I've learned from past discussions of entertainment that Conservatives claim is biased to first ask: Have you ever actually seen The Daily Show, that "insufferably smug liberal comedy take on the news"?

Pending the answer, I'll tell you my impression of TDS over the years...and "over the years" is the key, since it's been around a long time. In the late 90s Clinton was their regular target, as well as running fat Teddy Kennedy jokes, Joe Biden's hair plugs, etc. I would conclude that their mainstay is bursting the balloon of power. There's no money to be made in just delivering propaganda (except maybe on Fox "News"); they survive on their comedic skills and their delight in lampooning power.

But assuming hypothetically that TDS is biased in the sense that it's "Liberal humor", I'm curious whether there's an equivalent package of Conservative humor. Surely there must be, unless the stereotype of the grim and humorless Conservative actually has some truth to it. Is Limbaugh as funny as it gets on the Right side of the aisle?

The other thing I'd observe about The Daily Show is that when it comes to politics, Stewart and his writers clearly have a substantial grasp of the subject, else they couldn't consistently produce their brand of humor, five days a week, ~50 weeks/year, year after year. It's rare that they resort to simple yuks; there's always a barb underneath that speaks to deeper truths about human nature and the practice of politics in America. They throw a spotlight on the buffoonery, and often perform the valuable service of calling politicians on their bullshit. They regularly track the pronouncements of the various White House press secretaries, and hang them with their own words. It's both hilarious and dead serious when they compare Tony Snow's oh-so-sincere protestations from one week to the next, and show him to be a liar in his own words. And let me emphasize that point: Stewart himself rarely delivers the coup de grace; the wickedness of the humor often comes from simply letting the politicians make asses of themselves.

The "big wheels" understand what you evidently don't: This is the 21st Century, Tom. In the world we live in, this is how information is delivered, multimedia and multileveled...a hard center of reality inside the sweet candy of humor.

Stephen Colbert? Bill O'Reilly gets off lightly with Colbert's impression of a Winger. I'd have expected some stereotypical pulpit-pounding mouth-frothing spittle-flying lunatic, but Colbert somehow manages a boyish insouciance that's actually rather endearing. I should ask that key question here too: Ever actually seen The Colbert Report?

And then there's Keith Olbermann. I've said before that his self-conscious riff on Edward R. Murrow wears thin. And yet, there's something satisfying about his commentaries, much as those on the Right get visceral satisfaction from the fulminations of Limbaugh and O'Reilly. It speaks to my deep instincts as an American to see the guy look into the camera and speak directly to "Mr. Bush", to call on the carpet a figure who too often arrogates to himself the status of King. No President is King, and Olbermann reminds us all that the President works for us and answers to us. It may be only a symbolic bravery to get in the face of the President on camera, but it's heartening to be reminded that we all have that right. If I should ever meet George Bush face to face, I can only hope that I have the courage to tell him to his face what I think of him. I will not bow down to Authority.

Olbermann is very much an American, in the classic and most honorable style. We're not yet wretched sheep as long as people like Keith Olbermann have a voice.