The Tennessee Liberal

Jon Stewart spent a good deal of time last night talking about one of the strategies employed by right these days: Instead of responding to people's actual criticisms, respond to an extreme version of them, in order to cast your opponent in an extreme light.

He first brought it up during his opening segment on President Bush's reliance on talking points, noting that people are looking for a timetable for withdrawal. He then showed a clip about Bush's argument against people who want to "cut and run" from Iraq - which is not what most people are calling for.

My favorite moment though, came in his discussion with Christopher Hitchens, who has voiced support for the war. Here is a video from Crooks and Liars (the best part starts at 6:30 in), and below is a transcript from Wonkette:

Stewart: The people who say we shouldn't fight in Iraq aren't saying it's our fault. . . That is the conflation that is the most disturbing. . .
Hitch: Don't you hear people saying. . .
Stewart: You hear people saying a lot of stupid [bleep]. . . But there are reasonable disagreements in this country about the way this war has been conducted, that has nothing to do with people believing we should cut and run from the terrorists, or we should show weakness in the face of terrorism, or that we believe that we have in some way brought this upon ourselves. . .
Hitch: [Sputter]
Stewart: They believe that this war is being conducted without transparency, without credibility, and without competence...
Hitch: I'm sorry, sunshine... I just watched you ridicule the president for saying he wouldn't give. . .
Stewart: No, you misunderstood why. . . . That's not why I ridiculed the president. He refuses to answer questions from adults as though we were adults and falls back upon platitudes and phrases and talking points that does a disservice to the goals that he himself shares with the very people needs to convince.

[Audience erupts in applause]

Hitch: You want me to believe you're really secretly on the side of the Bush administration. . .
Stewart: I secretly need to believe he's on my side. He's too important and powerful a man not to be.

Hitch: [Sputter, return to talking about his latest book.]

Watch it and learn.