Video: Stewart slams media for provoking campaign drama

Host Jon Stewart slammed the media for provoking campaign drama on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" this Friday.

"For those of you not following the campaign, you may be tempted to believe that you're missing out on some pretty fantastic stuff," Stewart said before playing a montage of reporters lashing out against presidential candidates.

Stewart's piece focused first on the media's portrayal of the overall election process, fixating on one reporter's description of the campaign trail as "nasty and intense." During the rest of the segment, Stewart explored the media's attitude towards particular candidates.

"In the case of Mitt Romney, we are dealing with nothing less than a human volcano," Stewart joked, before playing various clips of reporters referring to Romney as "fired up" and "incensed."

"If you live in the foothills of Mitt Romney, flee!" Stewart fake-warned, then wondered aloud if Romney truly "exploded."

The following clip showed Romney involved in a mild dispute with a reporter.

"You could say Romney was playing with semantics ... but that's not erupting," Stewart said. "When did the media become Don King?"

Stewart also juxtaposed clips of Bill and Hillary Clinton with the way the media has depicted them.

"Yes, Hillary Clinton's voice is annoying ... yours sounded great," said Stewart sarcastically after showing a clip of a reporter comparing Ms. Clinton to an overbearing housewife.

"You watch the media talking about people who are erupting and lashing out, it's ridiculous ... if anything [is] remarkable it's the candidates' restraint," Stewart said.





This video is from Comedy Central's A Daily Show, broadcast January 24, 2008.









