In the wake of word that Jon Stewart was summoned twice to the White House, pundits are asking with a straight face: Why not a presidential run for “The Daily Show” host?

Jon Stewart. Photo by Cliff [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Jon Stewart. Photo by Cliff [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
After all, entertainers have run and won high office — Ronald Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Al Franken to name a few.

On Twitter, #StewartForPresident has been popular for months.

On CNN, ex-attorney Dean Obeidallah wrote: “Why wouldn’t Obama consult with Stewart, a man who is truly the Walter Cronkite (with more laughs) of our generation? And two: Would Stewart consider running for president?”

And more: “He truly would make a great president. There’s no doubt Stewart understands the nuances of the issues facing our nation; after all, he has been discussing them nightly for over 16 years.”

If Stewart became president, Obeidallah said, his press conferences and TV talks would be “the most entertaining ever.”

“Instead of mimicking past presidents who offered us solemn, direct to camera speeches, Stewart would add flashy graphics and jokes that help him make his point. I bet some of President Stewart’s speeches would go viral.”

Obeidallah noted: Within three days of Stewart’s episode featuring first responders, the funding measure passed. As PBS noted at the time, the funding for the first responders bill was “credited in large part to Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart.”

Stewart’s chances against Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton et al?

“Former Obama adviser Eric Lesser told Politico this week about Stewart, ‘I’d be hard-pressed to think of a person who spoke with the same amount of authority to that big of a group of people.’ “

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