Bill Maher: 'War Hero' Kerry Should Call out 'Draft Dodger' Bush

Appearing on CNN's Larry King Live on Wednesday, comedian Bill Maher, while discussing the recent John Kerry gaffe interpreted by many as an attack on the intelligence of American troops, wondered why Americans would believe a "true war hero" like Kerry would be "against the troops." Ignoring Kerry's history in the 1970s of giving testimony before Congress accusing American troops of committing war crimes, and his 2005 charge that American troops in Iraq were "terrorizing" civilians, Maher contended that Kerry should have "called out" President Bush, referring to the President as a "draft dodger."

Below is a transcript of Maher's comments from the November 8 Larry King Live:

Larry King: "Why would anyone, though, think that he'd be against the troops since he went twice himself?"

Bill Maher: "Why did they vote in 2004 on that basis? Why was Karl Rove and his Swift Boat proxies able to convince America, at least some of America, enough of America, that the true war hero, was actually a coward or a denigrator of the troops, and the draft dodger? And yes, as I've said on this show before, Bush is a draft dodger, anyone in the Vietnam era who figured a way not to go to Vietnam draft-dodged the war. How come he was the hero? Well, you know, you can fool some of the people some of the time. You can't do it forever."

King: "But John Kerry should have, that was-"

Maher: "He should have called him out. Exactly."