Bill Maher answers questions about the Right's comparison between him and Rush Limbaugh.

ABC's Jake Tapper asks Bill Maher four questions.

You will find three of them posted below.

TAPPER: So with all the criticism of Rush Limbaugh for his comments about the Georgetown Law student, conservatives claim that there’s a double standard, with President Obama, Democrats and the media far more tolerant of offensive language when wielded by liberal or progressive media figures against conservative women. Is that a fair comparison? You have certainly used offensive words to describe some politicians you don’t like. 

MAHER: I’m a comedian – not just a guy who says he is, like Rush, but someone who – well, you saw me do stand-up last year in D.C. There’s a big difference between just saying you’re a comedian and going out and getting thousands of people to laugh hard for 90 minutes. And the one I’m compared to most is Carlin, who also had these kind of problems. Edgy is my brand – everyone wants that, but they say, “but never go over the line.” It’s like telling Tom Brady, ‘Throw into coverage 40 times a game every game but never throw an interception.’” 

TAPPER: How do you know when you’ve gone too far? 

MAHER: I let the audience be the guide. The bit I did about Palin using the word c—, one of the biggest laughs in my act, I did it all over the country, not one person ever registered disapproval, and believe me, audiences are not afraid to let you know. Because it was a routine where that word came in at just the right moment. Context is very important, and it’s also important to remember that stand-up comedy is the final frontier of free speech. Still, I stopped doing that routine, but I would like someone to replace that word if it’s so awful with another one that has the same meaning for a person – not just women, it’s a word you can and lots do (all the British, for example) use for both sexes. It has a very specific meaning. 

TAPPER: And that’s not comparable to what Limbaugh said about Sandra Fluke? 

MAHER: To compare that to Rush is ridiculous – he went after a civilian about very specific behavior, that was a lie, speaking for a party that has systematically gone after women’s rights all year, on the public airwaves. I used a rude word about a public figure who gives as good as she gets, who’s called people “terrorist” and “unAmerican.” Sarah Barracuda. The First Amendment was specifically designed for citizens to insult politicians. Libel laws were written to protect law students speaking out on political issues from getting called whores by Oxycontin addicts.

Like I have said many times, I don't always agree with EVERYTHING Bill Maher says, but I certainly do agree with everything he says in the above interview.

What Rush was doing was purposefully going after what he perceived to be a vulnerable target as a way to attack the President and Democrats.  What Maher does is to say outrageous things in order to get a laugh.

They are nothing alike.

By the way have you been reading Limbaugh's new defense? He is now claiming that he was tricked into attacking Sandra Fluke by the Democrats.

You know maybe I was wrong, maybe he is a comedian, because THAT is seriously funny.