Bill Maher on CNN
WOLF BLITZER: Let's get back to our top story. Will the firings of those eight federal attorneys bring on a constitutional showdown?
I spoke about that with a keen-eyed comic and social critic. That would be Bill Maher, the host of HBO's "Real Time With Bill Maher."
BILL MAHER: Well, there are so many things about this that amaze me.
First of all, I was saying on my show the other night that we have been on the air for this season five weeks. In three of those weeks, there's been a major Bush scandal, Scooter Libby, Walter Reed, and, of course, now this U.S. attorneys thing.
What amazed me about it, Wolf, is that this was something that was written into the Patriot Act, that they could replace these attorneys and -- and not have to consult with the Senate.
BLITZER: It was sort of slipped in.
MAHER: Right. And, you know, I understand that the Patriot Act, and then the "Patriot Act II: The Search for Curly's Gold," were not read. You know, that's the joke in Washington, that nobody read them. I understand, OK, nobody read them right after they were written, because, oh, it was after 9/11, and we didn't have time. We just had to rush through this legislation.
How come, at this late date, no one still has read them?
BLITZER: They're very, very long documents.
MAHER: I know, but you would think a lawmaker, Wolf, that's their job, to maybe go through -- you know, just when they are getting on a long plane ride, like a screenplay: Hey, take this and read it on your way to Japan.
BLITZER: Have you seen a change on the part of the Democrats? They won back in November. They are the majority in the House and the Senate. They now have subpoena power, oversight power. They can do things now they couldn't do during the first six years of the Bush presidency.
MAHER: Well, when are they going to start doing them?
BLITZER: Are you suggesting they haven't shown the spine yet, the guts that you would like to see?
MAHER: Right. They don't raise the bet, you know?
Cut off the funding -- or at least vote for that. That's what the Congress is supposed to do, control the purse strings.
When the Republicans cut off funding, like, their famous starve- the-beast theory with government, no one complains about that. Cut off the funding, and put the onus on Bush, so that, if the troops don't get what they need, that's because that money is there to bring them home.
BLITZER: Let me switch gears, because we have a limited amount of time. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, what do you make of this duel among the Democrats?
MAHER: Well, I think it's good for the viewer. It's interesting. It will put the presidential race perhaps on the cover of "People" magazine, and then people would follow it.
I think Hillary Clinton should run in 2008 on a platform of restoring honor and integrity to the White House.
BLITZER: It reminds a lot of our viewers of what Bush ran on in 2000; is that what you are suggesting?
MAHER: That is exactly what I'm saying, Wolf.
BLITZER: Because I remember that phrase.
You think Al Gore is going to jump in?
MAHER: I think Al Gore will jump in if he smells blood in the water.
I don't think he's going to do it any time soon. I think, if he sees a situation sort of similar to what's going on in the Republican Party, where folks are dissatisfied with the choices, I think, then, he will. I think he still wants to be president. I don't think you ever lose that yen. And I think he still could be a good president.
But it's a crowded field. And I think, if Hillary or Obama falters, I think you have other candidates, even before Al Gore, who would rise to the top. I think John Edwards is probably the dark horse in this race. I think he could win this thing by being everybody's second favorite choice.
BLITZER: Let me pick your brain. You are out in California. Arnold Schwarzenegger -- he won decisively his reelection. He's pretty popular out there. How do you explain this?
MAHER: Well, I think he's a pretty good politician, for one.
He understands that you can reverse yourself and avoid the term flip-flopper. I think he looks at President Bush and, says: Oh, well, Mr. Resolute, look where that got him. He's really just seen as stubborn and willful and arrogant.
So, Schwarzenegger has not been afraid to switch gears. And the other thing he does, I think, is that he's out front of where the federal government is on many issues, like the environment, like stem cell research.
He's saying: California is a giant state. It's almost its own country. If it was a country, I think it would have the seventh largest economy in the world. And he puts the federal government to shame by doing things that they should be doing.
BLITZER: Is he your favorite Republican?
MAHER: He's one of them, yes.
BLITZER: Who else do you like?
MAHER: Well, I used to like John McCain a lot more. But I think what we have to look for, most importantly, in the next president is smarts.
I think, if you polled the people in this country, they would say, well, we had a big experiment here the last eight years, the last six years, with George Bush. We thought, well, maybe we can get away with a president who wasn't that bright. Well, look how that turned experiment turned out.
I want a very bright man in the White House next time. John McCain supports the idea that more troops is the answer in Iraq. To me, that's just dumb. It's just not bright. So, he's out -- not my favorite anymore.
BLITZER: A final thought on Rudy Giuliani?
MAHER: Rudy Giuliani, you know, his reputation rests largely on the fact that he was so great on 9/11. And he was very inspiring on 9/11.
But I think what folks forget is that the reason why there were so many great pictures of him running around town that day is because the command-and-control center was put, by him, in the World Trade Center, which was attacked in 1993. He put the command-and-control center in the one place he shouldn't have. So, his big decision on terrorism turned out to be quite a bust. So, him, smart? Sorry. Can't give him that either.
BLITZER: "Real Time With Bill Maher" airs on our sister network HBO Friday nights, 11:00 p.m. Eastern. Bill, thanks for coming in.
MAHER: Wolf, always a pleasure.
