Top 10 Political Smackdowns!

The Writer's Guild of America's strike is now entering its 2nd week, with no end in sight. The first shows to be hit by the strike have been, of course, late-night comedy/talk shows like The Daily Show and The Late Show. If you're anything like me, you start to get the shakes without a steady dose of political yuks.

It is to that end that I prefer to light a candle rather than curse the darkness. To keep you enthralled during this hour of crisis, I present to you, as selected by yours truly in a truly scientific process, the Top Ten Political Smackdowns! Or is it "Smacks Down?"

The videos are loaded in ascending order, from #10 to #1. What were the criteria for inclusion on the list? Well, they are all mainly about politics, and most are about media figures saying, or having said to them, something that makes you go "Yeah!", or "Whoah!", or even, "Yeah, that's not right."

Here are the rankings, and a little bit on each video.

#10. Kanye West vs. George W. Bush

Unless you live in a cave, you've either seen or heard about this video. No matter how you feel about West or his incendiary statement, the raw emotion on display here is like a punch in the gut. I ranked it #10 because Bush wasn't there, so this barely qualifies as a smackdown. The look on Mike Meyers' face? Priceless! Winner: West Collateral Damage: Mike Meyers.

#9. Stephanie Miller vs. Chris Matthews

Talk-show host Stephanie Miller calls Hardball host Chris Matthews a "Right Wing tool." While I give her points for word choice and aplomb, I think Matthew's wounded puppy expression said it all. It was really mean, and there are much, much more deserving targets. I score this one for Matthews by disqualification. Winner: Chris Matthews


#8 Chris Matthews Vs. Rep. Jack Kingston

Ahhh, redemption for Matthews, as he absolutely will not let Kingston talk his way out of his gaffe. What I love is the way Matthews is genuinely pissed off that this guy is playing the American people for fools. Oh, if only this Talking Point Photon Torpedo system was always in operation. Winner: Matthews

#7 The Young Turks vs. Jackie Mason

This is a trainwreck of an interview with comedian Jackie Mason by my old pal, Cenk Uygur and the dear, departed Ben Mankiewicz. Who knew Jackie was a right winger? Now, all those "Ant and the Aardvark" cartoons are ruined for me. Since Jackie bails on the interview, my decision has to be for the home team. Winner: The Young Turks

#6. Bill O'Reilly vs. Geraldo Rivera

Geez, who do you root for? Actually, it becomes clear instantly that Geraldo is the man to beat in this kerfuffle, and he hands Billo an ice cold can of "Shut the F*** Up!" Beautiful. Not a loofah in sight. Winner: Geraldo

#5. David Letterman vs. Bill O'Reilly

Letterman

Once again, regardless of how you feel about Moore, it is refreshing to see someone take the mainstream media to task for it's complete abdication of it's vital role in our democracy. I felt a little bit sorry for Wolf, who looked like a deer in the headlights, but not very. CNN used it's credibility to cheerlead the war, and in it's way was worse than Fox News. Moore, for his part, manages to control his sometimes irksome impishness and delivers the righteously indignant goods. Winner: Moore

#3. Stephen Colbert vs. George W. Bush

In hindsight, you can view this as the opening salvo of the Colbert '08 juggernaut. What makes this extra-special is the fact that the tide in the mainstream media had yet to turn against Bush, even though his job approval was at 36%, so Colbert got cooked pretty good in the press, or ignored, but he was the people's hero. As a former stand-up comic, I can tell you that there's nothing worse that a tough room, and Colbert was in the belly of the beast. Despite my own personal beef with Colbert, I award him this match handily. Winner: Colbert

This is the gold standard for taking media hacks to the woodshed. Once again, the wounded looks are a little bit heart-wrenching, especially from Begala, who probably thought he'd earned a pass for being "the liberal" on the show. The money shot, however, is Jon's pronouncement of Tucker Carlson as that most cycloptic of body parts. Stewart gets extra points for overcoming the double-team, as well. Winner: Stewart

#1. David Shuster Vs. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)

This one had me jumping out of my seat and yelling at the TV like it was a Leon Washington touchdown return. My wife and I got to know Shuster during his reportage from the Scooter Libby trial, and whenever he came onscreen, we shouted, "Let the Shusting begin!" Man, did he ever bring it here. The best part? He was ab. so. lute. ly. right. I rate this clip number 1 because not only does Shuster display stones like dolemites, but it is also the most revelatory of them all. Winner: Shuster

Feel free to post links to your favorites in the comments section, or to disagree with my choices. I look forward to hearing from you. Now that I've watched all of these, I'm back to where I started, with only my own fake news show to sustain me. We will make it through this dark time together.

Update: AOL.com is reporting that Kanye West's mother has tragically passed away at age 58. Let's all have a good thought for Kanye.