Watch The Daily Show mock the hysteria around the Senate's 'nuclear option'

(Image credit: Comedy Central)

last updated 8 January 2015

Jon Stewart started out Thursday night's Daily Show with the big news of the day from Washington: The Senate Democrats' deployment of the "nuclear option." At first, Stewart feigned horror — "nuclear option" sounds pretty bad, right? Then he signaled his exasperation at the hyperbole surrounding the rule change to allow a simple 51-vote majority to approve presidential appointments. Was the return to partial majority rule really "the Hiroshima of voting"?

Stewart summed up Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's warnings to Democrats — that they'll be in the minority eventually — like this: "One day you Democrats will want to be obstructionist assholes, making a mockery of our system of government!" Then he went into one of his odd, Middle Ages/soothsaying routines about how the end of the filibuster will kill Christmas and teach babies how to cuss. There's liberal use of "lo" and "verily." Eventually Stewart gave up: "OK, that's all I've got."

Stewart next turned to Thanksgiving — and the ritual sacrificing of hourly workers called Black Friday. (Clearly, The Daily Show will be on vacation next week.) He was primarily concerned with the news that Butterball has a shortage of large, fresh turkeys. To find out why the fresh turkeys are coming in at under 16 pounds — Butterball isn't saying — Stewart "interviewed" an oven-ready bird with, for some reason, a Brooklyn accent. Great TV for enthusiasts of theater of the absurd, or meat puppetry:

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Luckily, Stewart ended The Daily Show on a high note. Correspondent Jessica Williams looked at the black in Black Friday. Playing off the racial profiling of black shoppers, especially in high-end clothing stores, Williams offers some tips to help black Americans shop in peace during the holidays. Watch:

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.