Navy News, news from Iraq - Navy Times

SecNav appears on ‘Daily Show’

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus got the Jon Stewart treatment Tuesday night when he appeared as a guest on “The Daily Show” on the Comedy Central network.

The service’s top civilian and the comedian tackled topics ranging from the professionalism of today’s force to the inclusion of women on submarines — which Mabus recently announced would happen — to the ban on gays in the military.

Early in the show, the fake news anchor mocked the Obama administration’s handling of the issue. When asked about “don’t ask, don’t tell,” Mabus said the military would act on whatever Congress does, but that the prohibition is the law, “like gravity.”

Stewart spoke with Mabus about his department, which encompasses both the Navy and the Marine Corps; when pressed on which fighting force was stronger, Mabus quipped, “I love all my children equally,” and stressed that one doesn’t go out of his way to make Navy SEALs and Marines angry.

Early in the show, the host joked that he would have taken a sick day, but needed to “man up” because he couldn’t cancel an interview with SecNav for post-nasal drip.

At the end of the interview, Stewart asked Mabus to return as a guest, and noted his audience would include sailors during New York’s Fleet Week next spring. In turn, the secretary urged Stewart to host a show on ship.

“Oh, my God,” Stewart countered. “I think I’m going to throw up now.”