Governor Tom Vilsack may find himself on the “seat of heat” Monday night.
Vilsack will be a guest on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” The program, which is broadcast on Comedy Central on cable television, airs at 10 o’clock in Iowa.
Comedian Jon Stewart serves as the satirical anchor of a fictitious newscast. Other comedians portray correspondents in the field. In most episodes, a guest walks onto the set in the last portion of the show and is interviewed by Stewart. Recently, Stewart and staff added something they call the “seat of heat” at the end of each interview — the guest is asked to answer a provocative or unexpected question.
Stewart has poked fun at Vilsack’s campaign for the White House in previous episodes. For example, on the day Vilsack formally kicked off his presidential campaign, Stewart and company had a duck waddling across the bottom of the screen — squawking “Vilsack” like the duck in that Aflac commercial.
“The first official announcement of a 2008 presidential candidacy from Iowa Governor Tom, uh, uh, uh, what’s his name?” Stewart opened.
“Vilsack,” squawked the duck.
“Oh right,” Stewart continued, as the crowd in the studio laughed. “His name is Vilsack, actually somewhat hard to forget.”
The Daily Show’s popularity has prompted other politicians, like Senator John McCain and former President Bill Clinton, to accept invitations to chat with Stewart on the show. In 2003, former Senator John Edwards announced his candidacy during an appearance on the program.