It’s the position that has the power to bring the movie industry’s most prestigious event crawling on its miserable knees (“Uma… Oprah”) or make it the talk of the water cooler the next day (“All of those children were fathered by Jack Palance!”). The selection of the host of the Oscars can be a trying endeavor, especially this year it seems, as selection after selection have rejected the opportunity to host the awards show.

It’s no big surprise last year’s host, Chris Rock, isn’t returning. While he was nowhere near as bad as people expected (his style of humor isn’t exactly reminiscent of the awards atmosphere), he wasn’t exactly memorable either. Former hosts Steve Martin, Whoopie Goldberg, and Billy Crystal also turned down the opportunity to return. But that hasn’t stopped the Academy from finding someone, thankfully keeping them from remaking the mistake that was the “year without a host”.

Jon Stewart, from the parodical “The Daily Show” has been announced as the host of the 78th Academy Awards according to the L.A. Times. Stewart, who at one time could barely keep his late night syndicated show afloat, is an amusing choice given his career rebirth with what many consider to be the best news show on television despite it being a comedy. Who better to host the award show in a year when so many films have been accused of having a strong political agenda? There’s no doubt movies like Crash, Munich, Syriana, and Good Night and Good Luck will be easy targets for the host, who hopefully will use some discretion when targeting more controversial films like Brokeback Mountain. No doubt Stewart will also be willing to make fun of his own career as a thespian which usually involves supporting Adam Sandler or Kevin Smith.

This won’t be Stewart’s first time hosting a major award show. Stewart hosted the 2001 and 2002 Grammy Awards.