Annie is going to give her usual impressions of last night's Daily Show later today, but I just wanted to mention something about last night's guest, Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf. When I heard that he was actually going to be on the show, my first reaction was the same as everyone else's: "Whaaaaa?" Sitting heads of state don't visit TDS, and it's interesting that the first one is one that the U.S. has a friendly but tense relationship with. Remember that Pakistan, especially along the Afghani border, has been "terror central" for years, and many of the people in the country do not support Musharraf's alignment with the Bush administration since 9/11. So I was wondering how Jon Stewart was going to handle all this. I shouldn't have worried; he did a really great job.
Jon did a nice job of balancing serious questions with comedy; he started by offering the president, on to promote his memoir In the Line of Fire, some tea, as is Pakistani custom. Stewart then offered the president an American delicacy: Twinkies. Right after they clinked glasses to good health, Jon shot out: "Where's Osama bin Laden?" That got a huge laugh out of me. To his credit, Musharraf took it in good humor: "I don't know. You know where he is? You lead on, we'll follow you."
Listen, I never expect Stewart to suddenly turn into Mike Wallace when he does these interviews, but he asked some interesting questions, like how hard it is to be a U.S. ally when most of the people in his country dislike us. "I've had to learn the art of tightrope-walking many times, and I think I've become quite an expert of that," he said.
Stewart also expressed that the notion that the leader of a country has to go make a truce with people in one of his country's own provinces is a strange one here, equating it to having to make peace with Florida. Musharraf replied that it needed to be done so the people don't align with the Taliban, which has become an even greater threat than al-Queda in that region, mainly because the Taliban are locals who are harder to identify.
Of course, Jon put the president on "The Seat of Heat," asking him if Osama bin Laden and George W. Bush faced off in a local Pakistani election, who would win. Musharraf just laughed and said to the effect that "They would both lose badly."
(By the way, I noticed that during the interview, there were boards erected to hide the translucent bottom part of Jon's anchor desk. Apparently it was bulletproof glass, which makes sense, given the fact that Musharraf has survived a couple of different assassination attempts. Thanks, Amsterdamgirl, for the link!)
Anyway, the appearance showed that world leaders also have senses of humor, which helps humanize them in the eyes of the American public. It's much harder to demonize a guy who's laughing along with Jon Stewart, know what I mean? Maybe Musharraf's appearance will encourage other sitting leaders to come on the air.
So, who do you think should be on "The Seat of Heat" next? Let me know in the comments.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-27-2006 @ 12:47PM
Amsterdamgirl said...
Those boards were bullet proof screens. Read all about it at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kevin-bleyer
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9-27-2006 @ 1:15PM
Karen said...
"Listen, I never respect Stewart to suddenly turn into Mike Wallace"
Joel, I think you mean you never "expect" him to do so, right?
Other than that, I have to agree with everything you said. It was a terrific balance of seriousness and comedy, and Musharraf himself presented, I thought, an impressive balance of gravitas and humor. He handled the "Seat of Heat" question flawlessly.
I have a hunch, as do my friends, that Musharraf must have been briefed pretty comprehensively on how things were likely to go, as I doubt he spends many of his evenings watching the show, and I'm guessing there aren't many Pakistani equivalents he could compare it to. (My secret guide to whether a guest has ever seen the show before is always to see whether they try to stand up and leave when the interview is over--Musharraf stayed seated, so I think that indicates some level of briefing.)
It's always a pleasure to watch Stewart interview authors, as it is inevitably more than clear that he's actually read their book and has specific questions to ask based on what he found there.
Seriously--I'm waiting for Tony Blair to step up to the plate and make his appearance. Musharraf has definitely started a trend.
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9-27-2006 @ 1:27PM
Bob Jones said...
As much as it would be great to get heads of states on these shows and to think this marked a great situation where leaders can be humanized ... he was just promoting a book, he did what any person wanting to get word out about a book would have done.
If the President of Iran ever writes a book, he'll probably go on the show too.
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9-27-2006 @ 2:07PM
scully said...
Jon Stewart put all interviewers to shame. Very well done - are you watching FOX News?
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9-27-2006 @ 2:19PM
Joel Keller said...
Karen, thanks for pointing that out. My brain was ahead of my fingers. I fixed it.
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9-27-2006 @ 3:50PM
SJ said...
I'm Pakistani (and currently living in the US), and a big fan of The Daily Show. I haven't seen the episode yet (at work and I recorded it so that I could watch it today)...can't wait to get back home! I was really, really surprised that Musharraf came on TDS. I always though that if he did come on a talk show, it would have been on Letterman. This is proof that TDS has a significant effect.
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9-28-2006 @ 12:42AM
Jonny Rice said...
I would love for Bolivian president Evo Morales stop by. He's the first indigenous leader of the country in over 400 years, a socialist like Hugo Chavez (but seemingly more genuine), and a former coca farmer (which has put him at odds with the U.S. at times). Plus, he's got this striped, alpaca wool sweater that he wears so often it's become a fashion trend in Bolivia! I think he'd make a great guest.
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9-29-2006 @ 12:15PM
kerry said...
Does anybody know if they filmed this after sundown or before the 23rd? It's Ramadan right now, which means that if Gen. Musharraf is an observant Muslim (and I'm pretty sure he is), it was insanely rude to offer him tea. Surely they must have considered that, yes? That question was bugging me during the entire interview.
As for him drinking it, he could have been politely bringing the cup to his mouth without letting any liquid pass his lips.
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10-09-2006 @ 10:09AM
Shayan said...
I would like to greet all of you with the islamic greetings, Assalam Alakum Wa Rehmatullah Hi Wabarakatahu, May peace blessings and mercy of God be with you. I don't know if Genrel Musharaff is a practicing muslim, but according to Islam, you are not obligated to fast if you are on a 'journey' and have to compensate for those fasts that you could not complete later.
Hope this helps any reader, I haven't personally seen the interview, we do get it in Pakistan, how ever I missed it, but I would definately want to grab a look on it.
Thank you for reading.
Shayan
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