During the 2008 and 2012 elections, both pundits and politicians were forced to pay attention to two men that operated outside the political arena. Those men were Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart. Launching an attack on the ridiculousness of politics, they spent four nights a week throwing shade on the hypocritical, the corrupt, and the stupid. While it may be too much of a step to call them players in those previous elections, you could not avoid their presence. That presence is what's missing in this round of elections, with Colbert's switch to CBS and Stewart’s retirement, as those who have stepped in for them have not been able to build the same weight as their predecessors.
In the past, Stewart and Colbert launched must see TV. Jon Stewart would deliver nightly roasts upon those he deemed to be living on “Bullshit Mountain” and always offered a voice of reason in the face of political extremism. Colbert’s achievements were about exposing the oddities in the political system, as he taught us all the awful truth of campaign finance in the formation of his Super PAC. Even if you did not watch these guys on a regular basis, you were subject to the exposure of their activities, as the 24 hour news cycle, such as FOX News, MSNBC, and CNN, deemed their actions worthy of attention, either responding to the criticism that the fake newsmen leveled at them or even regularly bringing them on for interviews. They reached a peak where it seemed everyone was aware of what they had to say.
Currently, no one has seemed to be able to fill Stewart’s and Colbert’s shoes. In an election cycle that includes candidates such as possibly the first woman president, Hillary Clinton, first Jewish presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders, the first orange presidential candidate, Donald Trump, and a "Mrs. Doubtfir"e lookalike in Ted Cruz (see below). With a presidential election reaching all-time heights of ridiculousness, no one has been able to separate from the pack to counterweight. Both Comedy Central replacements, Trevor Noah and Larry Wilmore, have proven capable, but haven’t been given the amount of time it takes to build the credibility to really tackle this election. Both of them took up their respective posts when the presidential race was beginning, giving them a shallow pool of experience to figure out their roles before the election started ramping up.
Colbert still makes comments on his new show, but as head of a late-night show as big as "The Late Show," he is required to cover a variety of topics besides politics. Ditto for the other late-night TV hosts such as Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, and James Corden. The only real flashes of the same type of influence have come from "John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight," especially his bit on making Trump, Drumpf again. But his show only comes on once a week, unable to provide night-to-night roasts like Colbert and Stewart were. It also takes on more of a world view on politics, as well as available exclusively on HBO, limiting the regular viewing audience.
