The rumble

My dad could never watch "Seinfeld" because he found George Costanza so embarrassing. He'd turn the channel, and when we complained, he'd turn it back and then get up and leave the room. (Beneath his gruff exterior, my dad's a sensitive, exquisitely empathetic guy. Don't tell him I said so.)

I felt the same way watching Jim Cramer on "The Daily Show" on Thursday. Jon Stewart was merciless, and Cramer's squirming was nearly unbearable. (The thing is, Jim Cramer is a dick, but I kind of like him. I like James Lipton, too. I think I'm a shitty judge of character.)

I never turned the channel, though, and today I watched the unedited version of the interview. It's both exhilarating and depressing. On one hand, it's a thrill to see someone actually conduct a difficult interview calmly, rationally, and without any screaming. On the other, it's maddening that the host of a fake news show is the only person doing any serious investigative reporting on what led to the latest catastrophe on Wall Street.

Will it make any difference? Monkeyhawk, a commenter on Wonkette, says it better than I can:

Who knows? 

But this might end up on a par with Edward R. Murrow’s thing on “See It Now” with Joe McCarthy. 

And it’ll be forever dismissed by some as a comedy show. 

It’s more like neo-medieval; the Jester is the only one who speaks truth to power.