My first through fifth favorite people are Nick, my friends Thomas and Erin, and my parents. Below that, things get reshuffled quite a bit. But as of three days ago, number six on the list is Jon Stewart (this is an impressively high ranking for someone I've never met). I'm a big fan of The Daily Show. Always have been—even in the primitive days of Craig Kilborn. But the thing that has propelled the show to unprecedented success in recent years is the dry, self-deprecating wit of Jon Stewart. He has turned the show into a satirical tour-de-force that boldly goes where no fake news organization has gone before.

Stewart has a new book (America: The Book) and seemingly a new fearlessness when it comes to voicing his opinions about what is or is not good for the country. Three days ago, he was a guest on CNN's Crossfire, and he took the opportunity to take the hosts (Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson) to task for shirking their responsibilities to the public. He said that the show was nothing more than theater. He called it partisan hackery, and said that they weren't doing any good for anyone by attacking one another and avoiding any kind of substantive debate:

Stewart: You know, because we need what you do. This is such a great opportunity you have here to actually get politicians off of their marketing and strategy.

Carlson: Is this really Jon Stewart? What is this, anyway?

Stewart: Yes, it's someone who watches your show and cannot take it anymore.

I was delighted. This is something that has always bugged me about Crossfire, but that I was never really able to pinpoint until now. I used to watch it religiously, but I found that all it did was increase my blood pressure without providing me any new insights into anything. The format ensures that no subject is ever covered with anything like the depth it deserves, and the only goal of the hosts (even Carville, whom I fear and respect) seems to be to expectorate as many catty witticisms as possible. It's like two street kids playing dozens. ("You're momma's so fat she's got her own zip code!") So I stopped watching.

Things became more and more heated as the interview went on. The hosts tried to distract Stewart by bringing up his book, but the fake newsman would not be deterred. He pointed out that media of every sort have become more and more divisive in the past few years, because the goal of their corporate sponsors is to make money—NOT to get to the heart of the issues. Paul and Tucker sputtered a bit, trying to respond.

Begala: We're 30 minutes in a 24-hour day where we have each side on, as best we can get them, and have them fight it out.

Stewart: No, no, no, no, that would be great. To do a debate would be great. But that's like saying pro wrestling is a show about athletic competition.

OUCH!

The great thing is how earnest Stewart was about the whole thing. He came across as a guy who just loved his country and didn't want to see it mangled by vicious and counterproductive partisanship.

Carlson tried to turn the argument around by attacking Stewart for kissing up to John Kerry when he was a guest on the show. But Stewart deflected this, too, saying that it was the responsibility of the "real" media to ask hard-hitting questions, and that they were not living up to the bargain. Toward the end, Carlson was just railing against Stewart for daring to give them a lecture on their own show.

Here's the big finale:

Carlson: "I do think you're more fun on your show. Just my opinion."

Stewart: "You know what's interesting, though? You're as big a dick on your show as you are on any show."

Yikes. Remind me not to cross Jon Stewart in the future.

Sure, Stewart's tactic may not have been totally fair. It may have been something of an ambush. But would they really have let him talk about media irresponsibility if he had told them his plans in advance? Doubtful. I think what he did was pretty gutsy. It's heartening to find someone who is so concerned about the welfare of the nation that he will take a major risk in order to get his point across. This is why Jon Stewart is my sixth favorite person.

Here's the full transcript. Enjoy.