By not going on “The View” and the Jon Stewart, Steven Colbert and Maher shows – or even David Letterman, Craig Ferguson, Jimmy Fallon, etc. – we are allowing them to define us into a very distorted and ugly caricature. Our most articulate voices, likable faces and best idea-makers need to go into hostile territory and plant the seeds of doubt in the minds of our ideological enemy and the apolitical masses who simply go with the media flow. (Our baby sitter has an Obama bumper sticker on her car, yet admits she knows nothing about politics.)

Upon walking off the stage after Friday’s show, I felt like I had gone 12 rounds with Mike Tyson and Roberto Duran. But when I got back to my dressing room, my BlackBerry was filling with messages from people I’ve never met, many of whom disagree with my politics but were compelled to praise my willingness to enter the lion’s den.