Jon Stewart's power is mighty

You doubt the influence of The Daily Show's host? Foolish mortal. For you see, Stewart is more than just one of the funniest men in television history. In his spare time, he's also a puppetmaster, toying with the lives of political commentators and destroying their livelihoods with a few disdainful words.

Still not a believer? Then you might want to ask conservative bowtie-wearing pundit Tucker Carlson where his job went. CNN declined Wednesday to renew Carlson's contract, and the network's chief executive, Jonathan Klein, announced plans to cancel Crossfire. You might remember that as the show where Stewart eviscerated both Carlson and liberal talking head Paul Begala in October for what he called their "partisan hackery" and then begged them to "stop hurting America" with their shouting matches. In canceling Crossfire, Klein said, "I guess I come down more firmly in the Jon Stewart camp."

Now if we could just get Stewart to bring his force to bear on Sean Hannity, Larry King, and Bill O'Reilly, it might be safe to watch cable news again.