I know American satire isn't exactly famed for it's subtlety, but he's fairly pants anyway, isn't he?

I watched an old repeat the other day and it went like this:

Stewart: The Bush administration...
[Audience burst into hysterical peals of laughter]
Stewart: [With smug expression] Is that how bad it's gotten?
[Audience hysteria increases; this truly is the funniest thing ever]

I think the all-time low came when he interviewed Christopher Hitchens. He grew so uncomfortable with the way Hitchens combined easy-going wit with informative and interesting political and religious topics he elected to simply keep interrupting the man with lame jokes and "zany" facial expressions.

Stephen Colbert is far better:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QquTUR9nbC4

"What I do, Bill, is I catch the world in the headlights of my justice."