Jon Stewart, the famously smart host of the satirical Daily Show and habitual scourge of rightwing Americans, has embraced a remarkable new role as one of the fiercest critics of US President Barack Obama and someone who is spearheading a wave of liberal discontent with the Democratic party.
The turnaround is a remarkable one for a man whose show soared to national and international fame during the era of former US president George W. Bush, on the back of incessant ridicule of Republican policies and personalities.
However, over the past year Stewart, who was a notable supporter of Obama in the presidential election campaign of 2008, has taken an increasingly strident tone on a wide range of White House policies, from the war in Afghanistan to gay rights and the economy.
Last week, Stewart twice took on Obama head-on in brutal attacks during his trademark monologues at the start of the Daily Show. On Wednesday night, he lambasted the president and the Democrats for their lack of backbone when it came to standing up to Republicans.
“We came, we saw, we sucked,” Stewart mockingly quipped.
The outburst created waves and prompted the influential -gossip Web site Gawker to describe the incident under the headline: “The night Jon Stewart turned on -President Obama.”
Stewart followed up the next night by mocking Obama’s recent campaign appearances in people’s backyards, as a way of attempting to reconnect with disaffected voters.
“Sir, you’re the leader of the free world, you’ve taken the presidency from Air Force One to backyard number two,” he said.
Critics — many of them liberal fans of a man who combines comedy with biting political observation — believe Stewart is going too far.
However, Stewart’s anger is only the most high-profile expression of an increasingly widespread dissatisfaction among liberal Democrats with the achievements of the first 18 months of the Obama presidency. Though the White House touts its success in stabilizing the economy and bringing in a version of healthcare reform, much of the Democratic base is unhappy at a perceived lack of ambition from a president in whom they had invested many hopes.
To his liberal critics, Obama’s healthcare plans were a pale imitation of what might have been. They argue that the White House has spent far too much time trying to appease Republicans with compromises and not enough on pleasing its own supporters. The result, they say, has been a catastrophic collapse in liberal support.
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