Maher on Leno: Bush a 'Dolt' and 'a Gilligan Who Cannot Find His Ass with Two Hands'

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To laughter, cheers and applause from the Burbank audience of NBC's Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Bill Maher on Tuesday night issued a litany of denigrating insults at the intelligence of President George W. Bush, as if his decisions are not in accord with many experienced experts. Maher pointed out how MSNBC's “Joe Scarborough did a whole week of panel discussions on whether he was an idiot.” Maher elaborated: “The people who were defending him were saying, 'well, he's just inarticulate.' But inarticulate doesn't explain foreign policy. I mean, it's not that complicated. The man is a rube. He is a dolt. He is a yokel on the world stage. He is a Gilligan who cannot find his ass with two hands. He is a vain half-wit who interrupts one incoherent sentence with another incoherent sentence.”

Maher appeared as a guest to plug his weekly Friday night HBO show, Real Time with Bill Maher, which returned last week to the pay-cable channel. On his program the Friday before the 2006 election, Maher warned his viewers that if they vote Republican then “you vote to enable George Bush to keep ruling as an emperor -- a retarded child emperor, but an emperor.” (NewsBusters item with video)

Video clip of Maher's litany of insults for Bush (1:00): Real (1.8 MB) or Windows Media (2.1 MB), plus MP3 audio (365 KB)

The comments on the February 20 Tonight Show, picking up after Leno insisted Democrats are no harder to make fun of than are Republicans:

Bill Maher: “Political comedy is effective in inverse proportion the competence of the leader.”

Leno: “Well, that's true. That's true.”

Maher: “In other words, the bigger the fool, the easier for us. And this man, come on, let's get real. I mean, Joe Scarborough did a whole week of panel discussions on whether he was an idiot [audience laughter ]. Seriously. And when you've lost Scarborough Country, I mean -- and I think the science is in on this question.”

Leno: “Yeah, yeah.”

Maher: “I mean, I think he is -- the people who were defending him were saying, 'well, he's just inarticulate.' But inarticulate doesn't explain foreign policy. I mean, it's not that complicated. The man is a rube. He is a dolt. He is a yokel on the world stage. He is a Gilligan who cannot find his ass with two hands [audience applause]. He is a vain half-wit who interrupts one incoherent sentence with another incoherent sentence [cheers and applause]. And I hope I'm not piling on, Jay.”

Maher soon added: “Okay, and this is the problem with the Democrats, is that the alternative actually would've been a better President both times. Al Gore would have been a better President. John Kerry would have been a better President. Not because they are Democrats. Because they read.”