July 24, 2003: Wilson Asked to Co-Chair Washington Arm of Bush-Cheney Re-election Campaign

Former ambassador Joseph Wilson gives an interview to Jon Stewart of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” a satirical news and comedy program. Wilson enjoys the lighthearted approach taken by Stewart, and later notes that both Stewart and the audience are far more sympathetic and supportive of him than most of his other interviewers. Wilson brings down the house when he displays a letter he has recently received asking him to be the co-chairman of the Washington, DC, campaign to re-elect President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. Stewart wryly asks the audience for contributions so Wilson can make the $1,000 donation required to be accepted for the position. Wilson will later note, “Even as Republicans would later attack me for contributing to Democratic candidates, they were actively soliciting donations from me.” He will write that for months afterward, people tell him how much they enjoyed his appearance with Stewart: “[I]t validated my instincts that Americans are more widely interested in public affairs than we assume, but that they do not always get their information from traditional sources. I think political leaders of all stripes would be well advised to reach out and explore every possible venue for talking to Americans.” [Wilson, 2004, pp. 358]