Fox Tries Funny

Newkirk: Sir, you are an idiot.

Caller: What? Why do we have to resort to name-calling?

Newkirk: Why am I calling you an idiot? I'll tell you why. You're an idiot because you don't vote, and yet you expect people to care about your opinions, and because it takes you two weeks to move. I moved my whole family, and you know how long it took me? Four hours.

He hung up on the caller shortly thereafter, and I was no good for about the next ten minutes, as I was doubled over with laughter. At that moment, I realized a simple truth: hearing someone whose political views mirror yours belittle someone whose political views don't is very, very funny.

So in theory, I understand the concept behind "The ½ Hour News Hour," the Fox News Channel's new satirical news show that aims to skewers the left as deftly as "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" skewers the right. What baffles me is the execution—specifically, how it is possible that something as simple as mocking politicians could be flubbed this badly.

To a certain degree, critiquing this show is futile; if it is critically reviled, that only further confirms the notion of a liberal media bias (I tipped my hand early, to spare the conservative blogosphere the chore of closely reading everything I've ever written.) Still, funny is funny, and I'd like to think the right can do better than this.