Oliver > Colbert > Stewart.

Hey, I pay attention to the plight of the truly poor too! I just rather talk about them not to them. They make for good gossip in these troubled times.

Very thoughtful comment. Thx.
I don't have a TV but I have seen Colbert and Stewart (& Maddow) and they are obviously extremely talented but I have never really found them that compelling. Maybe they laugh too much -- or rather, they try to make us laugh. It's a somewhat similar discomfort I had with Robin Williams -- just not everything is hilarious. Even remotely.

Are Colbert and Stewart more valuable to the debate than Fox News?
Faux news isn't part of the debate.
Unless standing in the middle if the auditorium pissing oneself while screaming obscenities and eating ones boogers is now defined as "part of the debate".

yes, the satire is more than preaching to the choir. It's proclaiming the emperor in new clothes when no one else dares. Like Tina Fey's parody of Sarah Palin. after that, no-one could take Palin seriously again.

Fox News—which employs a similar method of justifying its viewers' outrage

What false equivalency bullshit. Oh the angst you feel! Why there is no television program pure enough to give you all the answers you need! Ohs nos!

Fox News is a wholly owned subsidiary and propaganda outlet of the far right billionaire establishment that peddles pure lies.

This similarity to a left leaning comedic satire is a product of your neurotic vapidity.

"Contribute to the dialogue?" What does that even mean? When have YOU contributed to the dialogue? This entire paper exists on pimping outrage. Give me a break. At least Oliver is comedy/satire and isn't fooling himself into thinking he needs to contribute to the dialogue.

Though this post did surprise me. Your usual dopey far-left "fawning adoration-to-backlash cycle" happened faster than I expected with Oliver's show.

I like you.

If I may, I'd like to pretend to be Brian Williams or whichever TV talking head you may choose.

Breaking News: tkc@7 has just wiped his ass with Grant Brissey's face. Brissey likes it.

@7 thank you. There isn't debate: we have shows that simply reinforce people's preconceived ideas of what they think is right and wrong. The current zeitgeist is self-congratulating smug "I told you so!"

The left just does it with much more skill and talent.

My anger has never been lanced by a television show. In fact, some of Jon Stewart's montages have been so compellingly brutally honest that my anger has been augmented by them.

The only sense of rejuvenation I get from TDS and Colbert comes from the potential value of storytelling. At least someone somewhere is telling the story as I see it. That's a source of hope--not apathy.

My main problem with Oliver's show is simply that it is on HBO, which means, to me at least, that no matter how biting or deep or important his take on the news is, it is not reaching a big enough (or diverse enough) audience to truly make a difference. I've never seen his show because I choose not to support Comcast. Until his ideas can reach a truly mainstream audience easily, I just can't take these articles completely seriously.

I'm really loving Oliver's work on LWT (what little of it I can catch on YouTube, because screw cable) precisely because he's not afraid to get into the meat of a subject and doesn't get nervous when he hasn't gotten a laugh in a few minutes. I don't know who his writers are, but they're fabulous. And his delivery is impeccable.

Oliver is just absolutely crushing it right now. I was really skeptical that another satirical news cast was even needed, but I really think this show is on its way to being vital in our national discourse. I think the weekly format contributes to this. The 24 hour news cycle has been a nightmare for thoughtful commentary. Oliver and his writers have a week to put these pieces together and it shows in the depth they are able to achieve with them.

@13 and 14: Totally with you.

LWT makes me feel ok about paying for HBO. I mean, Hell, someone has to.

@12, Oliver's main segment (i.e. The really awesome ones that regularly run in excess of 15 minutes) are posted every week on slate, and usually salon too (and I assume youtube). They're unedited too. Anyway, I highly recommend taking those in. . Oliver has been crushing it virtually every week.

Stewart is a stand up comedian - he is great at telling jokes about the news.
Colbert is a comedic actor - he is great at playing the part of a dingbat news pundit.
Oliver is a British comedian in America - he is great at pointing out how we're fucking up the whole "Life, Liberty & Pursuit of Happiness" thing without having to break for his sponsors every 6 minutes.