Coulter v. Carlin

I think Ann might be rattled. I've heard before she shies away from book signings because she fears the hostility of masses of liberals. Carlin will most likely get nasty if he's on the panel with her, and I'm not sure Leno will change the format to prevent that.

Update: Carlin up first, so presumably he'll be on the couch as Jay interviews Coulter.

Rumor has it that Carlin was funny from 1975 to 1979.

Before I really got political, I watched one of his shows on HBO. As a kid, I thought he was hilarious. He said dirty words.

But watching him as an adult, I thought it was all kind of sad. And I wondered if he had never really been funny at all, or had been funny but simply lost it.

Those old shows don't hold up well at all either. Which isn't necessarily a knock. Most stand-up doesn't hold up very well. Hell, even classics like Monty Python don't hold up very well. I'm not sure if Fawlty Towers was funnier than Monty Python, but it sure seems less dated.

Carlin's Stand-Up... was lame. It was fast-talk use of buzzwords, often paired in contradiction, like "The software on my hard-drive is hard-core, no soft-porn" and "I bought a microwave at a minimall and a minivan at a megastore."

It's, um, cute, I guess. Sort of. It's just so very, very 1977.

Well, old school is the new new school, I hear. So it's very cutting edge, in a way. Like Gallagher.

Not Any Funnier: "Ask me how old I am."

"How old are you?"

"SIXTY NINE!!!" Carlin exclaims.

Um, okay. I don't know. Far be it from me to knock someone for having a childishly prurient sense of humor, but, look, at least my humor is eighth grade. "SIXTY NINE!!!" is sixth grade, I think.

Bad Premise, With a Bad Payoff: The Catholics don't have an atomic bomb?

France?

Well, okay, maybe they're not so Catholic anymore.

Either way, not funny.

No Fireworks: Carlin made one playful (but not very funny) joke and then gave Coulter a friendly punch in the arm. He was quiet throughout. Coulter pandered (she doesn't need a bodyguard, she travels "with conservative men," which pleased the conservatives in the audience). Leno asked her all the required questions, which she deflected, by and large.

She wasn't funny either. And looked a little stranger than usual.

Leno follows Carson's admonition to not take sides in political disputes. Letterman doesn't. Which is odd, because Letterman idolized Carson.

Bill Maher Vetted Her Book? She claimed her "smartest liberal friend" had been given the book and told to attack it for problems. When Leno asked her if she had many liberal friends, she said just one.

This would seem to be Bill Maher, whom she gets along with famously.

Odd.

Some Quotes: At NoDNC. He liked the appearance more than I did.

A Freeper Report: Says that Ann said Carlin was nice to her. He seemed nice. I figured his fan-base would be upset if he didn't go after her. I was pretty surprised he was so well-behaved.

The guy's report says Leno asked "strangely pointed" questions. I really have no idea what the hell this could possibly mean. There's a controversy around her; how could he not ask the questions? And I have to say Leno asked them as politely and deferentially as one could imagine them being asked.

For example, in asking why she used such aggressive language, he said he always comes from the perspective that you attract more flies with honey, but then added, "Maybe that's just because I'm a comic," i.e., depending entirely on audience goodwill for a living.

This is "strangely pointed"? The guy gave her polite, straight-ahead, gentle interview.

I don't like when "my side" acts all moonbatty.

It makes me feel dirty. And not good-dirty, either.

posted by Ace at 10:43 PM

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