Detective Jon Stewart melodramatically convicts Dick Cheney of handing Iran nukes

Jon Stewart turns Iran nukes into a Dick Cheney whodunnit — (Image credit: The Daily Show)

Former Vice President Dick Cheney has been saying some tough things about President Obama and the nuclear deal he is negotiating with Iran, accusing Obama of essentially handing Iran nuclear weapons. On Thursday night's Daily Show, Jon Stewart turned the tables, laying out a pretty compelling case that it is Cheney (and his former boss, George W. Bush), not Obama, who strengthened Iran, gave it time to build up a nuclear program, and worse.

If that sounds like typical Daily Show fare, well, Stewart mixed things up a bit: He laid out his case as a whodunnit, in period detective costume, shifting from Sherlock Holmes to Bogart's Sam Spade to Peter Falk's Columbo. The part of Cheney is played by a red balloon with a frowning face. Case closed? Well, it's good fun for fans of TV mysteries — and enough evidence to warrant treating Cheney's Iran musings with at least a hefty grain of salt. —Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.