Waitin' For a Superman

Walter Cronkite, probably the most recognizable journalist of the 20th century, died yesterday at 92. Among every obituary written years ago and published in today's papers with minor updates, was the high honor of Cronkite's nickname, "The Most Trusted Man In America."

Ever since I first heard the nickname, I've always wondered who is the most trusted man in America right now. I'd be hard pressed to think of better candidates than Jon Stewart, Brian Williams and Glenn Beck.

Williams is probably the most obvious choice. In a time where ego trumps anything else and each network makes ridiculous claims about its viewers (CNN supposedly has a bigger audience than MSNBC and Fox News combined and Bill O'Reilly went on a press tour just to promote his 100th straight month at number one), Williams quietly continues as the most watched late night news show. You actually get the impression he isn't doing the job to promote himself, which is so rare these days. His competition, the emotionless Charlie Gibson who always seemed more comfortable teaching his audience how to make baked carrot casserole, lags 800,000 viewers behind.

As the managing editor of NBC Nightly News, he does his job so effortlessly. That mix of compassion and insight is pretty incredible. Probably the most important factor in whether the country trusts a person is how comfortable and personable he is, something Williams excels at. In fact, Williams will make his 14th appearance on The Daily Show next week, a place he is just dryly funny on as Charlie Rose. Plus, in the spirit of corporate synergy, he hosted Saturday Night Live about as well as can be expected.

The Williams argument for this title is easy to make. He runs the most watched nightly news show and his insightful questions inside the studio and out suggest his title of managing editor is not honorary. The White House even let him in for nearly full access a few weeks back. When you want to discuss policy and events for the American people to hear, you go to Brian Williams.

But most probably wouldn't buy Stewart in this position, and I disagree. He's far from perfect, I think his crutch of asking serious questions but saying that he's only a comedian when he doesn't want to take responsibility for the response isn't quite sincere, but no man catches hypocrisy like him and his staff. As liberal as Stewart is, he skewers everyone and is one of the best watchdogs this country has. Unfortunately, only about a million and a half people watch the show each night, which is mighty small compared to all the critical acclaim and attention he gets. Without a huge audience, it's very hard to say he is the most trusted man in America.

As for Beck, well, no one else has tapped into such populist rage as that man. Despite the millions he makes from Fox News and his highly rated radio show, he is still followed by a huge chunk of this country who want plain-speakin' folk in power. They're sick of the huge debt Barack Obama put us in, and that's fair. No, it's not my cup of tea, but the huge rise Beck has made from a boring radio show and that dumb hour on CNN Headline News since Obama became president shows that he really is trusted. Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly just missed capitalizing on hatred people have for high taxes and huge government programs to the huge extent Beck has, in part because a lot of people trust him as more real than those two. He's still miles away from funny, no matter how often he laughs at his own jokes.

Or maybe, the most trusted man in America is Barack Obama. I just hope a distinction of accountability that was once so visibly held by the country's leading journalist isn't passed on to a politician. Better him than Beck, though.

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The famous clip of Cronkite announcing JFK's death

Brian Williams' moving obit of Cronkite on his fantastic blog, The Daily Nightly