dhmac

Yeah, that guy was good. And I notice that Carbon Nation is NetFlix streamable, so I'll check it out.

mcnabb

This happens alot on these political shows when the pack the panel against someone. Salam is essentially arguing with the 2 panelists, Maher, eventually Chelsea Handler along with the crowd, so you feel like you are being bombarded everytime you talk.

FOX and MSNBC do this shit all the time as Hannity always has 2 conservative panels on his 'Great American Panel' to 1 liberal and they all gang up on the liberal and then the person comes off as defensive.

Thats why I fucking hate these political roundtables anymore, because none of them are ever even with guests of the same ideology. I wish Maher would go back to his ABC panels where it was 4 people, so you can have a balanced panel.

Mike86

The one thing with Maher though is he doesn't always stack the liberals against the conservatives at least. He mixes it up quite a bit and there's been times where it's two conservatives and one liberal on the panel. Also as much as he favors liberals I like the fact that Maher isn't afraid to go after them if they do something messed up too which is something you don't see a lot of other hosts do if their respective party makes a mistake.

actionjackson29

Mark Cuban isn't exactly a liberal is he. And honestly you shouldn't be watching these shows looking for a true debate those are things of the past.

MikahC

I don't have statistics, but I'd guess the number of times Maher has stacked his panel with more conservatives than liberals can be counted using one breath.

Surprisingly, I liked Chelsea Handler here. I like smart funny women, and she was that here. I don't know why she turned me off the one time I watched her talk show, but she did (and I never watched again). Maybe it's the topics on her show.

Perhaps this show doesn't offer up true debate, but it's the closest thing I know of at the moment presented in a format that doesn't cause me to fall asleep, so it's what I go with. I'm also having a hard time thinking of when true televised debate was a reality.

dhmac

I think you have made up your mind to believe this is true on Real Time, even though the actual facts don't back it up.

The others weren't ganging up and attacking Reihan Salam. Instead, he simply got overly aggressive in this episode and talked over other people before they were finished with what they were saying. It was rude, disrespectful, and completely uncalled for - plus the behavior just made him look bad.

PerryD

I was a big fan of the McLaughlin Group for many years starting in the mid-80s, although I've lost interest in the last few, it was a great way to hear a more balanced civil discussion of the current political issues.

Maher, of course, stacks his panel, just like when Sean Hannity adds a liberal guest to debate with. But the show is entertaining, and that's why I watch it, even though I do not agree with his politics, other than some of his liberatarian leanings.

dolphinboy

No different than any other time on the show. I concur that I don't think Cuban is a genuine liberal the way, say, most movie stars are. I don't even think he comes off as tremendously bright about many of the topics that come up on Real Time.

I'm not a fan of Handler either, but she did seem to know more than Cuban and everyone else other than Maher and Wagner about the topics she was there to discuss.

auto

Shocker!!

Astrofan

Uh, guys you're talking about the actual show and not spewing your own political viewpoints. Please recall I was mocked for even suggesting such a thing was possible.

MikahC

Thanks for the reminder. I'll add it to my DVR and give it a try.

Shannon Nutt

I thought Cuban came off fine...you want to see "stupid," write HBO and ask them to have Kevin Costner on again...he was STUNNINGLY uninformed. Made me realize how good of an actor he must be for me to buy him in many of the roles he's played.

Mike86

I don't think anyone said it wasn't possible just that it's to be expected that politics come up in a thread about a politically based show.

CRM114

Until Jon Stewart basically ended Crossfire, it was an argument show but was balanced: 2 on 2. Everyone got a chance. Stewart went on and made a mockery of it (and Tucker Carlson's bowtie) and the format died on CNN. It was reborn on the other two networks in just the way you describe.

Although, as the show The Newsroom does a good job of pointing out, balance in and of itself is not news. If one side is right with the facts and other side is not, is balance really necessary?

CRM114

Mark Cuban does seem not well informed. He was at the right place at the right time with Broadcast.com which essentially no longer exists. And his complete dismissal of the government playing a vital role in the Internet and thus his success was pretty humorous.

PopcornTreeCt

I don't think he was dismissing the government as much as he was Al Gore.

shadowhawk2020

It has happened a good amount (not a majority by any stretch). But there are several times Maher has said he couldn't get any Conservatives to do his show on a given week.

creekdipper

You mean no one wanted to be the sacrificial lamb that week...cut off by Maher when things got too hot, shouted down by the other panelists (and guest), and hooted at by the hand-picked studio mob?

Imagine that.

creekdipper

2 conservatives vs. 1 host + 1 panelist + 1 guest + entire studio mob.

Yup...pretty even-handed, there. Kinda like an MSNBC studio on election night...very balanced.

And he routinely calls Pelosi, Boxer, and other Dem females c**nt, whores, sluts, etc. He just does it when the cameras aren't rolling.

albert_m

It's hard to imagine too many conservatives who actually want to venture out beyond their parent's basement.

Mike86

I hardly count the audience. The most they can do is boo a person it's not like they're able to give their thoughts and interrupt a person and stuff. The show isn't always evenly stacked of course, but name a politically based show that is. I'm simply saying I know I've seen instances where there were two conservatives and one liberal/moderate plus Maher. The celebrity guests aren't always necessarily liberals either.

Besides that honestly, it seems like a lot of the time the guests on Maher's show stay pretty civil to each other at least whereas other politically based shows it's just constant bickering between the two sides and no one hardly gets a word in edge wise.

Bill Needle

Maher's show makes Wally George's Hot Seat look like a Continental Congress.

Nesbit

You mean China isn't going to bomb us like they did in WW2?

dhmac

Well said by someone who obviously doesn't watch the show because that set of events doesn't happen.

MikahC

I don't think he was talking about the most recent episode. He was responding to a general comment about Bill having trouble getting conservative guests on the show.