I think that’s reading too much into it. MacFarlane has always been a typical Hollywood liberal, save for the fact that he doesn’t seem to mind making fun of liberals…kind of like Stewart. Which is kind of funny, considering Stewart wasn’t very happy about it when he became one of those liberals.
But when you have a show like that you have a pretty free reign on the content, and if it’s left-leaning, so much the better, in the minds of the Hollywood execs.
Have a look at Penn Jillette pointing out his ridiculous hypocrisy. Guy’s not being used. It’s just one episode, and it’s all his idea. Every other mention of politics in the series has a pro-liberal slant. Brian is a typical leftist, and of course, as the most intelligent character always plays the voice of reason when he comes in with his leftist bias. They’ve made fun of Republicans and conservatives in general on countless occasions. If Fox really had that much influence or cared that much about a cartoon sitcom, there wouldn’t be as much pro left-wing crap on there.
I agree it was nice to see him skip over a lot of cheap shots he could have easily taken. And while I agree Jon Stewart has done a few favors, it’s kind of like someone kicking you in the shin and then giving you some ice to put on it.