Daily Show Knocks It Out of The Park

Home run.

And whem you're done laughing, read this link-heavy, well-argued piece about Deadeye Dick from There Is No Blog. It's the serious counterpoint to Jon Stewart & Co. In fact, they make a lot of the same points. There Is No Blog is basically saying this Cheney shooting incident-as-metaphor is pretty devastating for the White House in general and Dick Cheney is particular; he'll be forever known as the Veep who shot a man in the face. Which is exactly what the Daily Show goes on to say, in a comic sense.

These kinds of things do tend to linger in the national imagination. From Dukakis in a tank to Carter fighting the killer rabbit to Ford stunbling off the plane, these events tend to define politicians as much as their accomplishments. Republicans are very skillful at using such definitions: witness the Gore "invented the Internet" meme (which he did lead in helping to fund, but don't get me started) and the Kerry windsurfing ad. Any time you can relentlessly make fun of a politician he ceases to become credible. This is why Karl Rove was on the phone with the ranch owner within 90 minutes of the accident. He knows exactly what this can do.

P.S. Going to a heavily stocked, caged-in facility where the quail can't get away and shooting at them isn't hunting. It's like Magic and Jordan playing a basketball game against two midgets.