this blog was made for movies, but the first entry is about tonight's episode of The Daily Show which i was surprised to see featuring Hilary Clinton. didn't see it, but she was also on Saturday Night Live this past weekend so maybe surprise is a strong word.
my impression of her appearance is a kinda surreal nonplus. for example, she didn't really follow the late night "let your hair down" protocol i'm used to with shows like TDS. but then i wonder if it wouldn't actually be less appealing to see her change face so easily.
so her posture was a little stiff, no real surprise. but the timing of her words seemed tired both rhythmically and qualitatively. she kept plugging the "obama's just a pretty boy" argument, coming out more flat and awkward each time, especially with the TDS audience.
and of course, there's the timing of her appearance with regard to the campaign. i understand the importance of making an appeal from either stream, SNL or TDS, they're both very popular with the youth segment who possibly hasn't been this engaged in decades. but why so last minute? i might find it vaguely insulting were i the type to get insulted by politicians, the lousy rascals.
but all that said, i also thought she was basically pretty good, the bar being pretty low i suppose.
what really struck me though was that TDS actually took a commercial break halfway through the stump talk/interview (or stumperview?). i understand it costs ridiculous cash to run just one episode of that show, but she's a realistic presidential contender. you'd think TDS would make a bigger concession for her. mainstream media has been flogging itself lately for not taking its gloves off on Obama, a fact variously pointed out on TDS as well. but i couldn't help but feel like they used Clinton to leverage a quiet endorsement of Obama. guess i'm used to a time when TDS wasn't really so "mainstream", because i can't see them treating Obama the same way, anymore than i can see his campaign standing for it.
TDS carried itself all wrong in this case. she did get the whole show minus monologue, but they've done that in the past (e.g. Bill Clinton after he was president). she deserved better billing, maybe running longer breaks before and after the stumperview, but to break it up like that? it unfairly insinuates Clinton's capitulation.
don't get me wrong, i'm no Clinton fan, listening to her speak makes my mouth taste like a 9 volt battery, in a bad way. but still, TDS somehow lost class points for me.
