Bill Maher seemed so naive on "Larry King" tonight.

[Just Me]

:shrug:

On one hand, he exposed the "Bush administration" on their hypocrisies,...yet, he never seemed to hold the revelation of their repugnant corruptionS. He apparently had NO information about today's hearings exposing so many criminal acts with respect to "misspent" BILLIONS of American public wealth by crony corporatists.

I sincerely do enjoy Bill,...BUT,...I'm thinking about sending him the book, "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" and requesting that he face the reality of democracy being dealt via death and profit.

[AuntiBush]

1. I seen him last week and got the exact same impression.

You know, I could have sworn I see Bill Maher on Larry King or some other show just last week. At first he seemed ready to expose the Chimp, then he changed mid-way through. It might have been a Pat Buchanan interview. By the time he was done, I was very dismayed by his interview and vowed never to watch him again.

What I think of Bill Maher now is :puke:

[cestpaspossible]

2. Don't think of him as a White Knight.

Think of him as a comedian. From that perspective, maybe he's ok.

[Nite Owl]

3. I only saw a part of it

and it was terrible. I was looking forward to his show coming back but he just didn't know his stuff tonight at all. And he wasn't funny.

[Bozita]

4. He spoke favorably about private SS accounts

Then after the break, he mentioned that SS is an insurance policy.

Trying to be all things to all people?

[Selatius]

15. I think he did bring up a somewhat valid point though about SS

It really has a low rate of return. He said he thinks privatizing it and letting people invest in stocks and funds that could yield 20% but carry incredibly high risk is dumb, so I suspect he wants something with a better rate of return like 4-6%, not 1-2% like he was mentioning. I think he said "1.6%" on the show.

[Bozita]

21. No offense, but what's the rate of return on your home insurance policy?

Or car insurance?

[Selatius]

29. That depends on if you want to treat SS as insurance or as investment

I guess what he's talking about is why not have a hybrid of both?

[Old and In the Way]

5. He'd be smart to spend some time here at the DU

He'd get all the material he needs to here. Bill has a pretty good show on HBO. I saw one with Andrew Sullican and Huggely (sp?)...they really deconstructed Sullivan pretty well.

[realFedUp]

26. I think he does already.

but all smart politicos should hang here...
so much free material.

[Callboy]

6. Understand he is a MASA guy

Mutual Admiration Society Of America

He doesnt want to go to far with the envelope, he has interests of his own to protect. Everyone on that level sells out just a scootch.

[Callboy]

7. But he is about as cool as you get.

[deadparrot]

9. Welcome to DU!

:party:

[Just Me]

8. I just got the impression that he was either/or naive/ignorant.

And, I will confess that, I was sincerely disappointed.

Maybe, he is a person who simply cannot comprehend the level of corruption being exercised by this administration.

I know people like that,...who are kinda' stuck on a belief that all people are basically "good" or "well-intentioned",...rather than born with the power of choosing.

:shrug:

I was disappointed.

[Misskittycat]

10. I only watched for about 10 minutes.

I was disappointed. He did seem a bit naive about certain things. He also complained about Kerry not "saying a word" about the environment.
I just got disgusted and turned it off.

[Springg]

11. Has Bill run out of material?

I too was disappointed with Bill Maher on Larry King Live this evening. He has drunk the kool-aid regarding the importance of the Iraqi vote. I mean...really...if the Iraqi's end up with a theocracy beholden to Iran...then how is that a good thing? Oh, yeah...I forgot...Saddam has been removed from power!!! Bill just seemed out of it...not funny and definitely not well informed! A waste of my time! :(

[Blue_In_AK]

12. Maybe he's just preoccupied with his palimony

problems or whatever was going on with that woman who sued him.

[union_maid]

13. He's been good opposition

But he's not nearly as smart as he thinks he is.

[Vinnie From Indy]

25. Amen!

His comments last night reflected his love affair with himself to some degree. He repeatedly insisted that the Iraqi election was a huge win for Iraq and ShrubCo. I thought his performance was for the most part idiotic and uninformed.

[LdyGuique]

14. He's friends with Ann Coulter

I think that pretty much sums him up. On one of his last shows of the season, he had her on via the giant screen -- the audience was booing and Richard Belzer from Law & Order nearly walked off (he refused to talk to her) -- and Maher kept defending Annhole and claimed friendship.

Maher is shallow and makes a buck by being a political comedian -- doesn't mean that he's all that deep or genuinely concerned with any of the real issues. It IS disappointing, but this is real life and few political celebrities are much more than running mouths.

[blondeatlast]

18. He's slept with her; they were an "item." That's all I need to know

about him.

He may be funny, he may be smart, but for colossal poor taste and judgment like that, I have no time to waste on it.

[JI7]

16. Bill has always been kind of an economic libertarian

he often went after people on welfare and had a problem with Clinton's plan which allowed people to take leave from work while still getting paid during things such as if a family member is in the hospital.

[mandyky]

17. Anyone know if or when Real Time is back on HBO?

I heard a rumor here on DU a month or so ago that they might cancel it...

[latebloomer]

20. This Friday, 11 PM EST

I'm looking forward to it-- hope it doesn't disappoint.

[Blue Christmas]

19. On the other hand...

While I mostly agree with Just Me's sentiment, there seems to be a lot of misinformation in this thread.

I'm watching my tape of this show, and - while whether someone is funny or not is always subjective and debatable - a few things are not:

Bill Maher doesn't "push the envelope"? Bill's one of the only people I can think of whose shows have been castigated and/or outright cancelled for pushing the envelope TOO far. I was surprised that CNN even showed a few clips from Real Time 'cause they seemed to "edgy" for Corporate News. He also said, on this broadcast, that Bush feels he "owes Jesus for getting him off the sauce" - from who else are you going to hear such a comment on CNN?

And speaking of Real Time and cancellation, there is no truth to the rumors that it has been cancelled. Its new season begins this Friday.

As for the switch from speaking favorably about private accounts one moment and then saying it should be an insurance program the next... what he really said was that ** is wrong for trying to "turn an insurance program into a 401K program." As an above poster pointed out, his favorable comments merely regarded a better rate of return than 1.6%.

And while I too was amazed by the inaccuracy of Bill's assertion that John Kerry neglected to mention the environment (I seem to remember a lot of talk about said subject during one of the debates), he does go on to say not enough is being done about the environment and he really champions its cause. So I think we gotta take the good with the bad here - surely the person who criticized Maher for not remembering Kerry's message correctly can be enthusiastic that he went on to passionately support Kerry's actual position?

Lastly, while I don't know whether the allegations of a relationship with coulter (a truly horrifying notion) are true or not, I will say that when it comes to the poor judgment of some otherwise clear-headed male public figures, the source of the bad judgment usually is located below the waist (people like Jefferson and MLK come to mind - NOT that I'm otherwise equating these men).

Just Me, I think you should send him that book and any other info you feel would be helpful - the more informed Maher is, the better he could be for our causes.

And I'm sorry about the length of this diatribe/defense - I just feel disheartened sometimes when I see people so casually dismissing someone who has been such an important oasis in the desert of Corporate Media and has truly spoken out (and paid the price for) a lot of things we at DU so fervently believe in.

No man is perfect, and no man agrees 100% with everything you may believe in, but I think that Bill has done way more good than harm in exposing the ineptitudes of the * regime (and gov't in general). And along with The Daily Show and Countdown, Real Time has offered one of the only sensible-sounding voices in a barren landscape of Corporate Media-owned whores and lackeys.

And with that, I'm off to apply for the job of Bill's press agent. I'll include this post as part of my cover letter.

:P

[BrainRants]

22. Bingo! He's a comedian first, pundit second...

...and has poor taste in women if he banged ANNorexic.

As I recall from last season, he doesn't mind pissing off rethugs and making them look foolish. I recall Sully losing his mind after a Chomsky segment, Rep. David Drier walking off the set, and the ex-repub Senator Alan Simpson coming across as the vision of senility in the season finale.

For that he has my utmost respect!

Besides, his "New Rules" segment makes the whole show worthwhile.

[returnable]

23. Well said! And welcome to DU.

Some of the posts in this thread are indicative of the infamous "Circular Firing Squad" mentality we see at DU all to often, also known as Chicken Little Syndrome™. :hi:

[Blue_In_AK]

28. Thank you, Blue Christmas, for saying what I was thinking. n/t

[sadiesworld]

24. I'm sure he likes the * tax cuts.

Take him for what he's worth...not so much.

[bdiddy04]

27. HE'S A COMEDIAN

He's probably politically a libertarian. I wish evryobne here would stop kissing kerry's ass. He ran a horrible campaign. he he were going against john mccain, an at leats comptetent republican, he would have lost in a landslide. He didn't have a message. Paul begala said it this morning. James carville was brought to tears by their incopetence. These were the guys on clinton's dream team