Steve Malzberg at NewsMax.com has reported in his new column that HBO host Bill Maher compared First Lady Laura Bush to "Hitler's dog." I guess that would make President Bush, according to Maher, like Hitler himself!

On the Friday, September 23, 2005, episode of Real Time With Bill Maher, as part of a "comedy" bit, Maher was displaying a series of doctored photos to "show" that the President had resumed drinking. (This story has been reported in the, um, National Enquirer.) One such "photo" portrayed Mrs. Bush with a black eye and a bandage over her eyebrow. According to Malzberg, guest Christopher Hitchens objected to the photo and challenged Maher. (The following is re-formatted from Malzberg's column:)

HITCHENS: "It must be to his credit he (the President) got Laura Bush to marry him. She's an absolutely extraordinary woman."

MAHER: "Oh, come on. That's like Hitler's dog loved him. That is the silliest reason ..."

HITCHENS: "I think tomorrow you might be sorry you said that. Laura Bush is very gentle and talented."

Bill Maher: Classy, eh?

By the way, in reference to the black-eye photo, Michelle Malkin has a great "[q]uestion for NOW and all you card-carrying feminists: Since when did you start tolerating mockery of domestic abuse victims (real or imagined)?"