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Maher speaks

11 comments on Maher speaks

Maher speaks
: Bill Maher told Barbara Boxer last night that he won’t vote for George Bush but he won’t bet against him either.

: Biggest laugh of the show: He reported that Ashcroft was in the hospital and doctors were figuring he got sick from “wiping his ass with the Bill of Rights.”

Oh, spare me your indignant and hostile comments, it’s just a joke and it was funny.

: Maher’s show has really found its voice (Dennis Miller should have been so lucky); it’s a good way to end the week (HBO should move it up to prime time).

11 responses to “Maher speaks”

  1. tim Avatar
    tim

    (HBO should move it up to prime time)
    Uh, it’s on at 8. Doesn’t get much more prime than that. Used to be later; maybe that’s what you’re thinking of?

  2. Andrea Harris Avatar
    Andrea Harris

    Well, as a joke it’s lame. It kind of sounds like Maher thinks the Bill of Rights is poisonous or full of germs. A funnier joke (well, one that would scan better anyway) would be a version on the old vampire-crucifix theme. That is, if you really think that Ashcroft has more of an adverse reaction to the Bill of Rights than any other attorney, general or otherwise.

  3. Reid Avatar
    Reid

    I haven’t watched him since his “Politically Incorrect” days. Does he still do the “three liberals gang up on a lone conservative” format?

  4. Reid Avatar
    Reid

    And, most of the time, the lone conservative was the dizzy Arianna or the befuddled Jerry Falwell, neither of whom come anywhere close to representing mainstream conservatism. Then, of course, you had Maher himself as moderator so, really, it was 4 libs against a lone, feckless conservative.

  5. old maltese Avatar
    old maltese

    Andrea’s right. And I’m indignant and hostile, so I’ll be quiet now.

  6. John Avatar
    John

    Reid —
    Every once in a while it would be Ann “Death to the infidel Rich Lowery” Coulter who would be the lone conservative. Fine if you want red meat. Bad if you want someone who doesn’t use the same hyperbole conservatives critcize liberals for.
    As for Maher, he’s basically tries to be a contrerain, which is why in the days just after 9/11, I was able to pretty much guess on another message board what sort of tone Bill would take once the late night shows went back on the air. If everyone says the sun rises in the east, Bill will argue it rises in the west and consider it a pithy oberservation that challenges the conventional wisdom of the day. If it makes him and the HBO people happy, that’s fine, but he’s not breaking any new ground.

  7. No Avatar
    No

    Miller found his voice, that’s what made HBO so unhappy they took him off the air. Maher is so predictable, he’s inconsequential. Three leftists per every conservative…that’s his idea of balance. Imagine the stink if Fox put on Rush, Podhoretz and Coulter each evening to debate the single sacrificial leftie. That’s what it’s been like watching Maher for years. The only comedy in his show is the fact that he once went by the preposterous title of ‘politically incorrect.’ Now that’s a good joke!

  8. daudder Avatar
    daudder

    Maher’s show is getting very good, mostly benefiting when then guests (and Bill) allow each other to answer/speak. Last weeks show with Christie Todd Whitman, Ian McKellan and the mayor of Detroit (can’t recall his name) was just great. It was funny, entertaining and informative, and a pleasure to watch.

  9. Peg C. Avatar
    Peg C.

    We have no use for Maher but gave Miller a couple of whirls. Naomi Wolf destroyed the 2 roundtables we saw and we gave it up. Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like the revamping involves ditching the roundtable; just adding a live audience. Does anyone know if they ditched Wolf? It’s simply unfathomable to me that anyone even hired her.

  10. No Avatar
    No

    Course you’d like it…daudder, just confirms my point precisely. Three liberals, including Maher, versus Whitman. What fun! That’s fair and balanced…an abusive beating up on a solitary Republican…quelle surprise! That’s entertainment! And Maher, what a wit…he’s not exactly in Miller’s league, is he? Off topic, and not to be too cruel (unlike Maher, who used to brag about the exemplary babes he bagged)–but what’s he taking as a dietary supplement? Aging pills?

  11. Eric Pobirs Avatar
    Eric Pobirs

    I tried to the first broadcast, which included Ann Coulter. I don’t recall his full name but a black novelist (IIRC) made an absolutely outrageous claim and before Coulter could make a extremely necessary rebuttal out pops Chris Rock for no apparent reason to congratulate Maher on the new gig and mug for the camera a bit. By the time that was done whatever rebuttal Coulter had been intending was lost and a new subject introduced. Coulter has been over the top on occasion but everything she said in that segment was rock solid while the other panelist were actively putting fantasy above facts.
    I thought to myself, “Ah, it’s going to be that sort of thing.” Every time I’ve come across it since it appeared to be the same format, so I’ve felt no desire at all to give it any more of my time.