Interesting theory. Obviously, Daily Show before John Stewart was just a silly show. After John they had been moving in the political direction, but the 2004 election is what elevated them to true relevance, even though they ultimately didn't have a great effect (damn you, Ohio!). Depoliticizing would explain some of their actions, but still doesn't explain why they were suck dicks about it. I don't know to what extent Stewart decided to cut Bee out of the deal, but by all accounts she was pretty hurt by it. Anyway, once Trey Parker calls it quits on SP, I expect CC to fall back to irrelevance, even though they've finally found a couple other shows (e.g. Amy Schumer and Broad City--ironically successful, hilarious women) to bring in viewers.