DAILY SHOW RIPS SC FOR WAVE OF RECENT NEGATIVE ATTENTION

South Carolina has certainly had more than its fair share of national and international attention lately, something that has provided comedians and analysts alike ample fodder for filling otherwise empty television segments.

So Daily Show Host Jon Stewart decided to pay homage to the Palmetto State Monday night for making his life really, really, easy.

“From its Appalachian Trail fabricating, Patagonian gorp-munching governor, to its colorful, socialist-fearing, Urkel-quoting Senator [Jim] DeMint,” Stewart said.

The references to Gov. Mark Sanford’s disappearance and Argentinian affair, and DeMint’s comparing Democrats to the character Steve Urkel from the 1990s show “Family Matters,” were only a few of the numerous occurrences cited by Stewart.

The Daily Show host also spouted off jokes about Sen. Lindsey Graham, a former elections official who said an escaped gorilla may be one of Michelle Obama’s ancestors, State Sen. Robert’s Ford’s support of Confederate memorial day, Olympic champion Michael Phelps getting caught smoking pot, the University of South Carolina’s use of the word “Cock,” and Miss Teen South Carolina’s 2007 infamous meltdown.

And, of course, Stewart led the segment with a few shots at an Horry County man who was arrested last week for the second time for having sex with a horse.