We have now been treated to two Mondays of Jon Stewart returning to The Daily Show, and I have to say I’m salivating for next week’s residency slot. Jon Stewart is inseparable from the political and media landscape to a person of my age who is interested in politics and current events, and his return could not have come with better timing. His brand of satire is exactly what this country needs at a time when the Democratic Party establishment is wallowing in complacency.

After the first episode aired where he was critical of both presidential candidates for this November’s election he faced a lot of backlash from the left, the youth who haven’t been exposed to him before I can forgive, the rest I cannot. Jon Stewart is an honesty broker, a position with great responsibility and he would be remiss to not take the opportunity to criticize Biden who squarely deserved it. Not just because of the party nominating what they thought was a safe bet, but because Gaza could be to Biden what Covid was to Trump, disaster.

He was criticized for ‘bothsidesism’, insinuating that both sides are equally bad, which is absurd. Just because both parties are browning bananas so ripe for critique that their actions practically write the jokes for him doesn’t mean he shouldn’t tell them. Anyone with a cursory knowledge of news and politics can see that one candidate is running for president and the other is running for dictator to avoid jail, this was not a 50/50 bipartisan act of unity or apathy, but a skewering of both sides as a starting point.

This week he honed his sights on another soft target, Tucker Carlson, the Swansons trust fund baby who just won’t go away. As Jon Stewart historians will remember, Stewart appeared on Tucker’s CNN show ‘Crossfire’ and so tore the two hosts apart that it was cited as a reason for the show’s cancellation. He highlighted Carlson’s bent kneed interview with Vladimir Putin for the disgrace that it was and at one point shows a clip from the trip where Tucker makes a tasteless homelessness joke, “you’re such a dick” indeed.

As of right now it seems Jon has committed to the show for this election cycle, but I hope he is back for good. Satire is good for the soul, and when the media does such a poor job of accurately criticizing power due to corporate interest or ineptitude, Stewart stands in the gap. I hope you’re enjoying the return, and the interactions with a great group of correspondents and know that the pond is stocked for jokes this election year, we’re going to need it.