I’ve gotten lots of email in response to my post yesterday about Colbert. Some object that he didn’t bomb. Most agree that he was at least a bit off. On reflection I put myself more in the middle of those views than the outright bomb reaction I had.

But some folks complained that I wasn’t hard enough on Stewart. While I do think he’s gotten a bit too partisan, I think some people fail to appreciate the demands of his job. He’s supposed to make fun of the news. Well, the simple fact is that the Republicans dominate the news. They run the government when the government has a lot on its plate. The irony is that those who argue Stewart should give equal time are imposing a “journalistic” standard on a comedy show while at the same time they complain that it’s just a comedy show. The challenge for Stewart is to seem “fair” — so that he doesn’t turn off a huge number of viewers who are to his right — but there’s no reason to expect him to be “balanced.” He should find the humor wherever the humor is. I predict that if the Dems take over the governent, a lot of lefty bloggers will feel betrayed when he turns more of his guns on Dems in power.

Oh, by the way, “60 Minutes” did a profile on Colbert last night. He came across as a very good and decent guy.