Jon Stewart Has Some Advice for Donald Rumsfeld
No, Jon Stewart didn't deliver one of his signature rants against former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Rather, the Daily Show host's advice is set to appear in Rumsfeld's forthcoming tome of advice, Rumsfeld's Rules, according to the Washington Examiner, which was briefed by individuals who nabbed advance reading copies of the 352-page book that's set to be published in May. Rumsfeld's Rules is the second installment in its author's surprisingly prolific book career and, given Stewart's contribution, seems to carry a lighter touch than his massive, best-selling 2011 memoir, Known and Unknown.
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None of that makes Stewart's inclusion any less strange, however. It might be a little difficult to remember now, but a brief dive into The Daily Show's video archives is enough to remind us how Stewart constantly criticized Rumsfeld for his planning and execution of the Iraq War, for which he eventually resigned in 2006 at the vocal behest of several flag officers. Here's Stewart flaying Rumsfeld for delivering a classified memo to President Bush just before he resigned:
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And here's Stewart mocking Rumsfeld's delivery during a press conference in which he defends the Bush administration's Iraq strategy:
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Or watch Stewart laugh with glee as he discusses Rumsfeld's resignation:
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"Love him or hate him, you gotta admit ... a lotta people hate him," opens Stewart. (There's much, much more where that came from.)
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So why would Stewart cooperate with Rumsfeld's book? Well, the two men did sit down for an unusually lengthy interview in 2011, for the Known and Unknown book tour, so it's not as if they had never met before. (During the interview, Rumsfeld refused to apologize for Iraq War, after Jon Stewart said that would accept such an apology.) And, of course, this is a book of advice, not a serious work of political philosophy. In that light, Stewart's inclusion makes a bit more sense. Maybe Rumsfeld solicited Stewart's advice because, in the end, he ended up taking it for himself.
