ABSTRACT
A March 2007 Pew Research Center poll reported that Jon Stewart of The Daily Show tied with Tom Brokaw, Brian Williams, and Dan Rather as the “most admired journalist.” I am not sure what it means when a comedian is seen as one of America’s most admired journalists, but other polling data might give public administrators pause. By the end of 2008, 72 percent of Americans reported being dissatisfied with the way things are going in this country, as compared to 35 percent in 2001. This tracks with the low approval rating for both the president and Congress; in 2008, President George W. Bush had an approval rating of less than 30 percent while Congress had a mere 11 percent approval rating (Pew Research Center 2008).
