Nice article, but I disagree with Ms. Young's assertion that there isn't an inherent difference in the 'smartness' of different kinds of humor. 'Exaggerated jokes' are some of the first jokes children learn, 'ironic jokes' take more thinking, and are funnier to most adults, liberal or conservative.

I listen to conservative talk radio in the car and see liberal talk shows (and listen to Maher's HBO podcast while I'm doing yardwork). Rush is a smarter type of funny, but most conservative hosts, while attempting humor, are closer to Glenn Beck. And Beck is painfully unfunny, his humor is so child-like that it's uncomfortable. When he exaggerates a liberal talking point in a hugely sarcastic voice and his co-hosts just keep going back and forth like that for literally minutes at a time, it's so cringey that I have to switch to sports.

And I think the difference between Beck and the Daily Show is probably a good microcosm of the bigger difference in platforms - Glenn Beck had a conservative talk radio background and a built-in audience that wants to listen to someone present conservative viewpoints. There's really no liberal equivalent to that - MSNBC and ^unsubsidized liberal talk radio stations are all massive failures.

So while Glenn Beck is a conservative talk radio guy who occasionally decides he'll thrill the folks at home with his own brand of comedic styling - the Daily Show did start as a comedy show. It had a large and more importantly talented writing staff and a ton of on-air comedic talent. They performed against the backdrop of being a liberal news show and got more political over time - but the show started out as a 30 minute edition of Weekend Update, joke after joke after joke.

So it's not so much about the types of jokes they tell - Dennis Miller's bits are plenty smart, he's just not very funny - it's that there's not enough interest among comedians to put together the kind of team you need for a successful conservative comedy show.

An Apatow-produced conservative show featuring his Rogan/Hill/Rudd/Franco crew would be a smash success. Instead they'd be working with Dennis Miller, Larry the Cable Guy, and Jeff Foxworthy.

And frankly that 'problem' is a two-way street, because Adam Carolla is hugely conservative and incredibly funny with the biggest podcast audience in the world - but he'd never have success with the Foxnews/conservative talk radio audience because he'd be run out of town for his libertarian views on immigration, drugs, gay rights, and gun control.