At face value, Sarah Palin's announcement yesterday that she wouldn't seek the Republican nomination for President in 2012 seemed tame in comparison to her usual antics. But nothing Palin does is without sinister intentions and on tonight's Daily Show, Jon Stewart reminded us of that reality when he suggested the only reason Palin delayed announcing her plans not to run was to squeeze more money out of her supporters.

On the day Occupy Wall Street protesters marched in Manhattan (and were arrested and beaten by the NYPD), Jon Stewart opened The Daily Show with a critique of how the media—and Fox News in particular—has covered the movement. Stewart was particularly puzzled by the difference between the coverage of Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party movement: "Rage against duly elected government is patriotic, quintessentially American, whereas rage against multi-national shareholder-accountable corporations is anti-American?"

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's confirmation today that he would not seek the 2012 Republican presidential nomination was a relief to Mitt Romney, who stood to lose out most if Christie entered the race. But as Jon Stewart explained on tonight's Daily Show, Romney's history of switching positions on key issues stands in his way more than a fat guy from Jersey ever could: "Mitt Romney has a bit of a problem... to win the Republican nomination, he has to convince Republican voters he's not actually Mitt Romney."

The revelation yesterday that a West Texas hunting camp used by the family of Rick Perry was named "Niggerhead" drew widespread outrage. The name is terribly offensive, of course, but is it also rare? That was the question on Jon Stewart's mind tonight during a Daily Show segment featuring Wyatt Cenac "on location" near New York's recently renamed "Nigger Lake."

Jon Stewart spent some time on The Daily Show covering the ongoing (and ever-growing) Occupy Wall Street protests. As you might expect, most of the segment was focused on pepper-spraying NYPD Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna. Less expected was the trailer Stewart showed off for a fake TV series called Tony Bologna the Vigilogna starring Chris Meloni.

After Bill O'Reilly said last week that he'd consider quitting his job if President Obama raised his tax rate to 50%, Jon Stewart mocked him on The Daily Show with a fake PSA soliciting donations for "a helpless multi-millionaire." On tonight's program, Stewart called O'Reilly's bluff to his face during a short, lively debate over taxes, government, muffins—yes, muffins—and more. Here's a video of the segment.

Thanks to Chaz Bono's knee injury and Nancy Grace's wardrobe malfunction, last night's Dancing with the Stars was a lesson in human anatomy. After expressing his horror at the sight of Grace's nipple on tonight's Daily Show, Jon Stewart couldn't wait to see how the prudes at Fox & Friends would react to it. But as Stewart soon learned, the Fox panel's reaction to Grace's nip-slip was nothing compared to their stupid, juvenile comments about Bono.

Rick Perry's dismal performance at last week's GOP debate has many people doubting his ability to secure the Republican nomination for president in 2012. Republicans losing interest in Perry aren't shifting their support to Mitt Romney. In the last few days, there's been renewed interest in having New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie waddle into the race. We wondered today whether Christie could even survive a Republican primary, and as you'll see in this clip from tonight's Daily Show, Jon Stewart isn't too high on his chances either.

During his speech before the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, President Obama said the U.S. would oppose a Palestinian bid for UN membership—despite the fact he called for precisely that just a year ago—suggesting Palestine should resolve its conflict with Israel privately. On tonight's Daily Show, Jon Stewart expressed his feelings on the matter by comparing the UN to a housing co-op with Obama "that one hardass on the co-op board who always shoots people down."

On tonight's Daily Show, Jon Stewart mocked some of the recent statements about taxes uttered by out-of-touch rich men—like Bill O'Reilly and that one Republican congressman who spends $200,000 a year on food—before spoofing Sarah McLachlan's annoying late-night ASPCA ads and asking, "Will you be an angel for a helpless multi-millionaire?"

Two months after its repeal was certified by President Obama, today marked the official end of the nearly 18-year-old "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy precluding gays from serving openly in the military. On tonight's Daily Show, Jon Stewart celebrated the end of DADT by shaming it for existing in the first place: "That's how ridiculous this policy was... the apology for the affront is, 'All right, sorry, you can go to Afghanistan and fight for your country!'"

Just like the weekend, the 63rd Primetime Emmys are history. This year's telecast was hosted by Glee's Jane Lynch and aired live on Fox from the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. Despite Alec Baldwin's last-minute pullout, pretty much every small screen star showed up to celebrate television's biggest night.

Wow, those Emmys sure were a stinker, weren't they? Not only did they fall into the same old Emmys trap of giving the same awards to the same people, but the show itself was a complete dud. It was slow and dated and every opportunity for excitement landed with a great thud.

During Tuesday night's Republican presidential debate, Michele Bachmann attacked Texas Gov. Rick Perry for signing an executive order requiring teenage girls to be vaccinated against HPV, claiming the vaccine could cause mental retardation. Like most everything else she says, Bachmann was completely wrong. On tonight's Daily Show, Jon Stewart and Kristen Schaal hilariously took her to task for it.

In what some called a sort of a Jew d'Etat, Republican Bob Turner defeated Democrat David Weprin yesterday in a special election to fill the empty congressional seat in New York's Anthony Weiner-stained 9th district. Turner's win represented the end of an 88-year hold on the seat by Democrats in a district where they outnumber Republicans three-to-one. And while there are a few theories floating around as to what caused the tidal shift, Jon Stewart had a firm grip on one in particular on tonight's Daily Show.

Last night, CNN teamed up with the Tea Party Express for yet another debate between the remaining 2012 Republican presidential candidates. But before the debate audience could get to cheering for the death of uninsured Americans, Wolf Blitzer spent way too much time on introductory pomp and circumstance. So just like he did the last time CNN hosted a debate, Jon Stewart mocked the network's focus on style over substance on tonight's Daily Show.

New York Times columnist Paul Krugman became conservative persona non grata on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 yesterday when he argued that people's exploitation of the tragedy for political gain tore the country apart at the precise moment it should have come together, thereby turning future anniversaries into occasions for shame.

On tonight's Daily Show, Jon Stewart broke down yesterday's GOP debate and the media's post-showdown coverage. Many pundits predicted Rick Perry's campaign would suffer after he called Social Security a ponzi scheme. But it didn't, and Stewart explained why: "All due respect to both Romney and the citizens of Talking Headsylvania, but you're up against something you're too smart to understand." At least "President Perry" is alliterative.

President Obama hasn't even given his big jobs speech yet, but that didn't stop Mitt Romney from declaring it a failure—and unveiling his own 160-page economic plan—during a rambling speech in Las Vegas today. The only thing more obvious than the impracticality of Romney's proposals was how desperate he is to be elected. Or as Jon Stewart put it on tonight's Daily Show: "You want to be President so bad, Al Gore can taste it."

Last week, President Obama announced he'd reveal his plan for job creation before a joint session of Congress at the same time as tomorrow night's Republican presidential debate. John Boehner wasn't happy about this and asked the President to push his speech back a night; a few hours later, Obama acquiesced. No big deal, right? Or as Jon Stewart put it on tonight's Daily Show, "non-crisis averted!"