Rick-on-John Action

I think this is a spot-on take on John Stewart in general and, specifically, his interview with Rick Santorum. The gist:

Undeniably, Stewart can rescue a lot with his tremendously quick wit. When Santorum gave a high-minded assessment of the purpose of marriage, Stewart responded, "I completely agree, though I always thought the purpose of marriage was the bachelor party." When Santorum warned of the "messages hitting young people today," Stewart came back with "Are you suggesting that talking lizards shouldn't be selling beer?" But it's a shame that such agility accompanies spineless questioning; it could equally well provide comic relief during a tough interview. Moreover, swift quipping and swift reasoning are two different things. Stewart has the ability to do the former, but not the latter. (He's still lucky--most of us have neither.) One imagines that with more preparation he could get better at anticipating the sort of fudging his political interviewees might try to pull. Instead, Stewart appears to be winging it. Perhaps the best summation of the interview with Santorum was given by Stewart himself: "I do think that these kinds of conversations are illuminating, for myself, and really only for me." It was a funny, self-deprecating quip. Unfortunately, it was also true.

Although, I must say, I was kind of touched that Stewart spent nearly the entire first segment of the interview defending the moral integrity of gay people.