Jon Stewart pokes fun at Goode

BY BERNARD BAKER Media General News Service
Published: August 1, 2008

U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode, R-5th, isn’t laughing at a cable comedy show that poked fun at the Rocky Mount Republican.

Goode was featured in a clip on Tuesday night’s episode of “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central that reported he rode in the Scottsville Fourth of July parade in a gas-guzzling silver Hummer plastered with campaign signs for himself and other GOP candidates. On the show, Goode was portrayed as friendly to big oil companies and unaffected by high gas prices.

“First of all, I never watch (‘The Daily Show,‘)“ Goode said Thursday from his Washington, D.C., office. “I didn’t ride in the Hummer. I don’t even know who owned the Hummer.“

The show also compared rap musicians with Republicans, saying they both like guns and money.

“I don’t know what a rapper is,“ Goode said.

Goode pointed a finger at his Democratic opponent Tom Perriello for filming the parade and making it appear like he was hiding in the huge sports utility vehicle. He said Perriello and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama are the candidates of celebrities, and that’s why they went after him.

Jessica Barba, Perriello spokesperson, said Goode walked in the parade and did not ride in a Hummer. She said the campaign has nothing to do with the video and never had any contact with “The Daily Show.“

“It was a humorous video made by someone not affiliated with our campaign,“ Barba said.

Goode said the parade’s path was about one-and-a-half miles long and mostly heads downhill until it ends in the downtown section. He said there’s no way he could hand out fans and pencils if he was buckled inside the Hummer.

Bernard Baker is a staff writer for the Danville Register & Bee in Danville, Va.