As we bid an unfond farewell to Jon Stewart, it’s worth pausing a moment to reflect on his influence. I’m sure there are plenty of Lena Dunhams out there who got their news exclusively through the utterly snarky and viciously slanted Mr. Stewart. But she was inclined his way politically anyway. And yes, Obama did win the youth vote. But when you picture the typical Stewart viewer, you probably imagine a white hipster looking like the pajama boy from the Obama ads, right?

It’s worth remembering that Obama lost significant ground among young voters between 2008 and 2012. He won 66 percent of the under-30 vote in 2008, but 60 percent in 2012. Still a big margin, it’s true. Among white voters under the age of 30 however, Romney won men by 54–41 and women by 49–48. Black women voters remained nearly uniformly loyal to Obama with 98 percent. But among black men under 30, Obama lost ground. He won 94 percent of their votes in 2008, but 80 percent in 2012, a drop of 14 percent.

Jon Stewart was witty, tendentious, smart, and trend-setting. He was a clever propagandist for the Left, but his influence may be overstated.