About six in 10 young adults view politics more cynically than they did two years ago. More voters under age 30 say it does not matter which party controls Congress than support either party in control, according to a September Rock the Vote poll.
Into this breach come Stewart, Steven Colbert and a rally that symbolizes our cynical time. The scene itself begs parody. The children and grandchildren of the liberals who took to the National Mall to fight for civil rights or against the Vietnam War will march on October 30 for no right and against no wrong. They will stand for being nice (and for the fun of it)…
This is why Washington takes their jokes so seriously, and Democrats must in particular. One year ago, leading liberal comics began to see the joke in Obama. Yet behind the punch line was a pang of disappointment. Stewart and Colbert’s viewership is about twice as liberal as the national average. Stewart regularly betrays his disillusion. “We came, we saw, we sucked,” he recently said of Democrats, after they closed Congress early to campaign.
Comedian George Carlin once said, “Inside every cynical person there is a disappointed idealist.” Now the mostly young, disappointed and liberal will come to Washington. Many more will arrive merely for the laughs. Stewart and Colbert do want to make a serious point. But their audience has been told everything is a laughing matter. It might be difficult convince them now that some things are not a joke.
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