his hair and then had his assistant do the same. The thing is his hair looks the same no matter what he does. It was an interesting showcase of vanity IMO.

[soothsayer]

1. jeezus, he was just getting ready for some appearance. big deal!

[Cha]

40. I know..BFD.

I try to make sure my hair looks okay, too, for work. I can imagine if I were going to be on tv.

This is not a failing..Edwards cares about us and fuck nitpicking.

[Chimichurri]

2. It was but I'd take his grooming over a middle finger any day.

[tanyev]

8. Or Bush Primps for War.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0319072bushwar1.html

[madfloridian]

14. Amen.

:hi:

[AndyA]

3. Do you believe the other candidates don't do this as well?

Do you think Hillary doesn't spend time on hair and makeup before an appearance?

I've seen makeup on male political candidates before.

Why don't we focus on something that actually matters for a change?

There is an illegal war going on, for instance.

And we have an administration that is about to get us into WWIII, for another.

An Attorney General who is a fraud and a liar.

All are worthy of discussion. The amount of time someone spends on their hair is scraping the bottom of the barrel.

[still_one]

4. it is a video that has been circulating on all the right wing shows

In F911 Michael Moore used similar clips of the bush administration, in fact you had wolfowitz spitting on HIS comb, licking his comb, and then combing his hair with it. bush was having makeup applied, and making faces

Sorry, but this is irrelevent.

He was getting ready to appear on a live broadcast

Take a picture of ANY of the candidates before going on a live broadcast, and I think you would see the same thing

[Kool Kitty]

5. Anybody remember the film, "Fahrenheit 9/11"?

I would much rather see Mr. Edward's combing his hair than Paul Wolfewitz (sp?) spit-combing his.

[Robeson]

9. I thought the same thing....

...Wolfowitz was reptilian.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

6. I am appalled.

Quite frankly, who gives a rat's ass about how John Edwards combs his hair or how long it takes.

With all the issues in this world and nation, this is definitely not one of them.

[madfloridian]

17. Agreed. It is childish humor on a low level.

It was meant to appeal to the "masses" who don't think.

[zbdent]

7. When you consider that the "liberal media" would attack him for

having a hair out of place (or any other dem, for that matter), or for any slight transgression, or miniscule faux pas, it's no wonder he has to "primp and preen", so to speak ...

[OwnedByFerrets]

10. We seem to forget sometimes...........

that Jons show IS a comedy show. We all knew that when the dems took back some power, he was going to find things to rip THEM for also.

[TheBaldyMan]

11. Why waste time on this frivolous topic, it's the size of his house that's important.

:sarcasm:

[sharp_stick]

15. You mean he hasn't given that house to Halliburton yet?

I thought he'd want to support the troops? He should move into a hovel somewhere while Halliburton figures out the best way to feed and cloth our kids overseas with even poorer quality crap to improve overhead from their new base in the Edwards mansion.

[TheBaldyMan]

25. it's too vast for Halliburton to handle.

[smalll]

34. His house doesn't look so bad anymore; maybe he was just doing a pre-emptive Ty Pennington. /nt

[madfloridian]

12. We are supporting the Edwards in this race. I am surprised to see RW attacks here.

Our two Republican sons are as well. So are our Democratic daughters.

They are good people. I find it insulting to see this stuff at DU. I would expect it at right wing sites.

[The Count]

38. "WE"??? Is this the royal "We" or DU's official policy?

[madfloridian]

13. We don't watch Stewart anymore. He lets the real evil slide by.

For that very reason. He goes for the personal traits too often, and lets the real evils slide.

Now you can attack me instead of Edwards.

It is childish humor to make fun of personal stuff. He was one who nearly helped destroy our candidate in 04, and he thoroughly enjoyed it.

Watch Cabaret. Think about the humor there as that nation was decaying.

[Bucky]

19. I'll bet I'm not the first person to remind you that....

...it's a freaking comedy show. They're supposed to look for humor wherever they can find it. It's sad in this case they had to retread three years back to find a funny video moment from Edwards, but then even Babe Ruth got a lot of strike outs.

[madfloridian]

20. Humor is a personal thing.

If anyone else tells me it is freaking comedy show, I will scream. Yes, I know it is.

Stewart is losing his edge by catering to both sides...real political comedy bites on a higher level.

[Bucky]

22. Okay.... "It is freaking comedy show"

I'm waiting.... :P

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

39. I watched it a few months ago. Uncanny. I wonder about the humorists in the USSR

from the 60's through the 90's. Did they gleefully poke fun at the Premiers and their corruption? Probably. Court Jesters are Court Jesters, whatever century.

Great observation. MKJ

[Bucky]

16. Geez, that video is three years old.

It's still funny, of course, coz Edwards is such a pretty man. But his record and his rhetoric shows that he a man of parts, a real mensch, and a candidate with a hell of a lot of substance to back up his impeccable style. Imagine if Atticus Finch married Grace Kelly and then raised their kid in Mayberry... equal parts integrity, class, and hokey.

What I find odd about the use of this video is not that it's offensive (I doubt this costs Edwards a single vote) but that The Daily Show is using a joke that lost its freshness three years ago. I think they're just trying to appear as equal opportunity balloon pokers.

[madfloridian]

18. Thank you! I get blasted for criticizing Stewart here. It is low level humor.

And meant to hurt and be personal. He does not have a core message to his humor. He is swaying in the wind.

[Bucky]

21. Yes, I blasted you just now (look upthread two posts).

Stewart's core message is pretty strong. He nails the stupidity, corruption, and ideological blindness of the current administration with remarkable rarity. But he's trying not to be partisan, which strikes me as appropriate for his show.

I think Edwards's vanity and good looks to be pretty funny, frankly. That doesn't keep me from considering him among my top choices for the nomination (he's basically my no-Gore no-Clark guy). But the point of TDS is to ridicule the powerful. Most people have their funny sides and laughing at them is good exercise. Among my heroes, I get a good laugh out of Wesley Clark's never-blink syndrome and his tendency to induce man-crushes among heterosexual computer nerds, Al Gore's Barney the Dinosaur style of public speaking when he's campaigning, and Bill Clinton's almost neurotic mogrification from high school band dork to ladies' man.

They're all honorable men, but the day we quit laughing at our leaders' personal quirks is the day we all become sourpusses.

[madfloridian]

24. Then maybe it is that I don't like ridicule.

I guess as I said, humor is personal. I think that the ugliness of the last 6 years, the attacks on us by the right wing, the destruction of good people by the media have left me gasping for breath.

I don't like ridicule. It is part of the tactics of humiliation.

[Cameron27]

23. The video has been revived on youtube,

and is making the rounds right now. That's probably the reason Stewart used it.

[Gloria]

30. I bet if they updated the video it would be a lot less interesting....John

seems to have cut his hair differently so it doesn't seem to need as much work.

Besides, it may not be "vanity." A lot of nervousness is re-directed at hair.....

[Laurab]

35. Actually I think he used it because it's been making the rounds

on the RW web sites, and getting a second life. It was new to me. I really don't have any problem with Jon Stewart using it on TDS, but I DO have a problem with this topic making the "Greatest Page". I would expect it in Freeperville, but not here.

Ok, I admit I have a tiny problem with Jon using it, only because I, personally, wish he would never go after democrats, but he is going to do it on occasion. He's a comedian. Luckily, he goes after the much-more deserving republics far more often, and I don't think even John Edwards would have minded him using that clip.

I just can't figure out why it's on the Greatest Page. :shrug:

[madfloridian]

26. Just a comedy show.

But if anyone criticizes him they get blasted. Why is that? Why is it so wrong to criticize a comedian?

Think about it.

[TayTay]

27. I never 'got it' on the video

He's just getting ready for an interview. It didn't seem like any big deal to me.

[goodhue]

28. His vanity is hardly unique

Most presidential candidates are pretty vain

[Dr Fate]

32. You must be right- Hell- I even comb MY hair now and then. n/t

n/t

[Connie_Corleone]

29. Is it a slow news day today?

Who gives a damn about Edwards' hair combing before an interview?

[Dr Fate]

31. WHAT??? You mean a professional COMBS HIS HAIR and tries to look business-like?

THATS IT!!!

next thing you know he will be flossing and brushing his teeth.

I cant support this kind of person. How fake can you get???

;)

[Forkboy]

33. And a comedian made a joke?

This world is going to hell in a handbasket!

:)

[Mind_your_head]

36. I haven't read any of the comments, b/c this is just "stupid talk" eom

[The Backlash Cometh]

37. Sounds like Stewart is auditioning for Mo's role.

We all know what they did to Gore over something so petty, so now Edwards is trying to remedy that situation by covering all his bases, and yet Stewart exploits it and gives it the same prominence he gives to Plame, Gonzo and the other really important issues?

I guess he's not an Edwards fan. Hey, Stewart is right most of the time. He's entitled to a misstep now and again.

[mnhtnbb]

41. Stewart is probably a Hillary supporter.