From Deborah White,
Your Guide to US Liberal Politics.
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Jan 24 2007

With his fearlessly brilliant and biting politically-laced humor, comedian Jon Stewart gives a clear voice to widespread American frustration over Bush administration missteps and hypocrisies, and to all of today's politicians and political climate.

His four-night weekly Comedy Central cable program The Daily Show is a must-watch program among the young, liberals and political-insiders. And a social studies parody book, America (the Book) published in 2004 languished on best-seller lists for months.

On January 5, 2006, it was announced that Stewart will host the Academy Awards on March 5, 2006, an honor reserved for A-list comedians. Per show producer Gilbert Cates, Stewart was selected because "He's hip; he's with-it; he's today."

In September 2005, The Daily Show won two more Emmy Awards to add to its expanding shelf of accolades, and Stewart earned a Grammy for the spoken-version of his book.

Stewart has twice earned the prestigious Peabody award for excellence in radio/television broadcasting and cable television. Stewart received the awards for his insightful coverage of the US Presidential elections in 2000 and 2004

The Daily Show and its Fake News are a leading platform for opinion-makers' appearances, from Bill Clinton, John Kerry and Senators McCain, Clinton and Obama to newscasters Tom Brokaw, Anderson Cooper and Brian Williams, and innumerable authors from across the political spectrum.

Who is Jon Stewart? Jon is a self-deprecating 43-year-old New York native who grew up in New Jersey. Dad was a physicist and mom a teacher, so education was valued in his childhood home. His parents divorced when he was nine. Stewart is a private man who rarely speaks publicly of his personal life. He was married in 2000 to Tracey McShane. They have a son, Nathan, born in July 2004 and a daughter, Maggie, born in February 2006. Jon is a workaholic, an insomniac, a news junkie and a former chain smoker who quit cold turkey in late 2000.

Has Stewart always been funny? Always political? His pre-comedic days held few foreshadowings of clever political wit that Stewart has become. He graduated third in his high school class, where he was voted as having the "best sense of humor."

He attended College of William & Mary in Virginia, first as a chemistry, then psychology major. Despite enjoying four years on the college soccer team, Stewart claims to have been "miserable" there. He joined a fraternity, but moved out in six months because he hated the hazing.

Stewart drifts into showbiz Jon had a series of forgettable jobs after college. What he loved most was his hobby as puppeteer to sensitize kids to people with disabilities.

In 1986, Jon Stewart moved to New York City to do standup comedy. His first gig was to a 1:45 AM comedy club crowd. He suffered "humiliation" and discouragement, but persisted in the Dream for the next 7 years. He wrote comedy; he did stand-up; he took movie bit parts; he did talk show comedy spots; he even had his own MTV talk show for a year.

The big break came for Jon Stewart when he was a finalist to replace David Letterman when Letterman left NBC for CBS. Conan O'Brien won the coveted slot. Stewart, though, won the host gig on the obscure The Daily Show on Comedy Central cable, obscure in 1999.

On The Daily Show, news-junkie comedian Stewart, found his niche and his platform. Viewership of his program has grown steadily as word of mouth spread from teenage Comedy Central viewers to their parents and grandparents. And from January 2004 to present, The Daily Show ratings growth has been unprecedented for cable.

Stewart graced the January 4, 2004 cover of Time magazine, and was named by Time in 2005 as one of the 100 most influential Americans.

Jon Stewart's credibility became clear on October 15, 2004. He was a guest on CNN's irritating shout-fest Crossfire when he assailed Tucker Carlson, conservative co-host, "I'm here to confront you, because we need help from the media...I watch your show everyday. And it kills me. It's so painful to watch, because we need what you do."

Weeks later, Carlson was terminated by CNN president Jonathan Klein who said, "I agree wholeheartedly with Jon Stewart's overall premise."

It's not publicly known what Jon Stewart's next professional stop will be. Many believe he will ascend to David Letterman's late-night CBS throne when Letterman decides to retire.

It's obvious that he enjoys the creative freedom of cable broadcasting. The Daily Show is lightly peppered with language and images not accepable at the networks. And the show has evolved into a unique extension of Stewart, a bright, witty news-obsessed comedian.

But the lure of a more widely-viewed venue may prove irresistible to Jon Stewart.