Every writer knows that his basic tenet, if and when all else fails, is to write what he knows. At The Daily Show Jon Stewart can avoid this.

Not that he doesn’t know a lot–you can’t very well mock other people’s stupidity if you’re ill-informed, and, like a good host, he always seems to have read the books of the authors he interviews. But as anyone who has seen the show and its many obscure C-SPAN clips can tell you, the guy is backed by a well-equipped team of comedy writers and politics junkies who seem to have all the news stations on all the time, churning out joke after joke.

Stewart proved through his performance at Chrysler Hall on Friday night, though, that even on his own, he’s got plenty of jokes. His original material is not nearly as sharp as that of his Comedy Central writing staff, but it is more familiar. Laden with curse words and delivered with a more casual ease, Stewart’s routine is a bit more like a regular (maybe a little cranky) American guy observing and complaining about the ills of his country. Rather than the suit and tie that his Daily Show persona requires, Stewart wore a sweater and khakis. Clearly, in person, he is much easier to relate to.

Stewart writes what he knows. So naturally, his material covers the following in depth: Jews, Democrats and fatherhood. He expounded on, among other things, the ridiculousness of wearing yarmulkes, which he prefers were not referred to as “Jew beanies” by the rest of us. He did some hilarious Bush impersonations. He talked about how brutish his 5-year-old son is compared to his 3-year-old daughter. Jon Stewart knows himself, knows where he stands, and clearly, he’s doesn’t take himself so seriously.

What was brilliant about his routine, on the other hand, is how well he also knows us. As he mentioned at the start of the evening, Stewart is a William and Mary graduate (Class of ’84). He gave the commencement address there in 2004. My friend, who was graduating that year, said that Stewart’s speech was spot-on, if even a little “too edgy.” Subsequently it garnered cheers from the students and pissed off a lot of parents.

There were a lot less pissed off audience members on Friday, I’d imagine, but Stewart certainly did impart some of his specific observations about the area. “I’m performing where?” he said. “Afghanistan? Iraq? …Norfolk?! Fuuuuuuuckkkkk!!!!” Though in jest, Stewart was probably right to worry that his jokes would be poorly received in the biggest military region in America. Yet most cheered as he ridiculed Republicans, saying, for instance, that Bob McDonnell’s thesis for Regent University (calling working women detrimental to the family) “would make sense if he were from a Little House on the Prairie town.” (McDonnell is from Virginia Beach.) When it came to the political parody, Stewart was most certainly preaching to the choir.

It was when he got into race and religion, rather, that the crickets started chirping. At one point, Stewart made a remark that blacks still deserve much more from white people. You could’ve heard a pin drop in Chrysler Hall. “Wrong crowd?” he asked. At another point he mocked the glory, and wardrobe, of the Pope. He got some chuckles, but only a quiet few. “It’s hilarious when it’s Jews, Jews, Jews,” he said, “but as soon as I start talking about your guy, it’s not so funny, huh?”

This, in the end, is Jon Stewart’s real genius, though. His ability to make us look at ourselves and ask, “What do I really believe, and why?” In his book, America (The Book): A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction, Stewart says of the media (which he himself is inextricably a part of), “The role of the free press is to be the people’s eyes and ears, providing not just information but access, insight, and most importantly context. It must devote its time and resources to monitoring the government, permeating the halls of power to determine who is doing the people’s work, who is corrupting the process, and who will promise to be a mole in the State Department if their homosexuality is kept secret.” Since we can’t very well turn to Fox, MSNBC or networks to do that, fortunately for us, we have Jon Stewart.