Bill Maher on politics, John Edwards
From the Larry King Show, 8/19. I don't always agree with comedian and HBO talkshow host, Bill Maher, but he always makes me think.
[VP selection]
MAHER: You know, I'm reading, I guess, the same thing you're reading, that it's between three boring white guys again.
KING: He doesn't need a black guy.
MAHER: Actually if he doubled down on Colin Powell, how wild would that be? I mean, this is the Democrats' problem. Is that they never do anything bold once they get the nomination. You know, I'm still for Obama, but I have to tell you, he's trying my patience.
...moving to the center on so many issues and just doing what I saw Kerry do, what I saw Al Gore do. I thought he was going to be different. He didn't have that "I'm going to blow it" look on his face like those two did. But he's doing sort of the same thing: moving to the center, moving to be a kind of a lighter version of the Republican candidate.
MAHER:...At this point I think they need Hillary Clinton.
KING: Really?
MAHER: Yes. Look, I may change my mind tomorrow. I've been thinking this way a long time, not just because it's bold and they need to show bold, but you know what? I think they need the Clinton ruthlessness onboard. I really do.
I'm beginning to think Bill Clinton is still the only guy in that party who really knows how to do this, as far as talking to the American people, making the counter argument to the Republican arguments that, again, Obama just seems to be cozying up to their way of thinking. "Oil drilling? Yes sure. I'm for that. Wiretapping? Like that, too. Religious nut? I can get onboard there." I'm telling you, I like this guy but...
[Joe Biden]
MAHER: He's not a bad choice, but is he going to excite anybody? Hillary Clinton would excite the base. I keep saying the Democrats have to move toward their base. They have to make the case that there is this other America out there.
MAHER: He's not a bad choice, but is he going to excite anybody? Hillary Clinton would excite the base. I keep saying the Democrats have to move toward their base. They have to make the case that there is this other America out there.
KING: ...unpopular president, the most unpopular president ever...an unpopular war...Economic worries. Why isn't this a done deal?
MAHER: You'd think it would be a no-brainer in a country where torture is legal and marijuana isn't.
KING: How much of it is race?
MAHER: That's a big factor, much bigger than people think, I believe.
KING: Sad.
MAHER: I think the poll I read recently was 30 percent of white Americans have a positive view of Barack Obama. You know, even if he gets every black person in America to vote for him -- and he will, by the way -- I don't know if that's just going to cancel out the people who wouldn't vote for him just because of that one reason.
And of course, the Republican campaign is all about making him different. He's not like us. He's from some weird place like, I don't know, Morocco or something. He doesn't always wear a flag pin, and he's got a lippy wife, and his pastor wears an African shirt. You know, this stuff is scary, Larry.
KING: You think McCain is playing to that?
MAHER: Absolutely.
KING: Does McCain disappoint you in doing that?
MAHER: They both have disappointed me, but yes, McCain has been disappointing me steadily since 2000 when I was supporting him.
KING: I remember when you supported him.
MAHER: Yes. But you know, that Straight Talk Express has taken a lot of detours, Larry. And the closer he gets to it the more -- the more they both do ridiculous things. Once Paris and Britney got in the race, that's when I said, you know, this is another year where I have to march forward, again, without an ideological champion.
I mean, Obama -- I like him better because he's younger, he's cooler, he's smarter. I do think he'd be a better president. You know, he does nuance, and you saw how well that goes over with the Rick Warren people.
But as far as an ideological champion, do I have one anymore? Do I have one -- do I have a candidate who's taking the side on the issues that I would want the candidate to take on most issues? No.
KING: Will -- might McCain go bold and pick, say, a Democratic running mate or a pro-choice running mate: Tom Ridge, Joe Lieberman?
MAHER: Well, Joe Lieberman is already a Republican. He's just a Democrat in name. I don't think that makes a big difference.
You know, that's an important pick, because McCain is, you know, another Bush in the sense we're getting another very detached, anti-intellectual president. There's a big vacuum when you have a president like that. And so the vice president very often steps into that vacuum, as we saw with Dick Cheney. That could happen with McCain.
I think when you get McCain you get the worst of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. Old, forgetful, doddering, anti-intellectual. And into that breach who knows who might step?
And I'm amused that the press thinks -- the pundits, you know, he's going to pick somebody younger. Gee, you think? Who's available that's older? Bob Dole, Lauren Bacall and Abel, I think, is the short list.
KING: Boy, you're really down on this campaign. It's got you down. Both of them.
MAHER: Well, I'm reading the paper, and how could it not? Is it me? Am I making this stuff up?
KING: OK. John Edwards. What does one say? I know you liked him very much. Or like him very much.
MAHER: Yes. I still do. He didn't cheat on me. Although I understand when people say they're disappointed in the sense that, well, I guess it's like if you invested in a company and somebody did something to damage the stock. You know, I did send him money. People did send him money.
And what if he was the candidate now? What if he had gotten the nomination and this broke? I mean, it would have been a disaster for the Democrats. They'd have to do an Eagleton and get somebody else at the last minute. You know how hard that is to get help at the last minute, Larry.
I -- always when somebody is caught cheating, of course it's never an admirable thing to do, but I still think there's a giant lack of national perspective on this crime.
KING: Meaning?
MAHER: Meaning, a man is married 31 years, you know, people, not just men, women. I mean, you're married a long time. You know, you're desperate for something new. I mean, men like new sex. Women like new shoes. You know, people like new. You can't stop human nature.
So OK. It's not an admirable thing to do. The noble thing to do when you're married is to suck it up and suffer. We all get that. Fine. But it's a shame that we have to lose a good message from an otherwise good man. He was the guy who had the health care plan that they both copied.
His idea that we have two Americas (and in one of them he's single), but certainly, that's an important message. And it's a shame that his name and all of his work-- he's just a national punchline now.
