If you haven’t seen this Daily Show interview with Tony Blair, geaux thare nao, then come right back.

Two things stick out for me in a big way. First, Blair has officially drunk the Bush Doctrine, war-on-terror Kool-Aid. He explicitly equates Islamic terrorism in any country anywhere in the world–Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, and so on.

Blair mimics Bush’s foreign policy: We’re on a war against one giant team of Islamic terrorists, they’re all on it, and we have to take the fight to them.

Second, Stewart gives him a much harder time than most members of the press would or do. He quotes a faux old British expression, “Don’t invade Iraq; it’s a nightmare,” and makes Blair respond. After an awkward silence, Blair is forced to invoke his equivocation between all armed Islamic groups; he’s maybe 8 words in before he says “al Qaeda”, and he specifically mentions Palestine, Afghanistan, Yemen, Iranian-backed militias, etc.

Just a bit later:

Stewart: I thought they all want different things. I mean, Hezbollah and Hamas, you could say, are just absolutely localized, they have certain issues that, … And al Qaeda is really the only one that seems to have a worldwide…

Blair: You might have said that some years back–

Stewart: Before we invaded.

Blair: No, I don’t think so. Ya know, there was September the 11th.

Stewart: I believe I lived (?) very near that.

The exchange makes Blair look like the clown. This worldly political figure, the former premier of a G-8 country, has to invoke 9/11 in a foreign policy debate with a New Yorker.

Stewart politely reminds Blair that the most tragic events that day happened in his back yard, the subtle implication being, “Stop invoking our pain for your political gain.” Go Jon.

While this is awesome, I’m saddened that the hardest hitting journalist on TV just may be a comedian. I guess when our national political discourse is just a big joke, it’s somehow fitting.