Bill Maher/John Stewart

[ls317]

Bill Maher has always seemed to relish coming off as iconoclastic to the point of being unpleasant; in certain ways he's the anti-Jon Stewart. But if Stewart's "Daily Show" has gotten demonstrably angrier at the Bush administration since the post-Katrina fiasco, Maher's been there all along. His whole arc on TV, in fact, is woven into Sept. 11, into what was permissible to say then and what is being said now.

It will be four years ago Saturday that Maher made that indecorous comment on his ABC show "Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher" when, responding to panelist Dinesh D'Souza's point that the Sept. 11 hijackers were being mislabeled as cowards, Maher said: "We have been the cowards, lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That's cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building, say what you want about it, it's not cowardly."




http://www.calendarlive.com/printedition/calendar/cl-et-ontv16sep16,0,7415035.story?track=tottext

[Cleita]

1. Good point.

Jon isn't as abrasive as Bill, but both stick their political observational darts in the triple twenty of their target.

[Erika]

2. Bushbots are hiding their faces now

It is Maher, the Dixie Chicks, and the rest who made the honorable challenge.

[obxhead]

3. but they're not hiding their faces.

they only hide reality. I blame much of our problems on the MSM. They are the only thing that really stands between a democracy and a dictatorship.
Without the MSM would watergate have ever happened?

[Melodybe]

4. I disagree with one thing in that article

The Daily Show does an equally good job eviscerating both Bushco and the media, but I think that they are way more relivant when they go directly after Bush.

But kudos for Maher, he may be kind of a sexist, but atleast he is a decent voice for the left.

His show has really been kicking ass lately.

[ls317]

9. 9/16 Show

P.J Rouke was annoying as a hell.....

[daninthemoon]

5. I think Stuart reaches a broader audience, so probably is more

effective. Also, his style seems so easygoing and pleasant that more people are open to him. Mostly though, despite his protestations that his is just a comedy show, we ( and I think he) all realize it is actually the most honest news show on television. I wish Maher was on more often, and usually appreciate his panels as long as the lyin blonde bitch isn't on.

[NVMojo]

6. Maher has always been too honest or right on target ...

[tulsakatz]

7. I remember watching that show....

........when he made that comment and, at the time, I even agreed with him! Although it probably wasn't a wise thing to say on TV, especially so soon after 9/11! I can certainly understand why people got upset by it. I also believed that ABC over reacted to it.....oh well, it's not like they've ever made wise programming decisions before or since!

One of the reasons why I've always liked Bill is because he sometimes says stuff in a different way and although I don't always agree with him or his guests, they always give me something to think about.

[fujiyama]

8. Stewart is much smarter

His ability to rip through bullshit is much greater than anyone else I've seen.

This is not to say thhat Maher can't be funny. At times he is. I love his rants on thheh religious right and religion in general. I just find him a bit shallower. I still find it frustrating that for a while after the "elections" in Iraq, he praised tehe entire misadventure.

[nine23]

10. Right on, fujiyama...

It's about time someone reminded us EXACTLY where Maher was at immediately post-Iraqi elections. He said: (paraphrae): "It looks like Bush was right all along about the invasion..." Then he bashed the left about getting our knickers in a knot, CONVENIENTLY forgetting EVERYTHING that made up said invasion except for the little one-day election (which, as we know now, didn't amount to much).

From that exact moment on, I've considered him a fucking table-scrap opportunist. Funny...perhaps, a little, but fuck 'em anyway

[Lethe]

11. if Maher and Stewart could have a child, who would it be?

Anderson Cooper of course. For some reason he reminds me of them both.