The video: "Our long national nightmare may soon be over," Jon Stewart said on "The Daily Show" last night. (View clip below.) He was talking, of course, about AT&T's monopolistic reign as the exclusive iPhone carrier and yesterday's announcement that Verizon would begin offering its own iPhone next month. Stewart devoted nearly seven minutes to the news, trashing the AT&T iPhone — a.k.a. "the world's most popular almost phone" — while equating the "moment of liberation" the Verizon iPhone will offer with America's liberation of Iraq and the end of World War II.

The reaction: That a national comedy show spent seven minutes on the issue is "telling," says Devindra Hardawar at MobileBeat. "Clearly, the Verizon iPhone isn't something just geeks are clamoring for." Stewart's excitement underlined the news' "cultural significance" and the "sense of universal release" angry AT&T customers feel, says Chris Matyszczyk at CNET. Surprisingly, adds Kim Conti at The Stir, "just when you thought all the 'AT&T sucks' jokes had already been used... Stewart comes through with some real zingers." His extreme joy makes you wonder: "Is he Verizon's newest spokesperson?" Watch the full clip below: