An epilogue to the Stewart-Cramer showdown

Stewart vs. Zucker?

Now there's a head-to-head I'd like to see.

NBC Universal Chief Executive and Pompous Ass Extraordinaire Jeff Zucker called "The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart "out of line" today for the interview colonoscopy the comedian gave to Jim Cramer on his show last week. Granted, Stewart admittedly found a scapegoat in Cramer -- who didn't do himself any favors by ripping into Stewart on a number of NBC shows -- but Zucker is really the wrong person to come out to defend the media. Tried as he did in his speech to argue that it was unfair to target CNBC and hold it responsible for the financial blunders on Wall Street, his punch line was nothing more than a schoolyard taunt:

"Just because someone who mocks authority says something doesn’t mean it's true."

Really? Is Zucker jealous that Stewart's cable mock news show got a cool 2.3 million views for the night he skewered Cramer? (Which may or may not be more viewers than "Crusoe" ever got). Or is he just one more blowhard who doesn't quite get political satire? Either way, I'm gunning for a Stewart-Zucker showdown as the next feud of the century.

-- Malavika Jagannathan, mjaganna@greenbaypressgazette.com