Breitbart to Maher: 'So You're Officially Not a Libertarian Anymore'

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The above video is the after-show “Overtime” segment not shown on HBO. A continuation of the round-table segment with Andrew Breitbart, conservative talk show host Amy Holmes, “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane, Bill Maher, Carl Sagan’s widow Ann Druyan, and Pat Tillman’s brother Richard.

I attended the taping last night, an interesting experience to say the least, especially the after-party. Remember that scene in “Rocky III” where backstage after the big, brutally violent match between Rocky and Hulk Hogan they all take a nice photo together? It was kind of like that in a bizarre but altogether pleasant way. After all the pre-fight tension and the battle itself, afterwards everyone just wanted to hang out together, have a good time and relax.

Below is one of last night’s highlights, where Andrew finally calls Maher out for his “libertarianism” charade. You get the sense from Maher’s reaction that he might not have known that he’s no longer a libertarian. The look on his face is priceless — a man thinking, “You know what, I may not be what I think I am.”

I haven’t been able to find the video, but my personal favorite moment came when Global Warming absolutist Seth MacFarlane used the temperature of Venus as an example of what could happen to Earth. After Breitbart responds with something like, “Oh, Venus man-made global warming…?”, chances are I’ll be the one guy you can hear in the audience laughing. [Update: you can see this exchange here.]

As far as the audience goes they are most certainly 99% Maher partisans, but as you’ll see in the video below even Maher seems a little embarrassed by their sycophancy when he admonishes them and apologizes to Amy Holmes for one of their reactions. The audience interfering and playing referee always kills the show. Jon Stewart might want to take notes:

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Overall, it was an entertaining hour, all done smoothly live (except for a pre-recorded skit). You don’t have to agree with Maher to admire his obvious gifts and unlike Chris Matthews and his ilk, Maher was quite generous in allowing Amy and Andrew enough time to make their points.

By the time I left the after-party, the studio for “Real Time” had already been transferred back into “The Price is Right,” which looks exactly like it did when I was in the fourth grade. I took a moment to stand on the stage in the same exact spot Bob Barker did for all those years. But because I never liked the show the moment didn’t mean anything — so I went home.