I agree with plenty of Bill Maher's viewpoints, but detest the self-righteous way in which he delivers his message. In this HBO special, he affirms his moral superiority to many of his fellow Americans, and does not apologize for calling many of them "stupid" simply for voting for George W. Bush. Even though this special was made more than a year after Barack Obama's inauguration, Maher still has a bone to pick with "Dubya", though George Walker Bush is by no means his only target. Ever since her debut on the world stage about a year-and-a-half prior to this Bill Maher special's airing, John McCain's running mate Sarah Palin has been a polarizing figure, both a conservative darling and a liberal punching bag: guess which view of Palin Bill Maher takes with a vengeance? His criticism of Palin is so obvious and repetitive that it gets boring.
On the other extreme, Maher does bend over backwards to warn those he may potentially offend, especially on the topic of his criticism of organized religion. I must give him some kudos for giving those easily offended a heads-up about his criticism of religion, though it was no more harsh than his criticism of conservatism. I did find his personification of the Holy Trinity funny; in fact, even though it is potentially offensive to religious people, it was the funniest part of his entire monologue. Maher also goes over his way to defending Barack Obama more than half a year after being inexplicably rebuked by some in the media for his mild chiding of the current president's kid-gloves approach to politics; not that he has abandoned his criticism of Obama entirely, but he also moves in the other extreme of praising Obama. To top it off, Maher makes what seem like rater childish remarks by branding conservatives as racists.
There are some high points: I liked that Maher actually did not condemn Eliot Spitzer and Tiger Woods for their adultery, which in this case is a huge exception to his self-righteous tone, and actually condoned male sexual behavior, albeit in a simplistic way, which I understand is necessary for a comedy special (as opposed a serious sexology class at Harvard).
I have never seen Bill O'Reilly or Sean Hannity on TV, so I do not know why liberals find them unlikable, but I have heard some say that they find both men's self-righteous tone turns them off; it might be fair to say that Bill Maher is a mirror image of those conservative pundits. I know that the title for Bill Maher's is supposed to be cheeky and ironic, but one would not be wrong to take it as a literal statement, based on what one sees in this special. Luckily, Maher does show some humility, and I will continue to watch his hilarious "New Rules" segments on his "Real Time" show, which are invariably the best part of that weekly series.
Maher was funnier when he was romping around with Shannon Tweed in the jungles of the UC Riverside Botantic Gardens. Even liberals may balk at the attitude of his latest HBO special. Still, I recommend people watch it and make up their own minds.
On the other extreme, Maher does bend over backwards to warn those he may potentially offend, especially on the topic of his criticism of organized religion. I must give him some kudos for giving those easily offended a heads-up about his criticism of religion, though it was no more harsh than his criticism of conservatism. I did find his personification of the Holy Trinity funny; in fact, even though it is potentially offensive to religious people, it was the funniest part of his entire monologue. Maher also goes over his way to defending Barack Obama more than half a year after being inexplicably rebuked by some in the media for his mild chiding of the current president's kid-gloves approach to politics; not that he has abandoned his criticism of Obama entirely, but he also moves in the other extreme of praising Obama. To top it off, Maher makes what seem like rater childish remarks by branding conservatives as racists.
There are some high points: I liked that Maher actually did not condemn Eliot Spitzer and Tiger Woods for their adultery, which in this case is a huge exception to his self-righteous tone, and actually condoned male sexual behavior, albeit in a simplistic way, which I understand is necessary for a comedy special (as opposed a serious sexology class at Harvard).
I have never seen Bill O'Reilly or Sean Hannity on TV, so I do not know why liberals find them unlikable, but I have heard some say that they find both men's self-righteous tone turns them off; it might be fair to say that Bill Maher is a mirror image of those conservative pundits. I know that the title for Bill Maher's is supposed to be cheeky and ironic, but one would not be wrong to take it as a literal statement, based on what one sees in this special. Luckily, Maher does show some humility, and I will continue to watch his hilarious "New Rules" segments on his "Real Time" show, which are invariably the best part of that weekly series.
Maher was funnier when he was romping around with Shannon Tweed in the jungles of the UC Riverside Botantic Gardens. Even liberals may balk at the attitude of his latest HBO special. Still, I recommend people watch it and make up their own minds.