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Jon Stewart opened his Tuesday show with a rebuttal of Bernie Goldberg and Fox News’ claims that he is an elitist with an unsophisticated audience who favors liberals. Stewart said, “Look, I know I criticize Fox News a lot, but only because you are truly a terrible and cynical disingenuous news organization.”

Here is the video courtesy of The Daily Show

Stewart responded to Bernie Goldberg characterizing him as a gutless social commentator, “Ok, two things, one not all of us have your guts Bernie. It takes a tough man to walk into O’Reilly’s lion’s den and criticize liberal elites, and two to say that comedians have to decide whether they are comedians or social commentators, uh comedians do social commentary through comedy, that’s how it’s worked for thousands of years. I have not moved out of the comedians’ box into the news box. The news box is moving towards me.”

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He also hit back on Goldberg’s criticism that Stewart has guests like Frank Rich that generalize about conservatives, “I don’t want to say anything, but Frank Rich hasn’t been on the show since 2006. Since I gave Frank Rich that lap dance, I don’t know if you noticed but I went back in the champagne room with Bill Kristol like five times, and if you watch this show as it appears you have, you must remember me and McCain, f**king like bunnies, but I guess that’s besides the point. Here’s the point. You can’t criticize me for not being fair and balanced, that’s your slogan, which by the way, you never follow.”

Stewart also batted back Goldberg’s charge that Stewart’s audience is unsophisticated, and called out the cynicism of Fox News, “By the way, I thought my audience was elitist. Are they elitist or unsophisticated, or are they unsophisticated in their elitism? Look, I’m sorry I told you to go f**k yourself last week and that other time, like six months ago I told you to go f**k yourself. Look, I know I criticize Fox News a lot, but only because you are truly a terrible and cynical disingenuous news organization.”

Once again Stewart went straight to the heart of Fox News and gutted it by targeting the network’s own hypocrisy. It is fascinating that the right only considers Stewart a liberal elitist when he has guests from the left on his show, but they always ignore all of the people he features from the right because that doesn’t play into their narrative of paranoid liberal media bias.

Jon Stewart is a comedian who happens to deliver biting and highly accurate media commentary through comedy. His show is one of the most balanced on television. He regularly features guests from the left and right. The problem with Fox News is that they can’t appreciate true balance when they see it. Jon Stewart and the folks at The Daily Show are still doing what they have done for years. It was funny when he was all over Bill Clinton during the Lewinsky scandal, but it isn’t so funny to the right when he points out their hypocritical behavior.