Fresh Politics, New Media

There was another debate this week, "The Rumble in the Air-Conditioned Auditorium" between Bill O'Reilly of FOX News and Jon Stewart of Comedy Central fame. For those who had trouble streaming the event live after paying their $4.95, The Washington Post offers a synopsis and five key take-aways . They also made a pretty comprehensive list of the best one-liners from the rumble. For those who watched the event the next day (like me), #rumble2012 was more deliberative than combative and serious than funny. Both O'Reilly and Stewart offered their perspectives on the current state of the economy, foreign policy, and their own personal views on the role of entitlements and government involvement in everyday life. For those who weren't able to get that streaming working, Slate offers a good summary here . And you can still purchase and now download a copy of the event on the now less-trafficked Rumble 2012 web site .

There's a great article in today's New York Times about the influence of SNL during a competitive election season. As we've been learning in my TSEM class(Popular Culture and Politics: Comedy, Entertainment, Celebrity, and Democracy) this semester, journalists and the public alike look to the cast of SNL to offer their parody version of each general election debate. Parody is a reinterpretation of an original text -- a mockery that is easier to understand if you're familiar with the original event or script. According to the SNL writing team, this past Wednesday's debate failed to offer genuine comic inspiration. From the NYT article: "But the debate itself turned out to be a challenge. There were no big gaffes or obvious springboards for comedy. Instead, the first debate of this election offered up a blizzard of policy details and a lackluster performance from President Obama. At home Wednesday night, Seth Meyers, one of the show’s head writers, watch...

For those who weren't in front of the TV last Saturday night -- or haven't managed to catch up on Hulu -- here's SNL 's version of the Perry "Oops" debate moment. Not a bad opening segment for a show that will increasingly insert itself into the political fray as the election gets closer.

It seems that the media has already decided the race for the 2012 GOP Nomination has evolved into a head-to-head contest between former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Texas Governor Rick Perry. Yep, it's a battle to the finish for Romney and Pery despite Herman Cain's recent surge in popularity among voters in Florida and the reality that primary voters won't even start to head to the polls until January 2012. According to a recent article in the NY Times , the Perry vs. Romney showdown has been a long time in the making or has at least been a factor since the 2008 election. Both candidates did a good job of attacking each other in Tuesday's latest GOP Candidates debate -- the eighth of the season. To catch up on the debate highlights, check out this clip from the Wednesday broadcast of The Daily Show. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes , Political Humor & Satire Blog , The Daily Show on Facebook