PressEthic

He saluted the audience. Then Jon Stewart served him tea, and the camera zoomed in on the cover of his new memoir. That was how Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's interview began on The Daily Show.

I remember listening to Azmi Bishara, a Palestinian member of the Israeli Kenesset and an activist for the Palestinian cause, talk about the discrepancy between the access that reporters had to Palestinian leaders and to Israeli leaders. Bishrar said that it was a detriment to the authority and credibility of Palestinian leaders that so many different reporters could interview them so easily, while Israeli leaders severely restricted access to themselves. His words came back to me when I saw Musharraf sitting where silly stars like Kate Hudson had planted themselves to engage in 10 minutes of self-promotion.

Of course, this wasn't the first "serious" interview Stewart has ever done on the show. I have seen Eric Alterman, Madeline Albright, and Joe Biden strut out to meet him, not to mention several prominent conservatives.

While Bishara's description of the damage too much access could do is still with me, I also feel a sense of triumph known that Musharraf and Jon Stewart got to meet on air. It's in the idea of connecting worlds that are normally so separate (and I don't mean culturally--but just imagine Cheney agreeing to go on that show--it would never happen!), and also carries implications for the impact The Daily Show has had on real TV news. Stewart is serious enough--even if most of his guests are promoting books or movies--to make Musharraf's appearance seem irreverent but not inappropriate.

I think he should try for Cheney.