"Daily Show" host Jon Stewart was raised in New Jersey, and you better believe he has a lot to say about the unfolding scandal there involving Gov. Chris Christie and aides who apparently intentionally jammed traffic as revenge against the Fort Lee, N.J., mayor.
"As a guy who grew up in New Jersey, I'm disappointed, I'm ashamed of the state I grew up in," Stewart said. It wasn't the scandal that embarrassed him, but rather the way in which it was conducted.
"Planning this over email, with non-coded email?" Stewart asked. "You oughta be ashamed of yourself!" In Stewart's version, the aides would have discussed the scandal in vague, mobster-esque terminology. He suggested: "'Hey, did you take care of that thing?' 'Yeah, that thing? Yeah, I took care of that thing. Yeah, our good friend Lee? Yeah, he's constipated, all right. ... he's gonna be all backed up."
Corruption, Stewart said, was a proud New Jersey tradition. "Have you seen our state flag?" he exclaimed, showing how it includes a horse's head on the crest of a helmet. "There is literally a severed horse's head on the state flag! That sends a message to every other state in the union."
Stewart also quoted Jersey native Bruce Springsteen's classic "Born to Run," with a modern addition, saying of the state: "It's a death trap, it's a suicide rap, we got to get out while we're young ... So don't block the bridge. 'Cause there's not that many ways out."
Stewart's pal Stephen Colbert didn't spend as much time on the scandal, although he did note that traffic was "backed up for days, which is slightly longer than normal."
Colbert promised he'd have more on the scandal later in the week, but with a twist.
"Rest assured I am going to go extremely easy on (Christie)," Colbert warned. "Because I am a commuter, and I do not wish to get on his bad side."