Jon Stewart Plans to Rally Against Extremism
by BILL CARTER, The New York Times, September 16, 2010
[BE THERE OR BE SQUARE!]
Jon Stewart announced his much-awaited “big announcement” on Thursday’s edition of his late-night program, “The Daily Show.” He plans to stage a rally in Washington to counter what he identified as extremists on either side of the political spectrum.
Mr. Stewart told his audience the show had secured the National Mall on Oct. 30 for what he called “The Rally to Restore Sanity.”
He later labeled it a “Million Moderate March.” The purpose, he said, is to counter what he called a minority of 15or 20% of the country that has dominated the national political discussion with extreme rhetoric. He tarred both parties with that charge, mentioning both the attacks on the right against President Obama for being everything from a socialist to un-American and on the left against former President Bush for being a war criminal.
The rally will clearly have some comedy elements (as well as likely guest stars, Mr. Stewart said), and his partner on the Comedy Central cable channel, Stephen Colbert, appeared on the show in his usual conservative blowhard persona to threaten to infiltrate the rally. Mr. Stewart also promised to supply the crowd with signs if they did not bring their own, including as examples, “I Disagree With You, But I’m Pretty Sure You’re Not Hitler,” and “Take It Down a Notch, America.”
(Mr. Colbert suggested it was actually time to “freak out for freedom.”)
Beyond the date and location, the two hosts offered few details, though Mr. Stewart said it would be “two or three hours one Saturday for some nice people to get together for some fun.”
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