Top 10 Jon Stewart 'Daily Show' moments

Jon Stewart announced last night that he’s leaving Comedy Central’s The Daily Show after nearly 17 years as the host. Whoever replaces him will only be the third host in the show’s history, as it launched in 1996 with Craig Kilborn.

Stewart took the helm in 1999 and since then, The Daily Show has usurped Saturday Night Live’s role as the top producer of comic talent. The show’s biggest success stories were Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell, but there were others. John Oliver is the latest to take on a new role, leaving to host HBO’s Last Week Tonight after successfully guiding The Daily Show while Stewart made Rosewater in 2013.

His real “coming out party,” if you will, came in 2000, when he and his news team did Indecision 2000 to cover the election. Stewart also proved to be a major force in the American media landscape when he went on CNN’s Crossfire in 2004 and blasted everyone in site.

Over those 17 years, Stewart has had some incredible moments. For many who couldn’t stand cable news or the evening news broadcasts, he was the news, even if that’s a role he didn’t really want to play. He and his stellar team of writers had points to make and knew how to do it.

With that said, it’s time for your moment of zen:

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One of the struggles with the Daily Show is trying to make comedy out of incredibly serious stories. The latest story that made comedy hard was the dual Michael Brown/Eric Gardner cases. In both situations, a white police officer was not indicted for killing a black man. After the Garner decision in Staten Island came down, Stewart was left practically speechless.

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The 2000 Presidential Election was the first one Stewart covered at the Daily Show. Here’ Stewart’s reaction to the Florida election officially going to George W. Bush instead of Al Gore.

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One of Stewart’s long-time targets was CNBC host Jim Cramer. Stewart was highly critical of the way Cramer presented financial advice, as if it was some kind of a game. This all came to a head in 2009 when Stewart had Cramer on the show.

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Stewart also found Karl Rove hilarious. Rove’s “rap” at the 2007 White House Correspondent’s Dinner was like a special present to Stewart.

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Glenn Beck was the perfect target for Stewart. In 2010, Stewart did a whole segment just like Beck. Here he is, “peeing through the truth’s urethra.”

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CNN was also an easy target, especially in the aftermath of the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing. CNN notoriously reported every piece of information, even if it turned out to be wrong.

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Stewart had a weird rivalry with Colbert’s “Papa Bear,” Bill O’Reilly. Although the two never saw eye-to-eye, they often appeared on each other’s shows and it was clear that they had respect for each other.

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One of Stewart’s best gifts was his skills as an interviewer. Sure, it was a pure joy to see him talk shop with comedians like Martin Short and Ricky Gervais when they were on, but his best interviews were those with newsmakers. In 2013, he got to interview Malala Yousafzai, just after she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. She was 16 at the time and told Stewart it was an honor to be on his show. But he instantly told her that it was an honor to have her on the show.

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It doesn’t seem like it was long ago, but Stewart and Colbert’s “Rally To Restore Sanity And/Or Fear” really did happen back in October 2010. The event in Washington D.C. was huge and probably the biggest show of support for Stewart during his tenure. Here’s the announcement:

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Stewart’s speech after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks was touching and showed instantly that he knew how to touch on tragedies at the start of the show. He had to do it so many times over the past decade, but it never got easier for him. The Daily Show didn’t return on air until Sept. 20, 2001, but Stewart still had to start the show this way.

Stewart never forgot about 9/11 and the men and women who were heroes that day.

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