Media Meditation #4: "Look Who We've Got Our Barack on Now!"

President Obama summons the power of God on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Wednesday
- Credit: ReviewSTL

My Wednesday night homework routine was interrupted this week by a special edition of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. His shows have been filmed in Washington D.C. all week, leading up to a highly-anticipated joint rally with frenemy Stephen Colbert in the nations capital. What made this episode so special was that Stewart's esteemed guest would be none other than President Barack Obama. Apparently, it was the first time a sitting president has appeared on the show, clearly a major accomplishment for the show, network, and Stewart himself.



The following clip shows the beginning of the show:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Barack Obama Pt. 1
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Rally to Restore Sanity

There were a few parts of this clip that I found very interesting:

1. The overall introduction - Stewart's first words on the show verbatim read, "Hey, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Daily Show. My name is Jon Stewart. Ladies and gentlemen... please join me in welcoming the president of the United States, Barack Obama." It was incredibly simple and brief, which I took as a sign that he was eager to bring the president on stage and get the show rolling. The way he delved right into it really made me feel like the show progressed very quickly.

2. The 'Mug Force One' joke was fantastic and Obama took it right in stride. I would imagine Stewart felt like a tall pole in a windstorm as he poured him a glass of water from his own mug; the first joke is always the hardest to pull off.

3. Obama laughed a bit in the beginning of the clip, but as the interview progressed, he barely smirked. Was it strategy? Was he hurt by Stewart's ribbing? It was an interesting dynamic either way, from loose, fun Obama to stoic, presidential Obama. Yet it is still a drastic change from our last president.

Our last president... Credit: BBC

A lot was accomplished by the interview. I was surprised by Stewart's behavior during the interview. I feel like he prepared for the interview much the same way that he prepared for his appearance on Bill O'Reilly. He was giddy with excitement, as would be any presidential interviewer, but he laid into Obama with some rather uncalled for remarks. I would have never expected Stewart to joke about Obama electing Larry Summers to his cabinet and almost feigned surprised when Obama did not go along with the joke.

The thing that I liked most about the interview is Obama was allowed to talk. To me, the interview was better than any podium speech Obama has given (save maybe his acceptance speech). The interview was organic. When Obama gave a cookie cutter explanation of something, Stewart had the ability to say "wait a minute" and ask more directed questions. We also got to see Obama answer questions without a timer, without being cut off by other politicians, and honestly, he was speaking to a friendly audience in a comfortable chair. I was in no way surprised by his success in the interview, but I was certainly surprised by Stewart's "audacity" at some points of the show.

Even though this was a Liberal-Moderate president in front of a Liberal-Moderate audience, I still wonder how George Bush would have fared on ANY political show with tough questions while in office. I didn't really notice more than a question or two that Obama sort of deflected, and there were none that he declined to answer altogether. Most importantly, he admitted failures and shortcomings; to those who want transparency in office...it was perfectly exemplified in the interview. To me, this may have been the "FDR Fireside Chat" of our generation.