Jon Stewart for President. Seriously? Yes.
"The Democratic nominee might be someone from politics. A governor or senator. But maybe someone new. A businessperson, or someone from entertainment."
Senator Ron Wyden, February, 2022
I had expected Senator Wyden to suggest names of fellow senators. He didn't. He thought Democrats would do well to look outside the box of usual suspects.
I will suggest a name. Jon Stewart.
I heard Jon Stewart on a podcast for an hour with journalist Kara Swisher, which brought him back to mind. I first mentioned his name as a potential candidate five years ago. He was then closing out a long run as a comedy host on TV. He was a celebrity. He did serious commentary, but his brand was comedy. He would make bank-shot comments on the hypocrisy of American politics, culture, and especially the media. He was ironic. He did satire. He put distance between himself and his comments, which is the whole point of irony. Did he really mean that???? Jon Stewart back then always had an "out." Don't take me seriously, I'm just a comedian.
That was then. Now his behavior--and increasingly his brand--is social commentary. He sounds like an earnest man aching for America to be its best. He sounds like a president.
Some things have changed in the past five years.
****He isn't a brash young kid who got older on his show, but still the guy teasing the grown-ups. He is a healthy-looking 59.
****He has been off the air and quietly shed his brand as a comedian. He now has a serious show, The Problem With Jon Stewart, on Apple TV.
****Zelenskyy* happened. Zelenskyy opened the eyes of the world that comics can have the skillset of a very serious leader, a person with depth, who can deliver a serious message.
****We saw the maturation of the kind of political comedy show Stewart pioneered, with successors like Jon Oliver, Stephen Colbert, and Samantha Bee. They changed how Americans understand political comedy. The proliferation of knock-off shows clarified that their purpose isn't simply to make people laugh. It is to make people think.
Stewart has a drain-the-swamp willingness to take on both Republican and Democratic shibboleths and hypocrisy. He can "press reset" on the Democratic orthodoxy, and call "BS" where he sees it. He has been doing it for three decades. His brand is truth-teller, not loyalist to inertia. Jon Stewart has been dealing with serious public policy issues, on a national stage, for most of his adult life. He is not a newcomer to the issues and problems facing America. He has been doing what officeholders, serious journalists, and academic policy analysts do. They gather information, draw conclusions, and share their opinions We know Jon Stewart's take on the world far better than we do 95 of the 100 senators. Stewart is prepared for the job in a way that Donald Trump was not. We are prepared for Jon Stewart in a way we were not prepared for Donald Trump.
What would Jon Stewart need to do to make the transition into a serious contender for the Democratic nomination for president? He would need to go to New Hampshire and hold Town Halls.
This isn't hard. Would people show up? Yes. For him they would. Lindsay Graham got five people to attend his events. John Delaney, a former U.S. Representative, got dozens to come to his. Jeb Bush got several dozen. Senators Cory Booker and Amy Klobuchar got about a hundred. Pete Buttigieg got several hundred. Candidate Donald Trump got two thousand. I expect Jon Stewart to do as well as Donald Trump, or better.
What will he say? I would like to find out.
I wrote two posts making the argument for Jon Stewart back in 2016. It was a good idea then and a better one now:
Jon Stewart for President: http://peterwsage.blogspot.com/2016/11/jon-stewart-for-president.html
Yes, Jon Stewart: http://peterwsage.blogspot.com/2016/11/yes-jon-stewart-television-worth.html
I would have voted for Jon Stewart in 2016 and I'd definitely vote for him in 2024...