Jon Stewart Delivers Laughs at Colonials Weekend

“What is buff anyway? Is that a color?”

Jon Stewart, comedian and host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” joked about GW’s school colors and much more on Saturday night in the newly renovated Smith Center. He did two separate performances as the headliner for Colonials Weekend 2009, with packed houses at both shows.

Known for his political commentary, Stewart opened the evening with a stab at President Barack Obama.

“When does hope turn to change?…Up until this point, it seems that Barack Obama has gotten by by not being George Bush… I can’t figure out if he’s a jedi or if he’s getting his ass kicked.”

The show continued with jabs at Dick Cheney, the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy toward homosexuals, and religion in general. Amidst the offenses Stewart threw in some solid points about the battle between science, reason, and faith.

“We have it in our heads that we can’t have both science and faith, but both are on the extreme.”

He also said in relation to gun control legislation that “you can’t legislate crazy, and crazy exists…But you can go to the root of the issue.” He suggested one remedy for teen violence would be to take teens to a 20-year high school reunion, where they would see the football star sitting alone and angry.

Following his second and final show, Stewart commented that the second crowd seemed to be younger than the first one for laughing at more jokes. His performance was riddled with foul language and sexual references, which included mentioning a viral video of a man having sex with a piñata.

Stewart loosened up during the second show by engaging President Steven Knapp and Robert Chernak, senior vice president of SASS, in a low-key Q&A about GW.

Stewart visibly enjoyed some of the more candid responses by chuckling for several minutes. Arguably one of the best responses was when he asked what the “dumb kids” major in, and Stewart repeated an answer: “Forensic Science.”

He poked fun at his own religion, Judaism, and complained about the celebration of diversity that Americans feel is necessary today.

“We don’t’ have to celebrate diversity,” Stewart said. “It’s enough to be diverse and acknowledge it. To celebrate it is annoying.”

Twice during the 7 p.m. show, audience members in the back seats called out that they couldn’t hear. Stewart asked if there was any way to fix the volume, and a voice came out of the microphone. Stewart dropped the mic in an exaggerated surprise, and the audience erupted in laughter at the spontaneous reaction.

“That is the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me,” he said upon recovery.

Stewart had a sentimental moment for his two kids, ages 3 and 5. He said that having children was both “amazing and heartbreaking,” tipping his hat toward the parents in the audience. He recapped a memory of his 5-year-old son seeing a Sponge-Bob Squarepants poster on the street and breaking out in random dance, which Stewart impersonated. His impressions of Dick Cheney, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama pulled hearty laughs from the crowd.

In an encore, Stewart told those that were unhappy with President Obama’s administration thus far that they were “confusing tyranny with losing,” and that it’s all about perspective.

“This country is too strong not to survive individuals…Keep going – it will come back, it has to. The world keeps turning.”

Editor-In-Chief Ashley Carufel also contributed to this article.