] Earlier, before being clawed by Kerry's reps, we spoke to ] "Daily Show" executive producer Ben Karlin, a charming ] man who did not take offense at our questions and who ] promised that the Comedy Central program would try ] especially hard to resemble an actual TV news show ] tonight during its Kerry encounter. ] ] ] "All of us [on 'The Daily Show'] are just blown away by ] the turn the campaign has taken," Karlin said. "We cannot ] believe that this is what is being talked about at this ] juncture. It's so astounding to us. We are trying to work ] through our amazement and to conduct a meaningful ] conversation absent of incredulity, because [the ] interview] is not going to go anywhere if you just say, ] 'What the [expletive] is going on?' " ] ] "If you just want to pinpoint the success of the ] Republican Party and Bush, this is a perfect case study," ] Karlin continued, "because George W. Bush has put a ] moratorium on talk about his behavior under the age of 40 ] and everyone [in the press] is abiding by it. 'Were you ] or were you not an alcoholic or did you just have a ] drinking problem?,' 'Were you or were you not a drug ] abuser?' Meanwhile they're debating whether [Kerry's war] ] wounds drew blood or were they superficial, or occurred ] in the same day, or whether he shot a guy wearing a toga. ] . . . How is that possible?" This whole thing is so stupid its sickening, and its nice to see the Daily Show weigh in on it. (Bold is mine) Kerry on 'Daily Show' |