"And so I appreciate that, and I thank you for it," Stewart added. "And I hope that your colleagues let you still eat at the lunch table."

Stewart, a liberal who nonetheless skewers both Democrats and Republicans, is popular among younger viewers. Feingold's appearance on the show could help him broaden his appeal for a potential 2008 presidential campaign.

"I was taught that it was the Congress that makes the laws, and the president's supposed to sign them, and he's supposed to enforce them," said Feingold, who received an enthusiastic response from the audience. "He's not just supposed to make them up."

Feingold's resolution would censure the president for authorizing a warrantless surveillance program, which the senator contends is illegal, rather than making use of a law covering such wiretaps. The White House argues that Bush was authorized to do so under his powers as commander in chief.

Stewart poked fun at the tepid response that Feingold's proposal has generated on Capitol Hill. So far, only two senators, both Democrats, have signed on as co-sponsors.

"A lot of your Democratic colleagues are reacting as though you're Jack Abramoff and you have a casino you want to talk to them about," Stewart joked, referring to the disgraced lobbyist.

Feingold, who has accused his Democratic colleagues of "cowering," said it was important for the party to show some backbone.

"How many times are we going let George Bush and (Vice President) Dick Cheney say, 'You guys don't support the troops. You're not patriotic,' and let them push us around?" asked Feingold, whose appearance was via satellite from Milwaukee. "We have to stand up to them."

Stewart played a clip from a recent news conference of House Majority Leader John Boehner, in which the Ohio Republican said of Feingold, "Sometimes you begin to wonder if he's more interested in the safety and security of the terrorists as opposed to the American people."

After the audience groaned, Stewart asked, "How long have you been working with the terrorists, and are they nicer than they seem?"

"Oh no, they're a bad bunch," Feingold said, laughing.

Feingold conceded that a member of his own family questioned the proposal.

"My daughter called me up and said, 'Dad, what are you doing? This thing hasn't been done since the 1830s,' so it takes some explaining," Feingold said.

"That's what I like about you, senator," Stewart said. "You're kicking it old-school."

The only president ever censured by the Senate was Andrew Jackson, in 1834, for removing the nation's money from a private bank in defiance of the Whig-controlled Senate.

Despite the friendly setting, Stewart didn't let Feingold off without a dig. Changing the subject, he said that the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law was aimed at getting money out of politics.

"How's that going?," he asked sarcastically.

Feingold chuckled, and responded, "We got rid of the unlimited contributions raised by politicians, but we now we have to deal with more reform." He called for public financing of elections.

Copyright © 2006 Associated Press

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