Jon Stewart Endorses Kerry

Rush & Molloy report:

Jon Stewart is voting for Sen. John Kerry, he said yesterday, "unless there's some sort of 'Hail Mary.'"

The satirist explained it simply to Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Public Communications breakfast, hosted by the New Yorker magazine at the skylit Bryant Park Grill.

"It's as if a guy drove me into a ditch and said, 'Don't worry, I know how to drive us out of this,'" he said. "I don't think [President Bush's] decision to go to Iraq was principled because he said in 2002 he's not into nation-building."

Comedy Central's "Daily Show" host also had harsh words for 24-hour news network anchors: "You can't just say, 'Okay, Hitler, back in a minute with Loni Anderson.' The person needs some expertise. ... Remember when CNN's motto was 'You can depend on CNN?' Guess what? I watch it, and you can't.

"I don't consider Fox to be news. I consider them to be an active political arm, with an agenda they've been building for 30 years."

Questioned by New Yorker media writer Ken Auletta on whether he'd want to replace David Letterman when he retired, Stewart responded, "One of my strengths, and one of my weaknesses, is I have a complete inability to look past the next day."

The panel is set to air on C-SPAN.