海角大神

Since Glenn Beck鈥檚 August 鈥溾�� produced an impressive turnout, the nation鈥檚 left has eagerly awaited an organized response. The unions tried to promote their 鈥溾�� rally in October as the , but the sparsely attended protest floundered in comparison.

The event that has instead entered the collective consciousness as the meaningful rejoinder to Beck is Jon Stewart鈥檚 coming 鈥�Rally to Restore Sanity.鈥� With some 225,000 people pledging to attend on the rally鈥檚 Facebook page, it looks as though Mr. Stewart may out-mobilize both the unions, those traditional bastions of the Left, and Mr. Beck himself.

The Stewart mobilization phenomenon invites a difficult question for liberal Americans: Why is a comedian, a self-mocking joker, their most inspirational figure?

Impossible expectations

One reason is the decline of Barack Obama鈥檚 political star. The unifying personality of the 2008 election, who campaigned on hope and change in the disillusioned twilight of the Bush presidency, set expectations that were impossible to meet. Two years later, the country still faces high unemployment and relentless partisan bickering in Washington, elevating mistrust of politicians to new heights.

Don't Miss: Obama on 'Daily Show': Did he best Jon Stewart?

As election polls have made clear, 鈥渙utsiders鈥� have a distinct advantage over establishment 鈥渋nsiders,鈥� making figures like Stewart, who is more beholden to a punch line than a party line, appealing and trustworthy. Stewart also wields a powerful, if underestimated political weapon: comedy.

Comedy is 鈥渁ctually the voice of democracy,鈥� says The New Yorker cartoon editor Bob Mankoff. Humor 鈥渢ells us something鈥檚 fishy.鈥�

Humor's three distinct advantages

The humorous approach to politics has three distinct advantages over playing it straight.

The first is that comedy can entice a disengaged audience to partake in a political debate. Stewart鈥檚 nightly diatribes against Fox News draw nearly twice as many viewers as MSNBC pundit Keith Olbermann, who does the same thing in his signature monotone.

Second, political humor can hide behind a veneer of entertainment to deflect criticism. Much like the Shakespearian fool, modern-day comics are free to speak common-sense truths under the guise of foolishness. 鈥淭hat, of course, is the great secret of the successful fool 鈥� that he is no fool at all,鈥� Isaac Asimov wrote in 鈥淎simov鈥檚 Guide to Shakespeare.鈥�

When in 2004, a show he鈥檇 developed a particular affinity for mocking on the air, the conservative commentator Tucker Carlson tried to undermine his credibility by accusing him of giving presidential candidate John Kerry softball questions. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e on CNN,鈥� Stewart shot back. 鈥淭he show that leads into me is puppets making crank phone calls!鈥� Carlson鈥檚 pointed questions were rendered dull and irrelevant.

Finally, humorous attacks can only be countered with equally witty humor. Sarah Palin, the queen of the political zinger, has found mockery to be one of her most effective rhetorical weapons. She came out punching at the 2008 Republican National Convention, delivering a speech that earned her an army of nascent Tea Party supporters and riled Democratic activists into donating $10 million against her in one day.

How do you respond to Sarah Palin?

How was Mr. Obama to respond to gems such as 鈥�I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a 鈥榗ommunity organizer,鈥� except that you have actual responsibilities,鈥� or her eminently quotable 2010 National Tea Party convention hit, 鈥淗ow鈥檚 that hopey-changey stuff working out for ya?鈥�?

A serious response 鈥� such as 鈥淢y hopey-changey stuff is working just fine, thank you very much!鈥� 鈥� would cast Obama as the fool. Ignoring the question would lend the appearance of backing down. News organizations damage their own credibility when they harp on the silly jabs; The Daily Show is fond of ridiculing news channels for focusing on such insignificances.

Is it any wonder that the only person who could really foil Mrs. Palin was Tina Fey, whose spot-on impersonations on Saturday Night Live did more to derail Palin than all the 鈥済otcha liberal media,鈥� combined? Like a gorilla鈥檚 chest-thumping, showing off comedic finesse and outwitting one鈥檚 opponent is a demonstration of power. 鈥淗ave you ever seen a boss of a company who couldn鈥檛 crack a joke?鈥� asks Mankoff.

The meaning of mockery

In the age of hyperpartisan news punditry, the likes of which provide much fodder for Stewart鈥檚 鈥淭he Daily Show,鈥� the art of mockery has taken on a new level of meaning. Factionalized, ideologically driven blogs and 24/7 news channels, whose shrill shouts to attract the viewership of every brand of partisan, naturally lend themselves to sarcastic politicking, while providing ample material for comedians.

Moreover, politicians鈥� inability to 鈥渄isagree without being disagreeable,鈥� has fueled a burning desire by the broad political center for moderation, which is the central rallying cry of Stewart鈥檚 event. More than anything else, it is the Left鈥檚 desire for civility, which Obama was unable to bring to Washington, that has turned a comedian into a political star.

Niv Elis is the founder of the DC protest blog , and is the Harold S. White Fellow at Moment magazine.