Where Stewart is the eternally bemused and sometimes incredulous news anchor, Colbert is the smug, self-infatuated, condescending know-it-all, a sort of thinking man's Ted Baxter. While the "Daily Show" is a sendup of evening newscasts, Colbert hilariously mocks the cable news gasbags who are less interested in the facts than how they can be sensationalized and manipulated to support their preconceived social and political philosophies. Overall, though, it was an auspicious debut for a pair of programs that go together like lobbying and lawmaking.

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