problems implementing obamacare, there is a new budget deal coming, plus republican proposals to modify the earned income tax credit! so with that, this is "the sport report." (cheers and applause) (laughter) >> stephen: first up, folks, baseball. nation, i'm as mad as a man who's too angry to finish his similes. (laughter) because my favorite athlete has been dealt a gross miscarriage of sports justice. yankees third baseman a-rod. now, a-rod's a friend. we use the same artist to paint us as centaurs, google it. to me this guy is not just a-rod he's the-rod. and it makes my blood boil to see how' he's beings per kated. >> stephen: >> a-rod has been shut out of major league baseball's entire 2014 season. 162 games. won't be eligible for any post-season games. >> new york yankees third baseman has been suspended for the entire 2014 season for using performance-enhancing drugs. >> stephen: what? that's insane! 162 games? hold on a second. multiplied by how long each baseball game lasts -- hold on, let's see here. uh-huh. that's 400 years! besides, folks, i take him at his word! no. >> for the record, have you ever used steroids, human growth hormone or any other performance-enhancing drugs? >> no. >> did you do anything wrong? >> no. >> did you do any p.e.d.s? >> no. >> stephen: and i believe him, folks. there's absolutely no evidence he's using performance-enhancing drugs. especially the playoffs. (laughter) so, listen, ultimate play if he did use drugs? it's the culture of the game! to stay competitive, today's players need a little something-something, give them the physical demands of this sport. i mean, there's the standing, the sitting, and, hey, those crotches aren't going scratch themselves! (cheers and applause) i am not the only one -- just for the record i'm not the only one in favor of drugs, so is fox news bench warmers the 5. >> he probably supplied a-rod with a performance enhancing drug and maybe he did shoot him up. i'm trying to figure out why to suspend the guy for a whole year. major league baseball said guess what? we're okay with medical marijuana. so on one hand they're okay with medical marijuana. the but god forbid you get a performance-enhancing drugs. >> stephen: of course they support medical marijuana in the m.l.b. how else would you get snob pay $18 for a hot dog? (cheers and applause) but the best point on the 5 was made by the bottom of the fifth, greg gutfeld. jim? >> drugs are going to exist as long as there's an incentive to use them and the incentive is to win. in every job you do if there's a drug that helps you, do the damn drug and no one should get in your try stop you. >> stephen: folks, i agree. if there is a drug that can make greg gutfeld do his job better, by god, he should do those drugs! (cheers and applause) please, keep looking, buddy, they're going find a cure. (laughter) so listen to the 5, kids, just do drugs. (laughter) and i'm not talking about recreationally, professionally! i mean case in point. you think i win all these awards because i'm good and i work hard? please! i am nothing but a flesh sack propped up by the wonders of big pharma! (laughter) for starters i take steroids just for the testicle shrinking. (laughter) left unchecked, my balls would keep growing like beaver teeth. (laughter) and obviously i've got to popped a ral to stay focused when people who aren't me are talking. (laughter) i take some ambien because i have trouble sleeping during the commercial breaks. then i just hit the basics-- centrum, soma, neuroin, the spice, glint, glimmer, jizadrine the wii, powdered rhino horn, the blue, boniva, flint stone's chewables, flint stone's spoz suppositories, front line flea and tick on the back of my neck so i can't lift it off and i've got a nuvaring up in there somewhere. (cheers and applause) not entirely sure where, but i'm walking funny. (laughter) of course, kids, you'll have to experiment to get your own cocktail dialed in. mine took a lot of trial and error-- trial in that i've been on trial for taking bath salts and then error of attempting to eat someone's face. once again, my apologies to doris kearns goodwin. (audience reacts) next up, folks -- she's fine, she's fine. next up, folks, winter sports. this is my favorite time of the every four years because the winter olympics are just around the corner. now, i am prohibited from showing you a graphic of the olympic rings due to threats of copyright infringement but i've got a work around. jimmy, just put up five interlocking mickey heads. there you go. (cheers and applause) folks, this year's olympic games are in russia where have had a muir putin's recent law of displaying gay propaganda has gotten the right-huggers' yuan around thes in a bunch. but putin landed himself a huge supporter state side, fox news youth correspondent pat buchanan. (laughter) in an op-ed on downhall.com entitled, "is putin one of us?" he applauds putin's belief that to equate traditional marriage to same-sex marriage is to equate good with evil. and writes "he has more clarity than americans caught up in a cold war paradigm." buchanan is right. the cold war is over. in fact, if reagan were alive today he'd been saying this. >> mr. putin, build out a wall to keep out the homos! (laughter) >> stephen: besides, gay supporters have nothing to wine about because putin recently announced that pre-approved rallies may be held in a designated protest zone. you hear that, gays? if you want to protest, just report to the gated enclosure surrounded by the russian police. (laughter) what could possibly go wrong? (laughter) of course, comrade-o-tolerance is staging a sit-in at his own protest zone. >> stephen: president obama will not be heading to the winter olympics in sochi, russia. neither will vice president jobtd, this, of course, seems like a not-so-subtle rebuke to russia's anti-gay laws. the white house instead plans to send a delegation that includes tennis great billie jean king, who's openly gay. >> stephen: actually i think they mean tennis great billie jean qhing is formerly gay. because she was on my show last year and i flipped the script. (laughter) >> you look good, steven. >> thank you very much. you were watch megabackstage. >> i've been watching you quite a bit every place. (cheers and applause) >> stephen: that's right. five minute on my show and billy jean king wanted to snap into me like a slim jim. are (cheers and applause) i'm like -- folks, i'm like a big straight magnet that erases any gay hard drive i'm put next to. when we return, i'll be put next to tennis legend and u.s. olympic dele  >> stephen: welcome back, everybody. thank you so much. nation, if you were watching the show-- and i hope that you were-- right before the commercial break i reported that in response to anti-gay laws in russia president obama is sending an olympic delegation which includes gay tennis legend billie jean king and figure skater brian boitano who just two days after he was named to the delegation also came out. ooh, right after he booked a trip to russia. tough time to discover you're gay! (laughter) folks, i believe this is an outrages you breach of the olympic spirit. obama know it is host country is against the gays. so he sends a bunch of them over there? that's like getting invited to a potluck dinner where you know host has a peanut allergy so you bring a tray of pad thai and gay people! (laughter) this is not how the u.s. should represent itself during the sochi games. here tell-to-tell me how the u.s. should represent its during the sochi games, please welcome delegate member, tennis great billie jean king. (cheers and applause) billie jean, good to see you again. good to see you. >> wow, you got them riled. >> stephen: thanks for being here. you are maybe the most visible gay athlete in the world. i mean -- but the law says you can't have gay propaganda. isn't your mere existence propaganda for homosexuality? because you make it look good. >> well, i hope so! >> stephen: yes. >> but the three of us, brian and kaitlin and us, come on, when we show up isn't that a statement? >> stephen: yes, but it's against the law. >> we better have pretty good security then. >> stephen: you're going over to represent the country in the place of obama. what do you think your responsibilities are going to be? >> well, i probably won't protest but if the media asks me a question i'm going answer it. (applause) >> stephen: really. >> absolutely. why not? >> stephen: you'll be breaking the law. if you say something positive about homosexuals or about homosexual rights you'll be breaking the law. technically you could be thrown into jail. >> well, i'll take that chance, i guess. (cheers and applause) >> stephen: really? do you think you'll have a chance do meet vladimir putin dorr you think somebody else might do the interrogating? (laughter) >> well, that's -- i have no idea. you know what? i'm going go think about that. >> stephen: say hi, he's a friend. >> s he a friend of yours? >> stephen: yeah. >> >> what kind of a guy is he? >> stephen: often shirtless. don't you think it would have been braver of obama and shown more leadership if he had just chosen to be gay for two weeks and gone over there himself? (laughter) >> i don't think that's being true to yourself. >> stephen: but you agree it's a choice? >> a choice? no. >> stephen: it's not? okay. >> no i do not think that. >> stephen: you haven't read the science lately on that. >> oh, i hear people say it's a choice. >> stephen: i hope you heard me just say it just now. >> well, you've had a choice and you're straight. >> stephen: oh, i had plenty of opportunity to gay, baby! (laughter) i had my pick of the litter. that i believe's what they call a group of gay men, a litter of gay men. you have >> you have those twinkley brown eyes. i bet they did pretty well, yeah. >> stephen: i'm working my magic on you. >> you are working the magic. >> stephen: it was said -- it has been said and i think you've admitted that you have been chosen specifically because not only are you a great athlete but you're a well-known homosexual athlete. what does it -- >> i like "gay." it's so much happier. (laughter) >> stephen: really. gay? >> gay! you know --. >> stephen: so gay is okay. i thought it was gay and lesbian. >> i just love gay because it's so happy. >> stephen: really. >> yes, i'm a gay woman. >> stephen: you're not offended because you're being chosen because you're sgha. >> i'm proud of it! i love it! are you kidding? just the opposite. come on! >> stephen: you have said that the lgbt fight for rights is a civil rights struggle of the 21st century. >> it's one of them absolutely. or the one, yes. >> stephen: does that make russia the alabama of the 21st censurely. >> sure, why not? >> stephen: one more thing. the last thing on here. you will admit the last time you were on this show there was some -- there was some meet between the two of us. >> i actually -- didn't i just talk about your twinkley brown eyes? absolutely! (cheers and applause) >> stephen: well, thank you. do you think there will come a time when society will accept love between a happily married man and a gay woman? (laughter) >> i hope so! >> stephen: that will be the civil rights struggle of the 22nd century. >> you are aa man ahead of your time. >> stephen: thank you for join, w >> stephen: welcome back, everybody! my guest tonight is the a renown art critic. she's about to meet an art critic critic. please welcome deborah solomon! (cheers and applause) deborah, good to see you, thanks for coming on. nice to see you again. now madame, as i said before, you're an art critic. i'm going to warn you up front i'm no fan of the form, all right? (laughter) if art has to be explained to me chuck it. all right? >> yeah. yeah. >> stephen: you are the author of -- >> well, i' try to help you tonight. we'll have you look at a painting. that's one of the problems i've got with you. you've written previous biographies of jackson pollock, joseph cornell. your new book is called "american mirror, the life and art of norman rockwell." >> correct. >> stephen: here's my beef, deb. the reason i like norman rockwell is he's not like one of these avant-garde guys where i have to go into a room in a museum and there's a pile of uncooked spaghetti with a lamp over it and they go "that's art a." he paints a mailman and i go "that's a mailman." why do i need you to explain that to me? >> well, it's interesting. during his lifetime-- you probably know-- he was derided by the art community. >> stephen: by the elites, people like you. >> by art historians as a non-entity and a toxic culture polluter. >> stephen: and an illustrator. >> a lowly illustrator who painted calendars with boy scouts on them. now 36 years after his death i think it's interesting that we're still talking about his work in that it has turned out to have the staying power of the abstract painting that was celebrating during his lifetime. >> stephen: let's look at this man's work. jim, let's put it right here. this first one, that's rockwell himself? >> that's a self-portrait. >> stephen: it's a realistic portrait but it's almost dealing with the surrealist reputation of the artist himself. do i sound like an art cit snick because i just pulled that (bleep) out of my ass. >> not at all. not at all. (cheers and applause) i i have this what's interesting about the painting is that he is comparing his rumbled appearance with the idealized image on the canvas. he's telling us that are start a lie that tells the truth. >> stephen: i'll buy that one. let's go to the next one. this one is -- what's this call? >> "freedom from wants." one of the four freedoms he painted to illustrate president roosevelt's ideas about why we were fighting world war ii. >> you can't tell me he was a liberal right. he couldn't have been a commie socialist like roosevelt. this guy is a heartland painter. this guy is from the heartland of america. >> no, he's been misappropriated by right wingers. they was man who believed in equality and tolerance and voted for j.f.k. in 1960 and lbj in 1964. >> stephen: that's one of the things why i didn't want to hear a critic talk about it. >> stephen: you should also know he painted the defying image of the civil rights movement, the problem we all live with, the the people who want to turn him into a cartoon version of an all white boring america don't hold much credence. >> stephen: he did paint a lot of white people. >> he did. he did. >> stephen: let's go to the next one. one that's this called? >> "saying grace." >> stephen: this just sold on sothebys for $46 million. >> that is correct. >> stephen: the highest price ever paid. >> stephen: we don't know who -- for what, for that painting? >> for an american painting. >> stephen: well, for an american painting of that period meaning we're looking at artists like rockwell, edward hopper and georgia o'keefe. yes, it's representational, correct. >> stephen: so isn't it the best reputation if it costs the most? hasn't the market spokeen? >> no, no! i want to tell you --. >> stephen: do you believe in the free market? >> that i believe the market is a critic but it's not a very good critic. >> stephen: not a good as one as ever saw. >> stephen: >> exactly. >> stephen: the market will determine how good your book is, by the way. don't insult the market, deb. why do you think this sold for so much money? what's going on here? >> it's also a thanksgiving picture. and it shows a grandmother and grandson giving things in the -- giving thanks in the middle of a bustling diner. the detail is exquisite, you can make out the "new york times." phenomenon. >> stephen: you can see the fork and knife. >> and see the "new york times"? he read the "new york times." >> stephen: everybody's got their flaws. (laughter) >> stephen: here's my real problem with you. it's bad enough you're being a critic but you're also trying to be some kind of critical sleuth. look at this next painting here. you have looked at some of his paintings and you've said you detect a preference for men over women in his subjects and you're projecting that in the possibility of homoerotic undertones in his work. >> well, it's true he did paint men more than women. he was a figure painter who favored men and that's unusual because most figure painters paint women. picasso, for instance, you know picasso painted women. >> stephen: and put too many of these on. (laughter) >> matisse, women. gaugin, women. >> stephen: so he painted a lot of guys -- so he painted a lot of guys you're saying it's something that might have gay tendencys? you're saying he might be home sfwhal that's what you're saying! >> you used the word homoerotic. do you know what that means? >> stephen: it means bad! homoerotic doesn't mean that you're permanently anything. it's just a passing impulse. so if one feels a homoerotic impulse as an art historian might say it means that we have two male figures showing affection for each other. and i --. >> stephen: so the subject can tell us something about the possible feelings of the painter sexually? >> well, it can tell us -- it can tell us something about the artist's imagination and what excited his gaze. >> stephen: so you're saying warhol imagined getting it on with soup cans? (laughter) (cheers and applause) hfrjts we don't want to get into warhol's sexuality because, you know, that's just can of worms. a campbell's soup of -- a campbell's soup can of worms. >> stephen: hmm,mm good. thank you so much for joining me. deborah solomon. the book is "american mirror">o >> stephen: captioning sponsored by comedy central captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> from comedy central's world news headquarters in new york, this is "the daily show" with jon stewart. ["daily show" theme song playing] [cheers and applause] welcome to "the daily show" my name is jon stewart. [cheers and applause] >> jon: we have made a show for you tonight by hand. our guest tonight from the lifetime show "under the gunn" one of our favorites, mr. tim gunn will be joining us a little bit later. [cheers and applause] first like a car unable to move forward on its way to fort lee, new jersey, we -- [laughter] -- as a nation remain stuck in the news traffic jam that

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