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Considering Bernie on an historical spectrum is a fairly Milktoast social democrat shows how far the Overton Window has moved.

Net zero positive effect. He’s a pressure valve and a sheepdog. He’d fail a presidential run. Rarely made me laugh and he’s got a team of writers. Crap

I'm deeply conflicted.

Pros:
- When the Bush admin was clearly lying to gin up a war, his show was one of the few relatively mainstream media vehicles where you could regularly see someone calling it out as lying.
- His show clearly acted as a springboard / safe haven for comedians who were either just really good at their thing (Kristen Schaal, Lewis Black) or actually did the same thing as him but better (Colbert, Oliver)
- As FM losthighway mentioned, preferable to Bill Maher

Cons:
- Seems more interested in the continuity of institutions than the best overall result - Rally to Restore Sanity being a big example of this mindset going off the rails
- Was more than willing to pull punches when necessary (Obama interview, e.g.)
- Tied with Aaron Sorkin as the biggest perpetuator of the feckless "critique through hypocrisy dunk" modality that liberals have been stuck in for 20 years

Either way, it's NC WF 5011 or C WF 5011. Pressed, I'd probably say crap.

Not Crap solely for giving us John Oliver!

Not Crap for having a run of terrific musical acts on his MTV show.

Based on what he did in his prime, not crap, but the world has evolved past what he's offering.

The DS shows with him still tend to be better. I agree that he's a proponent of the Democratic status quo, but he has his merits.

I think when you put someone on TV and they say somewhat decent things, they sound profound because we are used to so much bullshit on the boob tube.

Krev wrote: Sun Jun 08, 2025 2:16 pm The DS shows with him still tend to be better. I agree that he's a proponent of the Democratic status quo, but he has his merits.

What I wouldn't give to be screaming about the ACA individual mandate like it was a life or death decision right now.

Outsider perspective here - he has always come across as a bit sneering to me. Nasty even.