This week’s Daily Show has been political satire perfection. We were gifted a week of brilliantly insightful sarcasm that culminated in Friday’s episode.

Part of me wonders why comedians are given press passes to news events. Neither the Daily Show nor Colbert report news. Both shows offer commentary on the news in a predominately absurd style. They frequently make serious points and Stewart does, on rare well-deserved occasions, barely conceal his seething aggravation for political shenanigans. Commentary /= News

Yet, it is the press pass that gives the Daily Show staff the opportunity to get beyond the soundbites that dominate mainstream news. They couldn’t do what they do without the access of a press pass. Perhaps commentary, even in comedic form, is news 2.0 for those of us who take politics too seriously. Then again, holding up a mirror, or a camera to show people the cognitive dissonance in what they say and what they do, isn’t news to those of us who agree. Those who disagree call the mirror a liar.