Jon Stewart seems kind of sympathetic to a President Rand Paul

Jon Stewart seems kind of sympathetic to a President Rand Paul
(Image credit: Daily Show)

At The Daily Beast, Olivia Nuzzi notices that Democrats seem to be nervous about the "broad appeal" of potential 2016 presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) — so much so that the Democratic National Committee sent out 10 press releases about Paul during his recent three-day swing through Iowa (his 10th visit in two years). Jon Stewart gets it. On Thursday night's Daily Show, Stewart did his usual thing with Paul's weaselly hair-splitting on whether he ever proposed cutting off U.S. foreign aid to Israel (spoiler: Yes).

But the lashing didn't sting. "Say something, anything, to persuade us that you are, like your pop, presidential material," Stewart pleaded at one point, almost sincerely, before giving Paul a long chance to clarify his position on foreign aid. Stewart even made a joke about adding a "d" and a line on the "o" to the "Ron Paul for President" bumper stickers, so "we don't have to spend any more money to support you." And he wasn't smirking. Maybe Stewart is just making nice after trashing Paul's limerick stills on Wednesday night's show?

The funniest part, though, may be where Stewart mocked the websites that (ahem) frequently post Daily Show videos under "hyperbolic" headlines. Yeah, take that, um, Huffington Post! --Peter Weber

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Peter Weber, The Week US

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.