Jon Stewart Interviews a Real President on a Fake News Program

I don't usually upload video clips of interviews, but I found this weeks interview of President Obama by Jon Stewart (The Daily Show) to be worth watching, and worth sharing. The interview was much more serious than one might have expected coming from Stewart, who is truly a comedian and satirist at heart. Due to the nature of Stewart's show, the president received quite a bit of criticism from some pundits, who apparently deemed it inappropriate for a sitting president. I would argue, however, that the decision to go on Stewart's show was a strategic one. Aside from promoting and executing his agenda, one of the president's main focuses right now is to keep as many seats as possible come November 2nd. As such, by going on Stewart's show President Obama was attempting to mobilize his 18-29 year old liberal base, much of which is the same demographic of your average "Daily Show" viewer, or what Bill O'Reilly would refer to as the "stoner slacker."

Here is part 1 to the interview, if you wish to continue watching it just click the link to part 2 at the end.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Barack Obama Pt. 1
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Rally to Restore Sanity

"Don't Ask" Obama, because he can't make up his mind

President Obama has continually ran on a platform of equal rights for gays. As such, he has stated openly numerous times that one of his goals concerning this issue is to repeal the armies "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

Well, last week the Obama administration got their wish. A federal judge ordered the army to stop enforcing the policy. Since the judges ruling seven days ago, openly gay men and women have been allowed to enlist in the army. Just like that, President Obama had a huge accomplishment under his belt. At least it seemed that way.

On Wednesday, however, the Obama administration filed an emergency request with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to stop the military from allowing openly gay troops from serving. In other words, the Obama administration wants to continue to bar gays from the military even though it ultimately favors repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

Unfortunately Mr. President, you can't have it both ways. Either the policy is repealed and gays serve openly, or they don't. There is not much room for compromise in regards to this issue.

The administrations argument for the abrupt change in policy was quite insipid. They argued that it would "risk causing significant immediate harm to the military and its efforts to be prepared to implement an orderly repeal of the statute." In effect, what they are ultimately expressing is a sense of fear that allowing gays to serve openly in the military will be destructive to group cohesion and performance.

Hopefully the Obama administration can iron out this sense of doubt, and do what is best for the country. The administration says they remain hopeful that they can have the matter resolved through Congress instead of unilaterally through courts or the presidency. It remains a controversial issue that needs some resolve.

When the Circus Came to Town

Last night was New York's gubernatorial debate, and boy did it live up to its expectation of being entertaining, to say the least. There was no heated debate between the Republican and Democratic hopefuls Carl Paladino and Andrew Cuomo, but there were some characters among the other five candidates.

Representing the Anti-Prohibition Party was Kristin Davis, otherwise known as the 'Manhattan Madam'. Davis served time on Riker's Island for her involvement with the Emperors Club VIP, the escort service that provided a prostitute for Eliot Spitzer (his show on CNN sucks by the way, no pun intended). Davis is running on the platform of legalizing prostitution and marijuana, which she believes will help improve the economy of this state. Surprisingly, this silicon tatted blonde was once the vice president of a hedge fund firm and knows a thing or two about business. When asked about Carl Paladino she said that if he is elected "business will leave this state faster than Carl Paladino at a gay bar."

Then there was Jimmy McMillan of 'The Rent is too Damn High' Party. Yes, it's a real party. However, if you were to turn on the debate while he was speaking you may have mistaken it for a Saturday Night Live sketch. Let's start with the mysterious black gloves. You know what, words will not do justice so just watch the video below.

The three other candidates include Charles Barran of the Freedom Party, Warren Redlich of the Libertarian Party, and Howie Hawkins of the Green Party. Barran is a former Black Panther member who believes increasing taxes on the wealthy will solve our economic crisis. He is quoted as saying "we already cut to the bones, it's time for us to get the wealthy." Hawkins has a similar ideology, and he too would like to see taxes increased on the wealthy. Redlich believes that cutting big bureaucratic salaries will allow us to save about 3 billion dollars a year.

As with most political races in America, none of these minor party candidates stand a real chance to win in a two-party system, some of them for good reason. It is quite upsetting that these seven candidates are all that New York has to offer. Carl Paladino is a loose cannon who is not connected with reality, while Andrew Cuomo doesn't seem to have a solid plan to get this state back on track. With only 14 days to go until election day, Cuomo maintains a considerable lead in the race to become New York's 56th governor.

Paladino's Gyration

This week Carl Paladino managed to claim headlines of all major news agencies once again. Unfortunately, all the press Mr. Paladino received appeared to be bad press. Last week Paladino made headlines for an altercation with a journalist. This week, after an upsurge in recent anti-gay hate crimes both locally and nationally, Paladino made headlines for “hating gays.”

On Sunday, during an address to a group of Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn, Paladino made some very provocative statements concerning homosexuality. For example, Paladino said that he didn’t want children “to be brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid or successful option,” compared to heterosexuality. Furthermore, a transcript of Paladino’s speech said, “there is nothing to be proud of in being a dysfunctional homosexual. That’s not how God created us.”

Paladino also attacked his opponent, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, saying that it was in bad taste for him to bring his daughters to a recent gay pride parade in New York. Paladino went on to say, “That’s not the example that we should be showing the children, and certainly not in our schools."

It seems to me, however, that Mr. Paladino is the one who is not showing a good example to the youth of America. Ever since I was little I remember being taught to treat others as I would like to be treated. This principle of equality is a key tenant of this nation, and is vital for a democracy to function properly. Perhaps if we raise our children to be more accepting of others, as Mr. Cuomo's children seem to be, the Tyler Clementi's of tomorrow will be able to live a normal life. Until all homosexuals are treated equally in America, our nation will fall short of setting an example for human rights around the world.