the partying in new orleans. my dog didn't make the top three. can you guess which it is? bruiser, the bulldog. >> oh. >> bruiser runs my life. it's okay, thoe. >> that's it for "360." thanks for watching. "larry king" starts now. see you tomorrow. >> larry: tonight bill maher is back telling it like it is as only he can. >> democrats have moved to the right and the right has moved into a mental hospital. >> larry: speaking out, sparing no one. sarah palin, dick cheney, president obama are all in his sights. bill maher for the hour, and he's taking your calls, too, next, on "larry king live."

>> larry: one of the treats of doing this program is getting the chance to welcome bill maher back to "larry king live," the star of the hbo comedy special," but i'm not wrong." you must see this. hysterical. this friday night, february 19th on his happy home, hbo. thanks for coming back. a little grayer, but you look great. gray hair is just commenting on these times. >> you can't stop it, can you? >> larry: no, you can't. >> it's better than making fools of ourselves and having plastic surgery and hair replacement. we're happily old. >> larry: let's move right into things. senator evan bayh, latest democratic member to say good-bye. what do you make of senator bayh saying goodbye?

>> i say good riddance. here's a guy that stood up there saying, i love serving the people of indiana but i don't like congress. i don't think he was serving the people. if you're talking about the common man, he was a corporatist. that's the problem. they say he's a centrist. he's not. he's a corporatist. he's not serving the common man, and the reason congress doesn't work is because of democrats like him. i assume that republicans are going to be obstructionists, but at one point there was only 40 of them. the reason they were able to block stuff is they were able to pick off democrats just like evan bayh. obama wanted to raise the amount of money that people making over $250,000 could declare as a tax deduction, just back to what reagan, that socialist, had it at. that would have paid for health care. well, evan bayh joined the republicans to block that. same thing with the estate tax. you know, they wanted to reinstate it for people.

the top .2% of the wealthiest people. not 2%, .2%. well, that was too much for evan ba bayh. so for him to say he's working for the people of indiana, he's not working for the people of indiana, he's working for corporations. he'll become a lobbyist now, which is what he was before. >> larry: what do you make of cnn's poll that shows -- >> i understand he's a very nice guy. >> larry: he appreciates all the compliments. a new cnn poll show only 34% think that most members of congress deserve re-election. 51% say their own member deserves re-election. >> that's the problem, isn't it it. it's that everybody -- >> larry: they keep re-electing them. >> pork, we've got to get rid of that, except for the project in my district. the politicians are no prize, but the people stink. they really do. >> larry: us? >> yes. not you and i, larry, and of course the people watching us, no, those are bright people.

but i mean the others out there. yeah, because, you know -- >> larry: you said 70% of americans aren't crazy. you're saying 30% are. >> i don't know when i said that. >> larry: the people stink, 30% are crazy. what do you mean we stink? >> 70% sounds like the statistic we had during the clinton impeachment. 70% were behind clinton. >> larry: what do you mean? >> well, because they don't know what they want. they're contradictory. the tea baggers and that crowd. they're very upset about the deficits we have. we have to get this deficit under control. how are we going to do that? tax cuts. which will only increase the deficit. so we should cut stuff. yes, we should cut, but not the defense department and not social security and not medicare. well, that's 80% of it. >> larry: what do they want, then? >> exactly. they want both. they want new jails and new

schools and services, and they want to pay for it with tax cuts. you know, they just don't make any sense. jobs, why isn't the president getting us jobs? oh, so you want another stimulus bill? no, are you kidding? that's socialism, we can't have that. >> larry: the "wall street journal" just reported that five prominent republicans wanted stimulus for their areas. >> of course, they reflect that hypocrisy. >> larry: you firmly supported obama. what happened? >> we had a bad freshman year. as many of us did in college. i certainly hope things are going to get better now, but i don't know, he still doesn't seem to get it, that you can't win this with a kiss. you know? he still wants this bipartisanship that is never going to happen. i think he sometimes believes that he is the kind of guy who

can persuade people to do anything. i mean, during the campaign, the republicans did accuse him of that a number of times, of being the messiah and the one and believing in his own publicity. i'm starting to believe it could be true, because if he thinks at this late date that he can get them in a room, it's going to change, we're going to put it on c-span, maybe some of that will change something, but, you know, it's the job of party b to block the agenda of party a. what he has to do, i think, is do what roosevelt did when he came in. he didn't want to be friends with anybody. he said about the bankers, i welcome their hatred. i welcome their hatred because they're not serving the interests of the american people. >> larry: so you want him to get tough? >> get tough -- well, of course, i do want him to get tough, and stop doing what democrats always do, which is try to curry favor with people who are never going to be behind them, anyway. for example, this spending freeze that he announced? what a typical democratic idea. it doesn't really solve the

problem. it's not enough to put a dent in the problem because, of course, they're not going to touch the pentagon or anything like that. so it's not going to fix the problem. the republicans only laugh at it. it doesn't win any of them over, and it alienates his own base. the democrats never curry favor with their own base. a year ago, when he won the election, obama finally had a base of people. my god, he won indiana, he won north carolina, he won virginia, traditional red states. it's all gone now. those people are disillusioned. >> larry: you said it's not what you voted for. >> it's not. that's not what i stood in line at the voting booth for. i want my hour back. >> larry: do you think it might change? >> yes, i do. i think presidents have learning curves. kennedy certainly did. many of them do not have good first years. but what bothers me is that unlike certain presidents, reagan comes to mind, who in his

first year took the pain. remember the economy the first year? >> larry: yep. >> it was not a good first year for him popularity-wise. >> larry: very low polls. >> right. take the pain in the first year. he should have done that. he talked about that the other day in an interview, i'd rather be a one-term president. to make that statement, you have to be doing some bold things. you can't make that statement, oh, i'm going to be a one-termer. i'll take that because i'm making the tough decisions. no, you're not. do some bold stuff and then you can talk about one term. >> larry: as you can tell, it's always the trying thing about having bill maher as a guest is he has no direct opinions on anything. it's the hardest part for an interviewer to do, is to handle someone wishy-washy like this. we'll get to sarah palin and other issues and we'll see how he skirts around that, right after this. at the mercedes-benz glk... when you study its engineering, its safety systems...

and when you consider who will be riding wityou... perhaps the question is not so much whether you can afford to drive a vehicle that is built this way... but whether you can afford... not to. the glk. the engineering of mercedes-benz. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for special offers through mercedes-benz financial. ♪ do you want to try my crest extra white with scope outlast? i'm good. i bet your breath will still feel fresh when the movie's over. if i win, i'm going to vegas with the boys. ok. if i win, you're going to yoga with me. i love yoga. [ female announcer ] new crest extra white plus scope outlast. for a whiter smile and a fresh breath feeling that lasts up to 5 times longer than ordinary toothpaste. still fresh? yip. i want to be mad but it's tough with that smile. [ female announcer ] crest extra white plus scope outlast. vegas.

basic package. good choice. only meineke lets you choose your service, choose your savings. like an oil change for just $19.95. meineke. >> larry: judge judy is here tomorrow night. priscilla presley on thursday. we're back with bill maher. what do you make of this cheney/biden battle on sunday? >> i liked it. i like to see dick cheney exposed. chris matthews called him the troll that's under the bridge. >> larry: what's your read on him, on dick cheney? >> you know, i wish, as we were just talking about, i wish anybody in the democratic party

had that sort of fortitude, that sort of perseverance to stick by what he thinks is right. i'm not questioning his insart. i question his intelligence. i don't think he reads things right, that we use the army to fight terrorism is just wrong. they don't have an army, they have exploding underwear. it's just not a wise decision. but he's also -- what i don't admire is he's a liar, you know. >> larry: whoa. >> yes, he is. joe biden had that correct. for him to go after the democrats for treating terrorists the exact same way his administration did. and, of course -- >> larry: treat who wrong? >> many of them. they were all tried in courts in america and all put away. if i was a criminal or terrorist, whatever you want to call them, yes, i would fear the most a prosecutor, a seasoned

federal prosecutor in our system. you know, like eliot spitzer was, those kind of guys. giuliani himself, i think, was that. >> larry: tough. >> tough. there's a reason yes they put them all away. and the reason they will never get out of prison, because if there's one thing we can still do in this country is put people in prison and keep them there. >> larry: so you favor a civilian trial for the 9/11 in manhattan? >> yeah. >> larry: in manhattan where it happened? >> in manhattan. >> larry: obama seems to be backing away from that. >> that's so typical of the democrats. as soon as anybody screams at all, one little squeak out of anybody, okay. sorry, you're right. we'll do the opposite. >> larry: schumer changed and bloomberg changed. >> what the democrats don't understand is americans don't

care ever understand it, they're not bright enough to understand the issues. like an animal they can sense strength or weakness. they can smell it on you. when you back off a situation like that, you look week. on top of which somebody who has to explain to me why the democratic position on this shouldn't really be the republican position? it seems like the republicans who are always the, you know, jack bauer "24" tough guys and macho, they should be the ones that want to try this guy in manhattan. that seems like the breast-beating macho position. yeah, we're going to try him right where the crime occurred. we're going to stick his nose right in it, as opposed to their argument he's going to mock us. mock us, really? that's cowardly to me to be afraid of it. >> larry: we have a blog question for bill maher. do you think it's socialism for

the government to take over health care to make sure every american can afford to have it? do you think that's socialism? >> of course it's not socialism. oh, god. americans have no clue what socialism is, they just know it's something super terrible. no, first of all, you know, we have socialism already in this country, as does every modern dms. >> larry: social security is sociali socialism. >> of course it is and so is the marine corps and the mail. every modern industrialized western democracy is a hybrid with elements of socialism in it. it's not evil. again, the democrats have done a rotten job of selling health care. there is a lot of good stuff in that health care, but to have it be characterized -- to let people characterize it as socialism was a big mistake from the beginning. >> larry: will they get a weak bill, then, if they get a bill at all? >> the senate bill already passed is not that bad. yes, it's not what a lot of people would have liked, but it does cover 30 million more people.

you can't get thrown off for a preexisting condition. it saves money. it does reduce costs. medicare is solvent until 2026. that's not a bad start. you can't solve legislation usually in one fell swoop. there's usually a good start, then you go back and you get some more. why obama just doesn't, you know, make -- tell the house to adopt the senate bill, take it in to reconciliation and push this through instead of having this televised supposed love fest with the republicans. larry, they're just not into you. i keep telling them, they just are not that into you. >> larry: barry. if you have a message for bill, go to cnn.com/larryking. bill will weigh in on the late night wars, too. stay with us and hear what he thinks, next. (announcer) pepcid® complete

doesn't make you choose. it neutralizes acid in seconds and controls heartburn all day or all night. pepcid® complete , works now and works later. all day or all night. i was just in town for a few days, and i was wondering if i could say hi to the doctor. is he in? he's in copenhagen. oh, well, that's nice. but you can still see him!

you just said he was in... copenhagen. come on! that's pretty far. doc, look who's in town. ellen! copenhagen? cool, right? vacation. but still seeing patients. oh. [ whispering ] workaholic. i heard that. she said it. i... [ female announcer ] the new office. see it. live it. share it. on the human network. cisco. sometimes i wonder if rush doesn't just spin a giant wheel of hate every morning to come up with whatever he's going to get the faithful all worked up about. mexicans, rrrrr. socialism, rrrr! van jones. i don't know who he is, but rrrrr! >> larry: that's, of course, from a previous realtime with bill maher. it debuts friday night, february 19, and they repeat it 1132

times. if you missed it you see it 6:00 a.m. thursday morning, 4:00 tuesday afternoon. it's a great show. i had a wonderful time guesting on it. >> people are still talking about it. >> larry: it was a great moment. what do you make of haiti? you got to be sad about that. >> of course. who isn't sad about haiti? yes, and, you know, i was happy to give money to my friend richard dawkins started a fund for non-believers. people say we don't care or we don't think it was an act of god or we wouldn't help out. of course we wouldn't and he raised a lot of money. i thank god for him. i twittered something about i wish the media would cover something the week it had went on. i noticed, for example, the nightly news did only one story, and i said, you know, that's not right. the media is supposed to inform us. >> larry: cnn has done a hell of a job.

you're talking about haiti? >> yeah. >> larry: you're saying we weren't informed? >> i'm saying you were overinformed. late night news, they're supposed to give you a variety of subjects for that day, gives you one story for three or four night hes in a row? people aren't learning about haiti any more than they can. at a certain point you're just wa wallowing in it. it's just disaster porn. honestly. >> larry: disaster porn. you must admire sean penn who said you can't cover it enough. you should never stop. this tragedy is so immense. >> he's wrong. it's not the most immense. nicholas kristof did a great article a few weeks ago about what's going on in the congo. there is a war that's been raging in the congo for four years. it's killed millions of people.

millions. haiti is awful. but when i twittered the thing about the media is covering haiti too much, i got responses like, why do you hate black people? if i hate black people because i'm complaining about the media covering haiti too much, how do you feel about black people because you don't even know about what's going on in the congo where 5 million people have died? the media just doesn't do a good job and the americans don't do a good job about getting on the case of things that are not immediate or completely easy to understand right away or have celebrities involved. you know? there's lots of issues that need our attention. haiti was horrible, and i'm glad they're getting a lot of aid, but it wasn't the only thing that's going on in the world. >> larry: we're with bill maher. we'll ask about sarah palin and other things and take your phone ca calls and have twitter questions as well. don't go away. better taste.

better taste. yum! [ female announcer ] eggland's best. the better egg. determine if a car is a best buy? first, they drive it in the real world and put it through its paces. they rate its fit and finish and the amenities inside. they factor in purchase price and operating costs, fuel economy, and resale value. in short, they do what you do to test its quality. the consumers digest best buys from chevy.

put them to your own test. and may the best car win. ♪

a twitter question tweeted to kings things. do you worry that your jokes at sarah palin's expense play into her image as a media victim and actually make her more appealing to some voters? >> i worry about it night and day, larry. it keeps me up. >> larry: i knew it did. >> of course not. anyone who is truly a fan of sarah palin is unreachable. that is an unreachable person. they must be written off. you can't reach them.

because sarah palin is the most unserious person we've ever had on the national stage. >> larry: unserious. >> she makes joe the plumber look like aristopholes, are you kidding? dan quayle was leagues ahead of her, and he's not a bright man. but she does serve a purpose, which is, i think she allows so many americans to look down on someone. and we need that, larry. we need someone, even people who are not terribly bright can go, well, i'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer but i am smarter than that crazy lady. i don't have to write things on my hand. >> larry: how do you explain the following that she has? >> well, first of all, i don't think it's that big a following. in america, you know, you get 12 agitated people and a camera in a room, it's an event. we don't really know what's a big following anymore.

there is 20% of this country that will follow sarah palin, this is the hard-core, right-wing base. yes, i'm sure the tea baggers -- i'm sure there is that element. there's certainly not enough to win any elections. i don't think she is a threat to win any election in this country. i do not stay up at night worrying that sarah palin will be elected. >> larry: do you think she's a threat to be a nominee? >> no,i don't. i don't think the republicans are that crazy that they would ever nominate someone who is that unqualified. i have to think that if she got close that there are republicans, and we've seen this already, some republicans, have come forward to say, you know, this person is not serious, she's not qualified, we can't get behind sarah palin. >> larry: she's popular on talk radio, though, i hear. >> of course, but what is talk radio? >> larry: i don't hear it anymore. i started it. >> exactly and it became a right wing thing. what does rush limbaugh do for a living? he scares the white man as they get into their truck at lunchtime.

she's perfect for that. >> larry: why do you think mccain -- he didn't vet her well, right? >> no. that's so typical of mccain, but that's always who mccain was. reckless. how many planes did he crash? what? he crashed a number of planes. >> larry: you mean in training and finally in war? >> i'm not counting the one that was shot down, although i think people say that he -- i'm not going to speak out about that because i don't know my facts well enough, but i do know that he crashed more than most people do and get to keep flying. anyone who knows him has always said, that is who he is. he is a riverboat gambler, he is reckless, fly by the seat of his pants and the idea that he would someone he didn't know anything about without any vetting when he just heard her

name a couple days before, i think, is absolutely consistent with his character. >> larry: did you read "game change"? >> i read about it. >> larry: it's a heck of a book. they claim that lieberman was always his choice, but that the right wing forced him to make a last-minute decision that made him go to palin. >> what do you mean forced him? put pressure, forced? he's the man. this was his campaign, this was his turn. that's what the republicans do. you wait your turn and you get it. they gave it to bob dole, they gave it to goldwater. he could have made a different decision. it was his decision to make. what do you mean, they forced him? they held a gun to his head? this guy was ftortured for 5 1/ years, and we admire him a lot for that. if he could withstand that, he couldn't withstand the pressure of them telling him to choose this nut from alaska? >> larry: in the next portion

we'll try to get him to have an opinion. does the american political system suck? a member of the transition team said so. what does bill think? i'll ask. it's ahead. ill look bad ♪ ♪ when the bike store saw my credit ♪ ♪ they said this was all they had ♪ ♪ i'm singing- f to the r to the to the e ♪ ♪ to the c to the r to the e-d-i-t, ♪ ♪ re to the port to the dot, to the com ♪ ♪ come on everybody grab your bike and sing along, ♪ ♪ it's easy... f to the r... ♪ vooffer applies with enrollment in triple advantage. boss: y'know, geico opened its doors back in 1936

and now we're insuring over 18 million drivers. gecko: quite impressive, yeah. boss: come a long way, that's for sure. and so have you since you started working here way back when. gecko: ah, i still have nightmares.

anncr: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. land music] ♪ fa-diddle-diddle-do-do-do ♪ fa-daddle-daddle-la-da-da ♪ fa-diddle-diddle-leh-dee-dee ♪ fa-daddle-daddle-leh-do-do ♪ fa-daddle-daddle-leh-deh-dee ♪ i need toet out of here ♪ ah-deedle-deedle-leh-deh-do travelocity is your cure for cabin fever. if you find a lower hotel or vacation package price online, we'll match it, right up until the day before check-in. and we'll also guarantee that your booking will be right. travelocity. you'll never roam alone.

>> larry: we're back with bill maher. don't forget his hbo comedy special "but i'm not wrong," and the eighth season of "real time with bill maher" debuts february 19th. it was john podesta that heads the center for american prok chairing obama's transition team. he says that america's political system sucks. do you agree with that? >> i totally agree with that. i think most americans agree with that. i don't think people in his position usually use that word, maybe for comedians like me, but absolutely, it sucks. the main reason why nothing gets done is because the system is completely paralyzed. mostly because of this filibuster rule, because of this supermajority nonsense. >> larry: would you like to see another party come in? we don't support a three-party system in america. >> no, we never have, because one of the two parties absorbs the other one, as what's going

wo t as what's going on with the tea baggers now. you know they're going to get absorbed into the republican tents. >> larry: they're attacking republicans, too. >> they should. they say for the people. who is more corporateist than the republicans? but america does -- the system does suck, and what we need more than a third party is a constitutional convention. jefferson was the one who said every generation you have to refresh the tree of liberty with the blood, or whatever that phrase is, the nuts used to commit violent acts, tim mcvey loved it, the tea baggers are always quoting it. i don't know if we need a violent act every 20 years, but you do have to look at the system, how the system works. we didn't have direct election of senators until the 20th century, like 1920 or something. well, that's how they organized it, that's how the founding fathers wanted it. they didn't want -- they were muchly afraid of the masses. >> larry: are you afraid of the masses? >> yes. absolutely.

>> larry: jefferson favored just senators being appointed based on if you owned property. >> i don't know if it was based on property, but they were appointed. you know, i'm not really sure. i mean, maybe they don't need a senate at all. all i know is the senate is where legislation goes to die. that's what's holding everything up. this idea that the filibuster, the supermajority, why can't they get rid of that? that's not fundamentally how they wanted it. they wanted legislation to be decided -- if it was 51-49, that was good enough, and it wasn't -- >> larry: it was freedom of speech and they've upheld the fact you can hold things up by talking forever. >> then the democrats should have made them do it. no one really has to ever do it. why don't we see a filibuster. if this is what the law is now, which is, by the way, kind of a coup. it's a legislative coup. there's no tanks in the streets,

but it's fundamentally altered the way business is done. the majority wants certain things. when obama was elected, the majority wanted a public option, but it doesn't happen because you can't get 60 people out of 100 to agree on anything in this country. 60 people don't agree on evolution, let alone health care. >> larry: bacardi in new mexico. are you there? >> caller: i'd like to ask bill maher about the supreme court ruling. >> larry: which one? probably the one about corporate personhood? >> caller: yes. >> larry: what did you make of that? >> well, i thought it was horrible. nobody is more corporatist than the supreme court. the supreme court, talk about parts of the government that suck, supreme court right on the top of my list for the last 30 years.

they always side with corporations over people. and this is just another example. i mean, there is something if you can have a new constitutional convention to address, this nonsense about corporate personhood that we started in the 19th century and has been turned into this vehicle to protect corporations as if they are people? i mean, it's the worst -- > larry: they're composed of people. >> there's composed of people, but ask anyone in a corporation, the corporation's job is to do one thing in a shark-like way, move toward more profit. and they will defend that. and as long as there is no moral dimension here, as long as it's only about greed, no, i don't think they should be considered a person. >> profit is always the most important product, right? is that the theme? okay, let's get into areas not that serious but i'm interested in your thoughts. what did you make of the whole

leno/conan/letterman thing? >> i made a lot of it. first of all, i like conan a lot. i did his show in august when it was first on the air. i didn't have anything to plug. there is no way, larry, a man can show another man affection greater than to do a show when you have nothing to plug. but i did it just to say welcome to l.a., i like you. he's a good guy. i like him. i'm not crazy about team cocoa, however, and what they have been saying. these are the people who were so upset that conan lost the tonight show. and i did jay's show only about ten days ago. and i got all these tweets and facebook messages, why did you do jay leno's show? he sucks, he's greedy, he's this, he's that. these people need to get a grip. you have no idea how show business works, and in this case it's not that different than life in general, okay? one guy wanted a job that another guy wanted. and by the way, it's a very

desirable job. you want to be on the top of the mountain? there is going to be some other people that want to be there, too. and this idea that jay leno is greedy or selfish? >> larry: they say he shouldn't have taken it back after conan was only there seven months. >> why? i saw jay with oprah. she asked him ten different ways, are you selfish? do you think you ruined conan's dream? why is it jay leno's job to be concerned with conan's dream? this is america. when leonardo dicaprio gets a part in the movie, does he think jake gyllenhaal wanted this part. did i ruin his dream? do we say bob in accounting would like this job. we think about our own. >> larry: this is nbc, right? >> of course, there's a corporation. they made a bloodless,

bottom-line dollars and cents decision, and one guy got a job and another guy didn't. the one thing i criticized conan and dave letterman that did jokes you can have anything you want in this world unless jay leno wants it. you're not a kid that had your ice cream knocked on the sidewalk. jay leno beat you for something because for whatever reason, jay leno has his pulse on the mainstream of america better than anybody. i'm not even close to that pulse, i don't even want to be. but these guys want to be. >> larry: good point. that and more of -- i almost said jay leno. you put him in the room. with bill maher. don't go away. it doesn't take much; an everyday moment can turn romantic at a moment's notice. and when it does, men with erectile dysfunction can be more confident in their ability to be ready with cialis. with two clinically proven dosing options, you can choose the moment that's right for you and your partner. 36-hour cialis and cialis for daily use. cialis for daily use is a low-dose tablet

you take every day, so you can be ready anytime the moment's right. day or night. >> tell your doctor about your medical condition and all medications and ask if you're healthy enough for sexual activity. >> don't take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. >> don't drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache, or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than 4 hours. >> if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, stop taking cialis and call your doctor right away. >> 36-hour cialis or cialis for daily use. ask your doctor if cialis is right for you. you can be ready for your moment with cialis.

i was shocked that letterman has been having affairs. i had no idea he was even running for office. [ laughter ] >> and i just want to say, so you know here, i have never had sex with anyone on my staff. the guests, of course, yes, that's part of the job, but never the staff. >> larry: that's funny. bill maher is our guest. speaking of that, did you read the book "game change"? you said you read parts of it. you should read the whole thing. it's hard to believe who john edwards really is if this book is correct. are you shocked? beyond just having sex with someone.

other things. >> i'm shocked that it keeps going on. i'm shocked every week he's like the charlie sheen of politics. every week there's something else, you know. okay, he cheated and then he said, but it wasn't the baby. okay, it's the baby. once you lie and then say, okay, i was lying when i lied, then you have no credibility. >> larry: what do you make of it, though? >> then they said he hit her, and i'm beginning to think he's a little sleezy. it's a tragedy because he was such a talented politician. and i could tell you some great quote to this that still are true, like there are two americas. somebody in this country in politics needs to take up that mantle. that is one of our fundamental problems, that there are two americas. >> larry: he cared about poverty. >> yeah, very much so.

bob herbert wrote a great column recently that this great recession has been so uneven. in that top half, that one-half of america, we asked the question once on our show, why does it not look like there is a recession at the height of it when we were hearing such horrible numbers. because the places we drive through, there isn't one. but in this other america, it's like a depression. so two americas, that's a great quote. he also said we need to be patriotic about something other than war. so true. the people that are blocking health care for the 45,000 americans who die every year because they're not covered, which is way more than we lose in iraq and afghanistan, is that really patriotic? so he was talented, he had some things to say. you know, some of these things that come out, hitting, you cannot accept that. that's horrible if that's true. but the idea that because he was unfaithful to his wife he's a monster, i've heard that term many times. elizabeth, i think, said it herself. i didn't want to know because i didn't want to feel like i was

married to a monster. america has to get a grip about infidelity. simmer down. hannibal lecter was a monster. chemical ali was a monster. this is a middle-aged guy that got horny. that's not a monster. what? it's funny. >> larry: we'll be back with bill maher. he makes you think. i hope we get out of the studio alive. don't go away. >> but i'm not wrong. i watched what i ate. i worked out.

personally, i thought i was invincible. once it happened, i realized it's a different story. i'm on an aspirin regimen now because i never want to feel that helplessness again. [ male announcer ] aspirin is not appropriate for everyone. so be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. i was the guy who was doing everything right. i was wrong. talk to your doctor, and take care of what you have to take care of. [ male announcer ] learn more about protecting your heart at iamproheart.com. [ crowd gasps ]

[ announcer ] if you think about it, this is a lot like most job search sites. - they let everyone in, - [ crowd groans ] so the best people can't stand out. join theladders.com. the premium job site for only $100k+ jobs... and only $100k+ talent.

>> larry: anderson cooper is standing by. he's in l.a. all this week. it's great to have him here. he'll be with you at the top of the hour on "ac 360." what's ahead. >> we're looking at tea partiers, all agreeing nothing is getting done in washington. where they don't agree is how to fix it. we'll also talk to congressman ron paul and his son who is running for senate. an assassination caught on security footage in a hotel in dubai. minute by minute surveillance of some of the members of an alleged hit squad being used in an international manhunt to try to track them down. they killed a member of hamas. it's an incredible story of espy naj and assassination. also, imagine living in fear that the child you're trying to help by adopting may actually try to kill you. it's a reality by parents adopting internationally only to have the kids threaten to shoot them, stab them, burn down the house. tonight we go up close.

all that and plus we have some questions of our own at the top of the hour on "360" for bill maher. >> larry: 10:00 eastern, 7:00 pacific. >> caller: do you think the health care bill will get passed this year? if not i'm changing from democrat to independent. >> i think they will pass something, yes. i hope so. but you have to remember it's not in the interests of the republican party to have it passed. >> larry: it's an election year, though. if the public wants it, the republicans have to vote for something, aren't they? >> they've demonized it so much, a lot of the public doesn't want it. they should want it. you see these people at rallies, these old, obese, stressed out, heart attack waiting to happen people. if anybody should want health care reform, you'd think it

would be them. but they don't. the republicans, i think, understand that if this goes through, obama is on his way to a successful first term, and that's the one thing they do not want, is for him to succeed. they root for him to fail. we all say crazy things when we're high. >> larry: in newsweek magazine christopher is discussing the olympics saying that world sports competitions breed conflict and bring out the worst in people. what do you think? are you a fan of the olympics? >> no. >> larry: funny, i was going to guess that. not for the same reason? >> no, especially the winter olympics. i mean, that's -- i don't -- i don't think -- in the summer olympics, there are some things that are interesting to watch.

it goes on too long, of course. if they would put together a two-hour highlight reel of the olympics, that would be perfect of me, excludeing the opening ceremonies because if i want to see cirque du soleil, i'll go to las vegas. >> larry: why don't you like the winter olympics? >> i can't relate to any of the sports. the luge? it's not a sport. it's a dare. you know, this poor guy who died, i don't know what he died for. i don't know why people are acting so shocked. a guy going headlong down a mountainside on a sheet of ice and then suddenly gone. shocking. >> larry: you don't like skiing? >> i've never skied, you know. i don't get that. do you ski? >> larry: no. are you kidding? are you out of your mind? you don't like ice-skating and skate racing. >> what, jews don't ski? >> larry: no, we own the mountain. that's an old joke. approximate that's the old joke

that's been around. that's youngman. >> that is an old joke. i don't believe this. this is silly. chris is sometimes being a provoke for. the olympics is causing the strife in the world? no. it was great when jesse owens beat hitler. that showed the world something. >> larry: we're going to ask bill about what he thinks about kevin smith, the noted director, pretty good film director being kicked off southwest airlines for being too large to fit into a seat after this. so forget return on investment. let's talk return on insurance. switch your car insurance to allstate, and you can earn a five percent bonus. five percent of your premium, sent to you twice a year... for as long as you don't have an accident. the safe driving bonus check. only from allstate. safety pays. that's allstate's stand. are you in good hands?

kevin smith is a noted director and very overweight. he was denied a seat on southwest airlines. he declined to be on the show. approxima southwest says if you can't fit in one seat with the armrest down, you have to buy two seats. who's right? >> i would not like to be wedged between a window and kevin smith. but i also think there's an awful lot of americans smith's size. i honestly think that -- >> larry: what would you do --

>> you know, i think, first of all, the airlines are big liars about what really is security risk. why is that a security risk, first of all? >> larry: i guess it's because of the passenger nearest to you. >> that's different. the airlines have much bigger problems, like just in general making the whole experience something other than an utter nightmare. why don't you work on that? >> larry: okay. toyota, speaking of airlines, how about mobile transportation on the ground? what do you make of the toyota problem? >> well, you know, i don't have a toyota, so i don't really care. oh, wait, i do. >> larry: yeah you do. >> i have a lexus hybrid. i have to go check something. i'll be right back. i mean, look, i never understood why we had to bail out the american car companies, you know. why were we bailing out --

>> larry: we're not bailing out toyota? >> the american car companies. why did we have to save chrysler, you know? >> larry: you always switch. i asked about kevin smith and you go from fat people to the airlines are terrible. i and about toy ota and you tal about ford. >> i try to set the priorities. >> larry: what do you think of the ten americans charged with, i guess, kidnapping in haiti? >> i haven't that much about it, because as you know, i stopped watching haiti because i felt i learned enough about it. >> larry: about anderson. >> at a certain point i was not learning anything more. >> they're being held and supposed to get bail and maybe not. >> these are the baptists? >> larry: yeah. >> that says it all, larry. why can't they do stuff for the good of it without bringing religion into it? >> larry: they didn't bring their religion. >> yeah, i think they kind of

did. missionaries are always doing this. you want a sandwich? read the bible first. you know, like brad and angelina, they go places and do things just for the good of it. they don't have to bring jesus into it. >> larry: these people were trying to help the orphans, or what they perceived were orphans. >> if they're not orphans, then it's just child snatching, isn't it? >> larry: they think they were trying to help them. their intentions were apparently good. >> that reminds me of elian gonzalez. people who think everybody would be better off in america because we're just the most star-spangled, super-duper aus some place in the world to live wlsh when the reality was elian gonzalez was, of course, much better off with his father. >> larry: one more quick call, syracuse, new york. go ahead. >> caller: bill, i was wondering

if you had interest in getting married if you found the right person? >>. >> larry: would you get married if you found miss right? >> well, i am with someone, you know. i've been someone -- you know this. >> larry: i know, but marriage? >> let's not crazy. so, you know, i have a he steady girlfriend. i didn't have that for many, many, many years. >> larry: if you're serious, maybe the next step is you ought to be a father? >> first of all, i've never been against marriage for other people. i think it works for some people. some people it works many time. >> larry: on that note he may never be back. bill maher, the eighth season with real time with bill maher debuts on hbo. here's anderson cooper.