By Jeff Beam,Leavitt Area High School

It’s one of the most informative and most talked about prime-time television cable shows, and it follows a cartoon. It’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. The show mocks both sides of the political spectrum, but tends to take a liberal and sometimes controversial approach. The Daily Show, started in 1999, has recently become a national phenomenon in the midst of Indecision 2000, their coverage of the Presidential election. It’s become popular again in the wake of the 2004 Presidential election. The show is featured on Comedy Central at 11 p.m. every weekday.

Comedian Jon Stewart had a field day exploiting the imperfections and amusing traits of both George W. Bush and John Kerry. Stewart capitalized on Bush’s disastrous way with words, as well as Kerry’s monotonous aura and public speaking. The Daily Show boasts a wacky supporting cast, featuring the likes of the quirky Stephen Colbert & the sassy Ed Helms.

The Daily Show breaks away from politics every now and then to focus on other topics, ranging from religion (“This Week In God”) to corporate scandals (Wal-Mart galore) to social issues in other countries (“Canada, our pesky neighbors to the North.”) The final portion of The Daily Show features a different political guest every night. The guests have ranged from Senator John Kerry to former President Bill Clinton to filmmaker Michael Moore.

The Daily Show may not quite be at the same pinnacle as late night stars David Letterman and Conan O’Brien, but the show has still achieved notable success nonetheless. Night after night, Jon Stewart provides his cable audience with both humor and current events mixed together in a magnificently crafted half-hour of quality television.

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