Both conservative and liberal commentators are marking the passing of Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show, the premier liberal talk show on television. My appearance in January 2010 has been offered as one of the few examples where a conservative beat Stewart at his own game (which Stewart conceded on his show the following day). Conservatives praise the appearance (see Dorothy Rabinowitz in today’s Wall Street Journal and Gerard Alexander in the New York Times), while liberals feel I got off too easy (see Time’s website).

I’m bemused that, of the thousands of episodes that Stewart has done with probably just as many guests, my amateur appearance has taken on such mythic status. I enjoy thinking of the all the hate mail that Stewart received from lefties who accused him of taking a dive in our mano-a-mano cage match. There are some lessons here for conservatives who have to respond to a hostile media:

1. Know your material. It is no idle boast to say that I knew the issues about interrogation, Gitmo, drones, and the War on Terror better than Stewart. He could ask questions that young producers prepared, but he didn’t have the time or interest to study up. A host may want to use the opportunity to score with a snarky comment, but you have the chance to deflate them by laying out your arguments with sweet reason.