you simply are not going to get the quality of panel
you want if you have to do it every night. This is once
a week, for 25 weeks a year. You can take the time to
come up with a guest list that’s just right for the show.
And we can go for much smarter people now. On
Politically Incorrect, there was pressure to get people who
were famous more than anything else. I mean, we’d
joke that part of the show’s charm was that even stupid
people can talk about politics on TV, and we owed them
representation. But that’s not the case with Real Time.
Our audience has clearly let us know that they prefer
people who aren’t so famous but have something to
say. And I like it that way, too. I’m older now. I’m not
amused anymore by having people on my show whom
I wouldn’t be having a conversation with otherwise.”
The show represents freedom to Maher, even
if, in many respects, it drives him crazier than
Politically Incorrect.
“He’s working harder on this one than ever,” says
Real Time executive producer Scott Carter, who’s
worked with Maher since 1993. “If you’re doing a
show every day, after a bad show, you can always
say that you’ll just come back the next day and do a
better job. But now, Bill has to wait a week between
shows, and that drives him constantly. Politically
Incorrect was a first draft for audiences. Real Time
is the polished result of multiple drafts, and much of
that comes from Bill’s ability to dig deep and dissect
all the issues.”
That’s the key to Maher: No matter how intriguing his guests are, you get the impression that the host
remains the smartest guy in the room. After all, he’s
the one with the laser vision when it comes to deflating
those in power. Take his recent arguments on the topic
of impeaching Bush. On the surface, it sounds like another tilt-at-windmills sort of proposal by yet another
wild-eyed, angry liberal. But when Maher constructs
his argument—regardless of whether you agree or disagree that such proceedings should be considered—it’s
difficult to deny that he states a compelling position:
“You know, when we learn as we have in several books
that he didn’t really know before the war began that
Maher’s All-Time, All-Star Guest Panel
D.L. Hughley
“He’s a great guest. A lot of comedians tend to awkwardly separate
‘the joke’ from the commentary,
as in, ‘Here’s what I think ... Now
here’s my joke ...’ He’s not like that.
He effortlessly weaves the humor
within the commentary. He lets the
humor flow organically. That’s a
great skill for a guest.”
Barney Frank
tangles with
MSNBC host Joe
Scarborough
Barney Frank
“He’s the smartest guy in Congress.
He’s a politician who doesn’t sound
like a politician. Obviously, he must
be from a smart district if they don’t
care about electing and reelecting an
openly gay candidate, so he works
with a wider net than others and he
takes advantage of it. He doesn’t
have to worry about upsetting people with every word he says. He’s a
smart person, and he’s a real person.”
Tony Snow
“He’s in the Ronald Reagan tradition, the happy warrior. He may be
saying something you don’t agree
with, but he says it with a smile,
without a trace of bitterness or rancor. You can have a discussion with
him and disagree with him and still
like the guy.”
