Appearing on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher," MacFarlane was discussing the controversy surrounding last Sunday's "Family Guy" when a Down Syndrome joke was made at Sarah Palin's expense.
Maher pointed out that this wasn't inspired by White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's "f-ing retarded" comment: "[Y]ou've been making fun of the retarded for years."
MacFarlane replied, "[Y]eah, we've had our fair share of Bush jokes."
Moments later Maher said, "[I]ronically because of people like Sarah Palin, the country has done, become so stupid, we need the word retarded to constantly describe what is going on in America" (video embedded below the fold with partial transcript):
BILL MAHER, HOST: And also, so that people have this in perspective, your show, it's a very long lead time to make that show. This was not inspired by Rahm Emanuel's recent comments. I mean, you've been making fun of the retarded for years.
SETH MACFARLANE, "FAMILY GUY" PRODUCER: This, yeah, and it's, we've, we've, yeah, we've had our fair share of Bush jokes. [...]
MAHER: And also, I'll just say my little piece which is, you know, I've gotten some crap about this from people, too, over the years. And, what I would say is, look, language is a living, breathing thing. Americans have voted with their vernacular. They need the word "retarded." They use it constantly.
MACFARLANE: It doesn't mean what, what, what it, you're not, you're not going to call a person with a mental challenge retarded. You're just not going to do that. We don't, that's not what, no one with any sense uses that term in that way anymore.
MAHER: But ironically because of people like Sarah Palin, the country has done, become so stupid, we need the word retarded to constantly describe what is going on in America.
Amazing. Is there any limit to the Bush and Palin bashing?
