“I’ve been banging it out 22 minutes a night, four days a week and I don’t think anybody can keep up that kind of pace”, said Stewart during his talk with Schumer.
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However, it was faux rival Stephen Colbert who ushered in the episode’s emotional heft, when he eschewed his brash character to instead speak from the heart.
“You can’t say that many negative things about people unless you’re really unhappy about something“, he opined.
Ailes lobbed a bunch of back-handed compliments Stewart’s way, too.
This doesn’t seem particularly consistent with a recent interview in which the network’s second-highest rated host Megyn Kelly confessed to crying over an 11-minute clip of Stewart’s.
They called him a “tool” and accused him of being an unofficial mouthpiece for the Obama administration, pointing out their similar ideologies and Stewart’s criticism of anything Obama’s opponents say or do.
But, for the record, Jon Stewart: “Thank you“. “We learned from you by example how to do a show with intention, how to work with clarity, how to treat people with respect”, Colbert said.
Larry Wilmore, who now hosts his own Comedy Central late-night series, “The Nightly Show“, groused that his program had been pre-empted this evening.
Steve and Nancy Carell, John Hodgman, Lewis Black, Wyatt Cenac, Kristen Schaal, Mo Rocca, Jason Jones and brothers Rob and Nate Corddry were but a few who showed up to deliver quips aimed at both the politicians and Stewart himself. Soon it was once again simply Stewart at his desk.
“I’ll never forget you Jon – but I will be trying”, said New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
Hillary Rodham Clinton bemoaned Stewart leaving “just when I’m running for president”.
The show ended with a “moment of zen” concert from Bruce Spingsteen and Stewart’s final goodbye – which he insisted wasn’t a goodbye at all. In fact, Stewart has worked with the agency twice.
After a pre-taped long shot through “The Daily Show” office introducing viewers to the writers, directors and everyone else behind the scenes, Stewart left his audience with this thought: (Bull) is everywhere.
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“If you smell something, say something”, he said. Jon, if you’re reading this (someone, please forward this to Jon Stewart), I want you to know it’s okay, because everything Colbert said was absolutely true. “We’re merely taking a small pause in the conversation”.
