Politically Incorrect - Not
National Review, March 10, 1997
The Inauguration has come and gone, and with it the hopes Washington, D.C., entertained of a tourist bonanza. Receipts were lower than expected, far down from last time. Much like the election, in fact, in which voter turnout fell to 49 per cent, the lowest since 1924. In a way it is a welcome development, a rejection of activism, an indication that people are ready to get on with their own lives rather than those of their neighbors.
To members of the political class, especially on the Left, it is a rejection that hurts. Self-important beyond belief, they need to be taken seriously, not to be ignored. People should "participate" in the "process," whether they want to or not. The media, it is argued, must play their part in what would doubtless be termed our national town meeting. To some, this entails free air time for their speeches ("the broadcasting spectrum is public property'") and patronizingly sanitized "civic journalism" of the type seen in the North Carolina Senate race. To others, this is old politics, too League-of-Women-Voters to be relevant, Post-modernly hip, and leftward naturally, they fuse politics with entertainment, Rock the Vote, and are thrilled when ABC buys the rights to Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher from a cable channel dedicated to comedy.
Believe U.S. News & World Report and Bill Maher is a Will Rogers in the making, a man whose show, according to George, "may change the way America watches politics," ABC hopes so. The network has targeted Politically Incorrect at the Koppel and Sominex crowd, scheduling it just after Nightline.
The format is simple. Think of the Monty Python sketch where Marx and Lenin appear on a game show, to be asked questions on soccer and pop music. Bill Maher reverses the premise. The topics for discussion are often political, and serious(ish), the guests frequently less so. To be sure, you might see an Ed Rollins, Dee Dee Myers, or John O'Sullivan, but they will generally be outnumbered by entertainers: an actor or two, a rock star, or an unclassifiable like Kato Kaelin.
The show is certainly not politically incorrect, in the authentic, which is to say right-wing, sense of the term. Instead, we are told. Politically Incorrect is about "honesty," Is it? Well, in theory Mr. Maher's guests are speaking openly, being encouraged to state their true beliefs, (That this is considered daring, politically incorrect, says a lot about America.) But many do not, of course: they have their agents, their focus groups to think of. Oh sure, the performing seals will bark on cue, Sandra Bernhard is good for a brawl, and G. Gordon Liddy is just good. But that's their schtick; it's what's expected. For the rest, it is all very bland, with even the mildest controversy being greeted by the hoots and whoops of an audience priding itself on its own sophistication.
If the show has a slant, it is that disgruntled populism so easily manipulated by Common Cause, in which "good government" shades imperceptibly into big government. Bill Maher himself prefers to affect a wry "plague on both your houses" bi-partisanship, but it doesn't quite convince.
Whatever its claims. Politically Incorrect still plays by the Left's rules. Conservative positions may be taken, but they must be carefully qualified as exceptions, not the rule, Mr, Maher favors the death penalty, but is also pro-choice and pro-gun control. He will tell risque jokes, call female guests "baby," and talk sensibly about today's poisonous gender politics; but at the same time, says a website for Maher fans, he admires "smart women." A favorite cause, animal rights, is impeccably PC.
So if the show is not politically incorrect, is it even "political," something to be taken seriously? Judging from the recent show devoted to an absurdly gentle interview with Larry Flynt, the answer must be no. One is tempted to dismiss Politically Incorrect as a talk show with pretensions, to grumble, as some guests have done, that the mix of guests and sub-McLaughlin format inhibits proper discussion. It would be easy, perhaps too easy. One hears the sound of a mandarin whine being uncorked, "Comedy Boy," as Maher has described himself, is entitled to his say, and so are the folks on his show. Politics should not be the exclusive preserve of wonks. The idea that it operates (or should operate) independently of the world of entertainment, or the general cultural mix, is nonsense.
But Politically Incorrect won't "change the way America watches politics." It won't change anything. If the discussion can seem trivial and intellectually dishonest, that merely reflects the society from which the show has emerged. Bill Maher once commented that in Bill Clinton the U.S. had chosen an appropriate President, "because he is full of s—" and so are we. Mr. Maher is quite right. And that is why this stand-up comedian, this Carson who wants to be Cronkite, is, as much as anyone else, the pundit we deserve.