Originally posted by: tcsenter
I don't understand why people are defending Goldberg. Everytime Goldberg was given the chance to speak, he made the same point.
More precisely, every time Goldberg was given the chance to speak, he attempted to clarify or finish a point that Stewart, constantly interrupting with some wise-ass remark or facial expression to provoke laughter among the audience, thus derailing the conversation, refused to let him make.
Stewart wasn't even arguing politics, he was only offering that the choices Goldberg made were people who have no power over the direction of our country whatsoever (i.e. Barbara Streisand, rappers, Chevy Chase, etc).
Stewart was in fact arguing politics, even going as far as to tell Goldberg what his book
should have been about (politics):
Partial transcript from the clip -
Stewart: I guess my point is that, so much focus [of Goldberg's book] is culture and so little is on government and the real seats of power."
Stewart: "In Washington, transparency is the real issue and I wish smart guys like you spent more time not worrying about Barbara Streisand, but worrying about Richard Perle, Karl Rove, or whoever Democrats would have in those positions during the Clinton Administration."
Seats of power within government and government power is wholly a political subject matter. Its one thing to say "I don't agree with your book on the Spanish-American War", its quite another to say "Your book about the Spanish-American War is stupid because I think the Civil War is more important and your book should have been about that."
Who the hell does Stewart think he is? Its Goldberg's book, he can write about whatever he wants.
Goldberg's position is vastly more complex and nuanced than the moronic notion that Barbara Streisand alone is responsible for our society's moral decay, but that is precisely how simplistic Stewart attempts to portray Goldberg's position.
Stewart: "I think there is a much larger issue of people in power creating problems, not Barbara Streisand..."
Goldberg names 100 people who
embody views, attitudes, and ideologies that he argues are contributing substantially to what he views as sociocultural rot. Some of those people Goldberg blames directly, most others he offers merely as being representative or typical of views, attitudes, and ideologies he argues are the problem. But in no case could it reasonably be said that Goldberg is laying blame squarely at the feet of any one person. I highly doubt Stewart even read the book, based on his extremely flawed interpretation of Goldberg's view.
Stewart completely dismisses or ignores reality that is beyond dispute.
Stewart: "Most everybody that I see in your book is powerless..."
Who would characterize an Oscar winning film maker who has amassed a cult-like following, chief justices of state supreme courts, the publisher of a prestigious leading newspaper, a high ranking U.S. Senator who has won numerous consecutive terms by large margins, former state attorney generals, a race-baiting activist who is notorious for shaking-down billion dollar companies and enjoys direct access to numerous world leaders, head of the most powerful civil rights organization, the CEO of a corporation that voraciously acquired its competition and brought the state of California to its knees at the bargaining table, and former US presidents, as "powerless" people?
This is a child-like naivety on Stewart's part. Goldberg's book is primarily an exercise in social and cultural commentary, not government and public policy. Stewart is too much of a mental midget to grasp the difference (assuming he even read the book, which I find doubtful).
Simplicity reigns supreme yet again.