Let’s be clear up front: I like Bill Maher.
I think he’s a unique combination of smart and funny, and I tune in to Real Time weekly. It makes me giggle, and it gets the synapses in my gray matter firing.
I also relate to Bill, in a way, because like him I am a liberal with a sense of humor. That means if I find something funny, I’m going to (a) make a joke about it, or (b) laugh when someone else makes a joke about it.
That out of the way, I was a little embarrassed for Bill when I watched the September 15, 2017, episode of his show.
I don’t agree with him 100% of the time, but I have to admit it was both odd and rare to see Bill Maher miss the mark twice in one episode. He’s usually more on the ball than that.
The first fumble came in the opening segment, when Bill asked NY Times columnist Bret Stephens, “What do you think the liberals biggest flaw is?”
They were discussing election 2016, and pondering upon the idea that Trump didn’t technically win the election, Hillary lost it. Bill wanted to know what Democrats should do differently in 2018.
Bret said, “I’ll give you an example that will make you feel uncomfortable…” and went on to explain that the last time he was on the show, January 2015, Bill did a bit about Iowa’s newest Senator, Joni Ernst. The bit made fun of Joni’s habit of mentioning she wore bread bags on her feet as a child.
According to Bret, the bit “practically explains the 2016 election.”
Bill quickly became indignant, and made two comments. First, he was aghast that he was being taken to task for the joke, and second he said he doubted Joni ever actually wore bread bags on her feet.