The Daily Show: October 3, 2007

After last night's interview with Chris Matthews, I suppose Jon felt the need to reiterate the fact that he just disagrees with the "life is a campaign" thought. The self-deprecating jokes were a nice touch, kind of a sweet gesture to Matthews to show that Jon is an equal opportunity mocker.

"Private Benjamins": Rob Riggle stopped by to share his script, Dark Liquid, which is alarmingly close to the state of Blackwater right now. This was okay, I suppose. I did quite like the idea of being able to shoot blood diamonds and wear panda fur, though. The historical clip was kind of, sort of funny, but I was mainly distracted by how poorly done it was. Was there no professional graphic designer on hand? Come on!

"One State, Two State, Red State, Blue State": John Oliver filed a report on the politically-charged children's books. Aren't all these books crazy-old? I remember hearing about Help! Mom! There Are Liberals Under My Bed! from Daily Show or Colbert Report a few years ago. I also thought that Help! Mom! The 9th Circuit Nabbed the Nativity! (or, How the Liberals Stole Christmas) was a joke, but, apparently, it's not. As usual with Oliver's reports, this was absolutely hilarious. First of all, the kid with the white glasses, looking all confused about stem cell research, is going to be a star someday. A star, I say! Oliver's "9/11s for everyone!" bunny filled my cold heart with joy, but not as much as his "past/future self" roleplay. And once Casper the Aborted Ghost is made into a real book/animated film, my life will be a little more complete.

The night's guest was Discovery's Ted Koppel, promoting his latest special, Koppel on Discovery: Breaking Point. Seeing Koppel reminded me: We haven't see the Giant Head gag in ages! Thank goodness for that. It's a shame it didn't die as quickly as the "Seat of Heat", but at least it eventually disappeared. Anyway, Koppel has long been a friend of the program, and it showed. The discussion was friendly and informative.

Moment of Zen: CNN visits Blackwater to admire their sweet door motifs.