The gloves were off Friday on CNN's "Crossfire." In one corner was political analyst and uptight conservative Tucker Carlson. In the other was "The Daily Show" host and comedic heavyweight Jon Stewart.

And in the end, it was Carlson down for the count with a big K.O.

The two television personalities sparred during Stewart's appearance with Carlson on the CNN show. Carlson called Stewart a sellout for backing Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry while Stewart asserted that "Crossfire" is "partisan hackery" that doesn't promote democracy, and that Carlson was, in fact, a "dick."

"You have a responsibility to the public discourse, and you fail miserably," Stewart shot at Carlson.

"You need to get a job at a journalism school, I think," Carlson retorted.

Swing and a miss, Carlson. That's not the point.

Stewart is not trying to be a nonpartisan journalist. He's a comedian on a satirical mock-news program that maintains its integrity, and his regular viewers are completely aware that he leans to the left.

But behind the snickering and eye-rolling from Stewart and his poker-faced cohorts on the show, there's important political discourse at work. "The Daily Show" has its audiences glued to their television sets each night, listening to and thinking about news in a fresh, entertaining and real way. Satire needs a target - journalism isn't dependent on one - and that's where Carlson's impartiality argument falls flat.

"The Daily Show" is doing political discourse a far bigger service than "Crossfire" by not pretending to be something it's not. Perhaps Carlson and the rest of the "Crossfire" crew should take a few cues from Stewart's success. Comedians on a comedy show on a network called "Comedy Central" don't have a reputation on the line comparable to CNN.

Step down from the ring, Carlson. Consider yourself and your bow tie served.