Stewart tells Chris Wallace that Fox News is like 'ideological regimes'

Chris Wallace says he just doesn't understand the difference between Fox News' activism and the type of material presented by Comedy Central's Jon Stewart.

Stewart tried to spell out the differences Sunday when he appeared on the conservative network but Wallace just didn't seem to get it.

Wallace accused Stewart of playing politics by comparing a video for former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's bus tour to a herpes medication ad.

"You're insane," Stewart charged. "Here is the difference between you and I. I'm a comedian first. My comedy is informed by an ideological background. No question about that. The thing that you will never understand and things that conservative activists will never understand is Hollywood, yeah, they're liberal. But that's not their primary motivating force. I'm not an activist. I'm a comedian."

"Honestly, I think you want to be a political player," Wallace insisted.

"You can't understand because of world you live in that there is not a designed ideological agenda on my part to affect partisan change. Because that's the soup you swim in. I appreciate that. I understand that. It reminds me of, you know, you know, ideological regimes. They can't understand that there is free media other places. Because they receive marching orders."

"I don't think the viewers are the least bit disappointed with us," Wallace said. "Our viewers think finally we're getting somebody to tell the other side of the story."

"Who are the most consistently misinformed media viewers?" Stewart asked. "The most consistently misinformed? Fox viewers. Consistently. Every poll."

"I'm just trying to understand you," Wallace claimed.

"Is that really true? Here is the thing that surprises me about that. I've existed in this country forever. There have been people like this who satirizeed the political process," Stewart explained.

"I'm sitting here talking to Jon stewart. I'm trying to get it. Understand you and what I believe to be true: there is as much bias on the other side as you subscribe to Fox and why you go easy on that."

"I think there is, probably a liberal bias that exists in the media because of the medium in which it exists. The majority of people working in it probably hold liberal view points, but I don't think they are as relentlessly activist as the conservative movement that has risen up over the last 40 years," Stewart said. "Do you get me?"

"Well, you know what? When you come back we can explore this some more," Wallace concluded.

Watch this video from Fox's Fox News Sunday, uploaded June 19, 2011.

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