I get the idea that there are professional exceptions to various mores that we have. Politicians, doctors, lawyers, psychologists, psychiatrists, priests, etc., all claim exceptions to things we would normally expect of other people. But those exceptions always come with even tougher ethical responsibilities surrounding them.

It's valid for comedians to claim the right to an exception regarding tact. But you never hear them talking about the other side of the coin. While their claim may be theoretically valid, I haven't often seen much evidence of them earning it. (This is, of course, a generalization; but I'm speaking more of the profession than of any individual comedian.)

John Stewart, for instance, is probably my favorite TV personality and one of the classiest comedians I can think of; but even his claim that he's a comedian, not a journalist, strikes me as dodging the issue. Sure, he shouldn't have the same standards as journalists; but that's irrelevant. He -should- have standards as a comedian such that he can argue in defense of a joke or segment by virtue of those standards, not by claiming the profession of comedian like it's a Get Out Of Guilt Free card.