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Fox News wore Jon Stewart down: How 16 years of debunking right-wing lies exhausted the last honest man
by galen

    He knew well that this election would be a circus. And he knew that if he stayed on as host he would be responsible for bringing a tight satirical edge to the insanity of the day. Most of all, he knew he would have to watch Fox News. And that idea was simply intolerable: “Watching these channels all day is incredibly depressing,” says Stewart. “I live in a constant state of depression. I think of us as turd miners. I put on my helmet, I go and mine turds, hopefully I don’t get turd lung disease.”

    Is there any chance he would watch Fox News after stepping down as host? Stewart’s answer is an unequivocal “no way”: “Umm … All right, let’s say that it’s a nuclear winter, and I have been wandering, and there appears to be a flickering light through what appears to be a radioactive cloud and I think that light might be a food source that could help my family. I might glance at it for a moment until I realise, that’s Fox News, and then I shut it off.”

    Could Stewart really be giving up his show due to Fox News fatigue? And if that is true, what does this say about political discourse in our nation? Does this mean Fox News won and Stewart gave up? I’d like to stay optimistic, but it’s time to take seriously the idea that Fox News killed the greatest satire show of our nation’s history.

    Think about it; since Stewart started hosting his show Fox News has thrived—and it has thrived despite a constant, biting satirical show hosted by Stewart that consistently called out Fox News failures. During the run of Stewart as host of “The Daily Show,” Fox News has spun lies even more than ever. It also has more devout followers that are increasingly distanced from any fact-based reality known to humanity. Polls indicate that Fox News viewers are consistently swinging toward extremism that is hate-based and fact-averse.