Pervez Musharraf is the president of Pakistan. He is also an author of a newly published book.
Most recently, he was a guest on the “Daily Show” with Jon Stewart. For those who don’t know, the “Daily Show” is a program that runs on Comedy Central. Its premise is a parody of news shows like “20/20” or “Nightline.” While it started off as strictly a parody, its structure has changed over the years, and it has become apparent that many college age, young people are getting more and more of their news from the satire-dressed-as-information source; and I, for one, think that’s a great thing.
As a person who has watched the show almost since the beginning, or the Kilborn years, I can safely say that the “Daily Show” is no more of a parody of actual news shows than the news shows themselves. While shows like “Dateline” and “60 Minutes” have made the celebrity interview their bread and butter, very rarely does the “Daily Show” report on celebrity news stories, and their featured guest, though sometimes (less frequently now) an actor, is sometimes a religious expert, political leader, or even President of Pakistan.
The “Daily Show” proves that you can give people information to work with, and instead of shoving a particular viewpoint down their throats, give them the opportunity to decide what they want to think. Granted, the writers of the “Daily Show,” along with head writer and anchor Jon Stewart, might have liberal views, but they spend just as much time making fun of Democrats as Republicans, and everyone in between.
The show garnered a lot of attention during the 2004 Presidential elections, which were aptly titled, “InDecision 2004.” There was coverage from the campaign trail, the Democratic and Republican national conventions, and even the vice-presidential candidate John Edwards announced his run for the presidency (before he teamed up with John Kerry) on the show.
Even with this storied past, having a person like Pervez Musharraf on the show seemed like an amazing thing. Even the president of our own country had not considered appearing on the show. This may have been a good idea considering how many young people watch the Daily Show, and get their news from it. The interview, lasting 15 minutes instead of the standard 10, was surprisingly light-hearted. After inviting the president to drink tea with him, Stewart offered Musharraf a Twinkie, and then semi-lightheartedly asked Musharraf about Osama Bin Laden. This is the most important guest that the show has ever had, but it showed that while the Daily Show might be going for laughs, these are intelligent people, who actually want to know something about their world.
The interview ended with Musharraf on the ‘Seat of Heat’, a new segment that asks the guest an odd or controversial question. Stewart asked, “If George W. Bush, and Osama Bin Laden ran for mayor ship of some southern province in Pakistan, who would win?”
The audience laughed, and after thinking for a moment, Musharraf gave the perfect answer: “They would both lose miserably.