Glenn Beck Defends Some of His Controversial Statements as 'Comedy' (VIDEO)

During Glenn Beck's appearance on 'Today' (weekdays, 7 AM ET on NBC), co-host Meredith Vieira asked him if he regrets some of the controversial statements he's made in the past, given the recent national debate over heated political rhetoric.

"Anything that I've said in jokes, no," Beck responded.

"Ask Jon Stewart that question," Beck repeated, when Vieira pushed him to clarify. "Ask 'The Simpsons' ... If you ask the questions to those guys, I think you'll get the same answer: Comedy is comedy."

Beck has an interesting point here. Some (but not all) of his oft-repeated controversial statements were made in jest, and elements of his cable news program are intentionally comedic.

Perhaps the difference between what Beck and Stewart do is that Beck has a serious show that dabbles in comedy, whereas Stewart has a comedic show which dabbles in seriousness. Nevertheless, because of folks like Beck and Stewart, the line between comedy and journalism has become increasingly blurred when it comes to political discourse.