Video: John Yoo vs. Jon Stewart; Nutroots miffed; Stewart apologizes

By Michelle Malkin  •  January 13, 2010 10:42 AM

The Left’s clown prince, Jon Stewart, “took on” UC Berkeley law professor/former Bush DOJ official John Yoo on Monday. Yoo has just published “Crisis and Command” — a thorough, compelling history of the use of executive power by America’s presidents from Washington to Bush. Yoo has been demonized by the nutroots and stalked at his home by Berserkeleyites. He has earned the respect of colleagues and students who are actually committed to an open, honest, rigorous academic environment — in contrast to the clown prince-wannabes who regularly disrupt his classes and have demanded his firing.

When he’s given more than 30 seconds to speak, Yoo’s scholarly command of history — coupled with calm confidence and a terrific sense of humor — are completely disarming. Which is why Jon Stewart failed miserably at giving his hungry “progressive” audience Yoo’s head on a platter.

A sample:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
Daily Show: Exclusive – John Yoo Extended Interview Pt. 1
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show
Full Episodes
Political Humor Health Care Crisis

More excerpts here.

The scathing reviews by the liberal blogosphere prompted Stewart to apologize.

Better penance: Stewart should take Yoo’s class. He’s obviously got a lot more to learn from the professor.

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Posted in: Gitmo,Torture

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Comments


  1. #1
    On January 13th, 2010 at 10:51 am, Al in St. Lou said:

    And yet the nutroots didn’t change their minds .

  2. #2
    On January 13th, 2010 at 10:59 am, gunslingerpatriot said:

    Jon Stewart-you just got punk’d by “The Professor”
    hehehe!
    GSP

  3. #3
    On January 13th, 2010 at 11:15 am, RedDog said:

    What a loser. He couldn’t nail Yoo because Yoo was right, and because he is much more intelligent than Stewart. No contest. And anyone who thinks other countries don’t use “enhanced” techniques is hopelessly naive. We do our wet work on the up and up. The first duty of government is to protect it’s own people not the enemy.

  4. #4
    On January 13th, 2010 at 11:19 am, Ty85719 said:

    Leftists not allowing dissenting thought?! I am utterly shocked – surely, you jest!

    The desperation in John Stewart’s questions is pathetic

  5. #5
    On January 13th, 2010 at 11:19 am, surfhut said:

    My 19 year old son finds out if he gets admitted to Berkeley (as a Junior!) in May. He’s pre-law, and I sure hope he gets to study under this man.

    Oh. My son was homeschooled.

    Take THAT, Jon Stewart & you other liberal snobs.

  6. #6
    On January 13th, 2010 at 11:24 am, GraniteMan said:

    Stewart is so locked into the left wing theory that Bush tortured that he can’t expand that small brain to wrap around any other thought than what his compatriots pre-ordained.

  7. #7
    On January 13th, 2010 at 11:29 am, TooMuchTime said:

    Reminds me of this quote:

    Nothing so infuriates champions of “Diversity” as much as an opinion diverse from their own.

    Fits the bill.

  8. #8
    On January 13th, 2010 at 11:32 am, cicerokid said:

    Stewart is a true comedian: acting like an intellectual was a riot!!

  9. #9
    On January 13th, 2010 at 11:33 am, ThackerAgency said:

    Uniformed regular armies also fall under different definitions than the terrorists with no borders.

    Stewart seems to be having a problem understanding that the question is ‘what is torture’.

    He was probably OK with Clinton saying ‘it depends on the definition of ‘is’.

    I say torture is anything that physically harms the other person and damages them and scars them for life (waterbording doesn’t do any harm to the terrorist – they just get wet and think they are drowning).

    The concept of torture is different for different people. Gay people say it is torture for us to not allow them to be married. You could argue that merely detaining the individual is ‘torture’ because you are taking their freedom.

    The definition of torture is important. . . but the gathering of intelligence and defeating our enemies is the JOB of the federal government.

  10. #10
    On January 13th, 2010 at 11:39 am, bmac727 said:

    “He who digs a pit may fall into it” (Ecclesiastes 11:8)

  11. #11
    On January 13th, 2010 at 11:41 am, RedDog said:

    It is clear to me, assuming that Stewart represents what the Left believes, that “torture” is implicitly understood to mean any treatment that makes a person uncomfortable, much less physically maimed. But if you conduct a referendum on what torture really is, it would run the gamut from Wayne Newton music to pulling out fingernails to being eaten alive by feral pigs, and everything in between.

    Our forces needed vital information urgently and wanted legal advice on how far they could push enemy fighters without moving into the moral ground of what could reasonably called torture. This was a sound and honest and moral approach to a difficult problem that had to be addressed. It is no ones’ fault that Geneva bureaucrats made assumptions on the definition of real torture.

    For the Left to play Keepers of the Moral Scroll is ridiculous and grossly disingenuous. This was just another venue to attack their mortal political enemy: The Bush.

  12. #12
    On January 13th, 2010 at 11:41 am, beachmom said:

    Yoo handled himself so well.
    He didn’t let Stewart throw him off topic or onto a side topic.
    You could see it really bugged Stewart.
    Priceless.

  13. #13
    On January 13th, 2010 at 11:42 am, WarEagle82 said:

    Stewart is such a putz. I don’t know why anybody watches this moron, let alone thinks he is funny.

  14. #14
    On January 13th, 2010 at 11:45 am, PatriotRider said:

    I don’t see what Jon’s problem is other that being blinded by leftard thinking. I, an uneducated shlub, found John Yoo’s premises easy to follow. The point was the United States had not had the occasion to define what methods beyond standard police interrogation would not be considered torture.

    If these leftist unamerican posers would stop to think they would see that no one has died from waterboarding. You can’t say that about clipping alligator clips to someone’s nipples and applying an electrical current. Terrorists don’t seem to have any problem blindfolding someone and standing over them reading their allah-babble just before beheading them.

    And to attack John Yoo just because he worked for the eeevil Boooosh administration is just plain ignorant. It’s a good thing Stewart isn’t a real journalist. I just wish his groupies would figure this out.

  15. #15
    On January 13th, 2010 at 11:46 am, ArizonaNeanderthal said:

    Mr. Yoo knows how to control the situation-that in itself has to drive the nutroots nuttier. Personally I have to see anyone give this Stewart clown any face time. Well done Mr. Yoo.

  16. #16
    On January 13th, 2010 at 11:47 am, Pauldow said:

    Stewart appears to have given a very competent interview. He was asking questions that helped understand a very complex legal issue.

    I can’t figure out what anyone has to complain about, but then again, I’m not filled with hate.

  17. #17
    On January 13th, 2010 at 11:48 am, Flyoverman said:

    Reminiscent of The Great Communicator, who with his command of the facts just smiled and disarmed his critics.

    Professor Yoo distinguished himself.

  18. #18
    On January 13th, 2010 at 11:48 am, Paul Revere said:

    Maybe Yoo should have talked with more of an “Asian dialect”….?

  19. #19
    On January 13th, 2010 at 11:49 am, corkie said:

    It’s amazing that liberals can’t understand the gap between giving someone the right to remain silent and ripping their fingernails out.

    I’ve had this conversation with liberals in the past. I asked them to justify the use of white noise, strange lighting, isolation, etc during interrogations, but they never can.

    Then, I ask them to justify the use of 30 year incarcerations. Again they can’t justify it, but they think it’s fine. Then I ask them if they would rather be waterboarded for an hour or incarcerated for 30 years – they always pick the waterboarding, and I think a light bulb turns on in their head.

    However, while I don’t think waterboarding is torture, I don’t think the US should use it as an interrogation technique. That being said, I agree with Yoo, it’s not a decision that I would EVER want to be forced to make.

  20. #20
    On January 13th, 2010 at 11:53 am, On-my-soap-box said:

    On January 13th, 2010 at 11:42 am, WarEagle82 said:
    Stewart is such a putz. I don’t know why anybody watches this moron, let alone thinks he is funny.

    The union pays everybody in the audience $50. They hate him too!

    I will NEVER wrap my mind around Americans who think our President is the evil one while the evil-doers, that had some water poured in their nose, are some kind of heroes deserving of protecting under OUR Constitution. Liberals are just brainless. Proof? Stewart.

    Hey, Stewart. First law of an interview; never interview someone who is smarter than you. I hear Peewee Herman is available. Idiot.

  21. #21
    On January 13th, 2010 at 11:54 am, AmericaFirst said:

    Stewart pathetically attempted to put words in Yoo’s mouth. Yoo comfortably waited to respond with professional reasoning and facts. Stewart had scatter brain… He was all over the place with his questioning. I followed Yoo’s answers and understood. Stewart should take his A.D.H.D. medication prior to taping shows. And it would be nice if he also actually read Yoo’s book, not just claim he started reading it. (typical liberal tv host disclaimer) There is your liberal education… No studying or homework necessary prior to a test the following day.

  22. #22
    On January 13th, 2010 at 11:54 am, spaceycakes said:

    Ok, I’m neither a scholar nor a talk show host & I could keep up with Yoo. What the hell is wrong with Stewart?

    A: belligerently dense.

  23. #23
    On January 13th, 2010 at 11:56 am, On-my-soap-box said:

    On January 13th, 2010 at 11:47 am, Pauldow said:
    Stewart appears to have given a very competent interview. He was asking questions that helped understand a very complex legal issue.

    PLEEEEEEEEEZZZZZZ

    Stewart was just looking for:

    Bush tourtured our citizens…Bush had no right…Bush is evil…Bush_______

    Feel free to fill in the blank.

  24. #24
    On January 13th, 2010 at 12:02 pm, Gorebot said:

    The defeatist diaper-soilers are so full of BS, and it is so very easy to annihilate their smug assertions of “we’re better than that” condescension when it comes to torture. Here’s how:

    Q: “Mr. Stewart, do you have children?”

    A: “Yes”.

    Q: “If bin Laden had kidnapped them, and then sent a deputy to your house informing you that you had 1 hour to cough up $500,000 or he would be-head them instantly, is there any tactic you would refuse to use on the deputy (in order to maintain your “principles”) that might otherwise enable you to save your childrens’ lives?”

    A: (whimper, gurgle, babble, sigh) “No”.

    Q: “So it would be acceptable for you to use torture to save your childrens’ lives?”.

    A: “Yes”.

    Q: “So why then is it not acceptable for others to do the same?”.

    A: Cricketts…

  25. #25
    On January 13th, 2010 at 12:04 pm, Lindsay said:

    At first, until further examination, I stupidly thought Stewart apologized to Yoo! Should have known he was apologizing to his cult, who would pull their own fingernails out before admitting that some methods of interrogation are needed to save our citizens from terrorism. Duh.

    John Yoo is an amazing, brilliant guy I have never heard of until today. I loved his interview in the New York Times. Impressive cool and humor.

    I hope that someday John Yoo has political aspirations in the GOP. I vote for him to be on the Supreme Court, nominated by the next GOP president in 2012!

  26. #26
    On January 13th, 2010 at 12:05 pm, Speakup said:

    Stewart should spend more time with his head in ice water because like a lot of lefties he doesn’t actually want to understand the facts, and that’s because if they do, their house of cards crashes to the ground and their excuses for grievance evaporate.

  27. #27
    On January 13th, 2010 at 12:07 pm, stevevvs said:

    Andrew Napolitano’s A Nation of Sheep. Page 154-155, check it out.

    Thomas E. Woods, Kevin R.C. Gutzman Who Killed The Constitution pages 169-179, 182-183

    They seem to have a lot of problems with Mr. Yoo’s interpretation of the constitution.

    Perhaps, Michelle could ask Andrew about them in the “Green Room” over at Fox News the next time she runs into him.

    I’ve been trying to learn more about the Constitution and our founders by people NOT connected to either political party. For me anyway, it seems I get more un biased looks at these important matters.

  28. #28
    On January 13th, 2010 at 12:08 pm, Al in St. Lou said:

    On January 13th, 2010 at 11:41 am, RedDog said

    +1

  29. #29
    On January 13th, 2010 at 12:08 pm, Romeo13 said:

    Love it!

    John Stewart: “I’m going to go put my head in a bucket of ice water”

    Why? Because this guy is convincing me!

  30. #30
    On January 13th, 2010 at 12:10 pm, revolution said:

    This is fantastic. Jon Leibowitz is ashamed of being Jewish so he changed his last name to Stewart. He is a shallow flake with no intellect, to speak of, and merely a collection a facial expressions and a room full a clapping seals for an audience.

    Jewish liberals see no problem with him changing his name to hide his heritage just as they see no problem funneling countless millions to the Democrats who despise Israel and seek to weaken their people’s state.

    Someday a history should be written about American Jews and their total disconnect from reality in their religious support of the left which despises them and takes their money while driving a knife in their backs.

    Maybe it is some extreme derivative of white guilt or some other collective cognitive dissonance but they make a lot of money in the free market system while actively destroying it through funding a leftist agenda, and they live quite peacefully under the protection of our military while aggressively funding its dismantling.

    American Jews should take time away from their Democratic funding cocktail parties to look at what the end result might be in a world with a collapsed economy and an incapable military. Who do they think will be the first scapegoats in the bread lines? Who do they think will be the first targets of the ever more aggressive Jihadis when terrorism returns to our shores under a weak president who is probably a closet Muslim?

  31. #31
    On January 13th, 2010 at 12:12 pm, Al in St. Lou said:

    On January 13th, 2010 at 11:53 am, On-my-soap-box said:

    Hey, Stewart. First law of an interview; never interview someone who is smarter than you. I hear Peewee Herman is available. Idiot.

    LOL!

  32. #32
    On January 13th, 2010 at 12:13 pm, stevevvs said:

    http://freedomwatchonfox.com/

    The Judge has a Constitution series, it’s well worth watching.

  33. #33
    On January 13th, 2010 at 12:19 pm, Dimsdale said:

    Yoo pwned Stewart.

  34. #34
    On January 13th, 2010 at 12:19 pm, ArizonaNeanderthal said:

    On-my-soap-box said:
    Bush tortured our citizens…Bush had no right…Bush is evil…Bush_______

    caused the earthquake in Haiti?

    there is some dingbat Democrat-Debbie Wasserman Schultz – on radio saying it is OUR fault Haiti’s limited infrastructure failed so I am not too far off.

  35. #35
    On January 13th, 2010 at 12:20 pm, stevevvs said:
  36. #36
    On January 13th, 2010 at 12:22 pm, WarEagle82 said:

    If John Stewart limited his interviews to people stupider than himself he could only interview people in the Obama administration, Chris Matthews and Keith Ueberdork and that would get boring pretty quickly…

  37. #37
    On January 13th, 2010 at 12:25 pm, On-my-soap-box said:

    On January 13th, 2010 at 12:19 pm, ArizonaNeanderthal said:
    there is some dingbat Democrat-Debbie Wasserman Schultz – on radio saying it is OUR fault Haiti’s limited infrastructure failed so I am not too far off.

    The real big push America has done for Haiti is to deport anybody who risks their life to get here – illegally. Sorry to say, Haitians have not figured out they need to be citizens of Mexico first to be acceptable.

    Not surprised to see a DimoCrap blame the USA while the USA has done little for our neighbors. The best work STILL comes from Missionaries and NOT the USA.

  38. #38
    On January 13th, 2010 at 12:26 pm, stevevvs said:

    Clip #3 is great!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A725vBawbw

    Love the quote at the end. So True!

  39. #39
    On January 13th, 2010 at 12:37 pm, stevevvs said:

    Great interviews with Walter E. Williams, and Lew Rockwell as well.

    http://freedomwatchonfox.com/

    enjoy!

  40. #40
    On January 13th, 2010 at 12:40 pm, AlohaGuy said:

    I loved the beginning – and I paraphrase “The book was too complicated for me, so let me ask if you like being infamous.”

  41. #41
    On January 13th, 2010 at 12:49 pm, no2pcbs1 said:

    little jon was intellectually waterboarded but was too stupid to realize it.

  42. #42
    On January 13th, 2010 at 12:56 pm, Rogue Cheddar said:

    I like John Yoo. That he’s Andrew Sullivan’s favorite war criminal (well, maybe a toss up between him and Cheney), makes me like him even more.

  43. #43
    On January 13th, 2010 at 1:01 pm, Mister P said:

    Yoo has class, and is honest and has high integrity. These are obviously three things Stewart does not know how to deal with.

  44. #44
    On January 13th, 2010 at 1:09 pm, cheapseat said:

    stewart is finally starting to show some signs of maturity. i admit, it’s rare still, but green shoots none the less. maybe even he can see what a putz this president and administration is and is questioning the conventional wisdom of relying on the rabid left and snl for his news.

  45. #45
    On January 13th, 2010 at 1:30 pm, NJ-Aviator said:

    revolution said:

    This is fantastic. Jon Leibowitz is ashamed of being Jewish so he changed his last name to Stewart.

    In the words of the late great Johnny Carson…

    “I did not know that.”

    I thought he was Scottish.

    And with regards to this interview. Stewart is the classic case of a guy bring a knife to a gun fight. He was way in over his head and reinforced just how ignorant he is.

  46. #46
    On January 13th, 2010 at 3:54 pm, docflash said:

    Being the go to clown and letting down your fans is not so funny,eh John Boy.What a weak individual having to apologize to the lefties.

  47. #47
    On January 13th, 2010 at 4:23 pm, dan708 said:

    Stewart used to criticize BOTH sides with relish when they had it coming. Once he caught Bush Derangement Syndrome, I looked elsewhere on my TV dial.

  48. #48
    On January 18th, 2010 at 2:32 pm, vickisoup said:

    Stewart is such an ignoramus. His whole premise is that Yoo had an agenda, and that the Democrats are oh, so benevolent, in their pursuit of legal policy. Every time Yoo started to answer a question, Stewart made himself a cartoon by pursuing an answer whether it was true or not: precisely the thing he accused Yoo of doing.
    Stewart’s such an idiot.

  49. #49
    On January 23rd, 2010 at 10:20 am, kurthanson said:

    Who the heck is John Stewart?

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