Jon who? The "Daily" what? Comedy where?

As the culturally plugged-in set of both coasts pants expectedly for Jon Stewart's turn at the Oscar podium, it's the perfect time to examine the phenomenon of his fame from the Flyover point of view.

And here's the opinion of the much-lauded host of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" from most of my fellow FOVs (flyover victims): Jon who?

The truth is that only about a million people a night tune in to "The Daily Show," and outside of myself, my brother, and a few co-workers, I don't know of anyone out my way who follows the show regularly or even watches occasionally. And with just a million sets of eyeballs tuning in across the nation each night*, there are a lot of other Americans with TVs outside the middle of the country who will be getting their first mainstream jolt of Stewart on Sunday night. Wonder how his act will play with the wider swathe of viewers?

It's not the number of people who watch Stewart each weeknight, of course, but the influence of those who do. The first few minutes of each show feature a (usually) hilarious and satirical re-imagining of the day's news headlines. But, frankly, the show begins to sputter at the ten-minute point. The fake reporter packages and on-the-spot interviews that follow are sometimes amusing (but more often, pretty mean-spirited and aim more for a repetitive joke than the satire that begins the show). Stewart then conducts a nearly unwatchable interview in the last third of the show with a newsmaker or celebrity that is marred by either over-earnest mawkishness or unrestrained silliness. It's not the kind of entertainment that has broad appeal out here in heavy American Idol voter territory.

And Stewart's schtick — somewhere between smart-ass frat boy and Borscht belt comedian — can often devolve into eye rolling, repeated shouting (or whining) of punchlines, and eventually teeters on the tip of a genuine spit take. We'll see if he goes down that road at the Oscars.

Where Stewart has gained recognition and buzz from his fellows in the media is his (and his writing staff's) relentless observations on the idiocy of not only the current administration and its long list of bumbling decisions, but on the ineptness of lawmakers and officials of all stripes. The Daily Show is the only consistent forum for ongoing criticism of the current administration's missteps. It's a bit of a shame that more people don't watch — not necessarily because they might learn something about the news of the day, but simply to view pure freedom of speech as our Constitution intended it. It's also just damn consistently funny. (Special mention in the "funny as hell" category goes to the "reporting" on Veep Cheney's recent hunting mishap. The opening ten minutes of that show should be sealed in a comedy time capsule and protected for future, and possibly medicinal, use.)

But out here in the middle, and across these red states of ours, I'm not sure how Stewart, as host of a grandiose self-congratulatory fest like the Oscars, will come off. I'm certain he'll attempt to take a couple mild shots at the Hollywood elite (with accompanied "aw-shucks" softening) and slip in an easy Brokeback Mountain dick joke or two, along with the usual nerf-tipped barbs. But I'm guessing there will be one (and only one — see "David Letterman's fate") attempt at a cutting comment about either the curbing of certain freedoms in this nation or the underrepresentation of minorities in Hollywood. The remark will be reported as "genuine" and "courageous" by those in the media who have helped pump up the credibility of his career to this point. To most of the rest of us, though, it will probably seem just as sanctimonious as every other platitude and lapel ribbon we've come to expect from these events.

* By comparison, Bill O'Reilly regularly draws about 2 million viewers per show and the CBS Evening News — the lowest rated of the network newscasts — welcomes 10 million viewers each night.