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Bill Maher And Herman Cain Hit It Off: ‘I Don’t Agree With A Word You Say, But I Like You!’

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Chalk this one up to a case of “opposites attract,” or perhaps things can be so vastly different that they circle back around to being near identical. Bill Maher had former Republican Presidential candidate Herman Cain on his program last night, and not only did the candidate not say “999″ or quote Pokémon (that we know of), the two laughed and chatted like old friends. Maybe the world won’t end in 2012 after all.

RELATED: Bill Maher Defends Ron Paul: ‘[He Is] In My Heart On Foreign Affairs, Not Barack Obama’

“I haven’t seen you with a bow tie– you haven’t joined the Farrakhans have you?” Maher joked by way of introduction. Cain joked that he wouldn’t be allowed in the Farrakhans because of the dots on his tie, and the two got down to business. “Too many people are hung up on whether you are Democrat, Republican, conservative, liberal… I would make fun of those labels– American needs not to be so uptight about everything!” If you’re having trouble figuring out who said that, it was Herman Cain, but Maher agreed 100%. This, for the most part, was the tenor of the conversation.

“I noticed you are standing in front of a billboard that says ‘Runaway Slave,’” Maher noted, to which the crowd laughed uproariously. Cain explained that he was at a movie premiere for a film about big government. “Slavery is being enslaved in your mind and believing that the government is the answer to your future and your issues,” Cain argued, which Maher didn’t seem to agree with, but he had more important things to ask about, like Romney’s victory: “Does it bother you that the least black candidate won?”

“I’m not about color– I’m about solutions,” Cain replied, continuing to argue that the job creators were being hampered. “I don’t agree with a word you say, but I like you a lot, I really do!” Maher replied, not bothering to get into the substance of the response. “You’re one of those people, like Reagan.” But Maher did press him on one comment that really bothered him– the “I’m a leader, not a reader” quip.” “Is it good to attack readers when you’re trying to sell a book? Why are these things mutually exclusive? Is your party anti-intellectual?” he asked. Cain replied that he was not going to attempt to defend his entire party, but that most who attacked him on that front were nitpicking.

Then there was one more order of business: Mark Block‘s “smoking man” ad. “What was that about?” A confused Maher asked. “We had a saying… let Herman by Herman, let Mark be Mark, and let people be people.”

No 999, no Pokémon, but at least one “Let Mark Block by Mark Block,” for old times sake.

The wonderful conversation via HBO below:

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  • 12voltman1

    Herman’s about solutions? I thought he was all about poo-tang.

  • 12voltman1

    People that ran his campaign must have been smoking something other than tobacco.
    I’ll miss him for the laughs.
    But not a lot.

  • Bink Binkerson

    Bill Maher keepin’ it classy.   Cain is a doofus, but can be a great gentleman in the right environment.

  • Anonymous

    Could be both. Depends on what the problem is…

  • Anonymous

    I liked Herman too.  His 999 plan was a little too wacky for my taste and I’m down with The Book of Mormon.

  • Anonymous

    Gotta love that it says runaway slave in the background, lol wat?

  • Anonymous

    Tweedle-dum & Tweedle-dee. Woh, yeaahh, brothuh…

  • Anonymous

    Nice laid back interview. 

  • OSTL

    wonderful insight for a troll/sock-puppet

  • http://www.facebook.com/Valooon Valon Gashi

    I jus loved Bills “is your party anti-intellectual” question! Musst say, Herman held his ground though..

  • Anonymous

    WOW!!!

     didnt notice that……..are they trying some weird joke or something???

  • Anonymous

    Good interview. 

    The one quibble:  Maher is just making stuff up out of whole cloth.  I would love to see or hear an actual quote of Mitt calling Obama a Socialist, let alone a Communist. 

  • Anonymous

    I don’t visit this site much any more.  When it gave up journalism for liberal spin, Mediaite became a joke.  Its only value has been as a guide to the liberal self-delusion du jour.  But I will be checking it out over the next few days, to see how Mediaite staffers reconcile the impending nomination of Mitt Romney with their liberal denial.

    I see that Herman Cain still gets high profile coverage here.  Clearly Frances and company are still living in Fantasyland.  What a rude awakening is in store for the Mediaite “journalists” come November.

  • DoNotMindMe

    Does Bill broadcast his show from under da sea? Because the whole audience is made up of seals. 

    Watch 8:07, even Bill had to tell them to shut up and stop clapping mindlessly. 

  • david r

     ”If I’m going to die for a word, my word is Poon-tang.”

  • DoNotMindMe

    The audience is afraid to clap when Herman says something that ALL Americans ought to agree with.

    9:19 Herman says “Let people be people” – The audience claps nervously like they don’t want to upset their liberal leader Bill by validating a Republican. 

  • Anonymous

    U MAD BRO?

    It’s either me or Obama, you’ll come around.

  • OSTL

    You’re nothing.

  • http://www.snowspotmedia.com/ Jon Martin

    Hey …..You’re back .  Shame about the  “W_Mittens_Romney” moniker. lols

  • Anonymous

    It’s Obama or nothing then.

  • OSTL

    He has used over a thousand monickers. No lie.

  • Jon Martin

    He got banned on the Maddow thread earlier today . Dudes been on a two day commenting bender.

  • DoNotMindMe

    What other usernames do you think he posts under? 

  • Anonymous

    That would be like admitting to be a communist/socialist myself.

  • Anonymous

    Thanks for your support, felix.

  • Anonymous

    It’s a documentary about Democrats and Black People.

  • Anonymous

    I like how Republicans never play the race card.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Liz-McKenzie/100001703816375 Liz McKenzie

    Just as long as the environment doesn’t contain women, then, yes, he can be a gentleman.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Liz-McKenzie/100001703816375 Liz McKenzie

    Mitt is the 1% … he will select Newt as VP, who is the lobbyist for the 1% … total fail for the Middle Class which means Obama for four more years.

  • Anonymous

    Correct, blacks in america are still being enslaved in their minds. Conversations between blacks never concludes without the conversation being steered towards discussing ‘whites’ for some reason, no matter the topic

    As someone who travels alot, it’s akin to expats continually discussing the ‘locals’. It almost feels as though blacks in America feel they live in someone elses country

  • 12voltman1

    You’ll feel more at home over at the fox thread.
    Later.

  • Anonymous

    I like Herman though. He’s one of the good ones. I could see myself having in depth conversations with him about pizza & basketball.

  • Anonymous

    I get the vague impression you’re all the same person, since I’m Jon Martin… this guy stole the picture from my tumblr, lol

    Keep up the good work whoever you are, you’re increasing my google search results XD.

    I am so cool, conservatives want to be me *_*

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1190134026 Barry Dalton

    Maher is always looking for “harmless” conservatives to suck up to so he can claim to be “fair and balanced”

    so whatever

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1190134026 Barry Dalton

    Cain is good with women, he’s just a good businessman….he wants people who will show enthusiastically how much they love their job and how willing they are to do other jobs…and he loves his jobs too

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1190134026 Barry Dalton

    glad to see the maoist report-your-neighbor commenting police are on the job

    good work OSTL and Jon Martin

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1190134026 Barry Dalton

    you almost had a very good observation

    and then it fell into lib-bashing hackery

  • Pablo
  • Anonymous

    that’s what a few hundred years of oppression by your ancestors can do to black people.

  • DoNotMindMe

    Well, its true. The ‘Real Time’ audience is always nervous to validate a Republican. 

  • bugspotter24

    I neither agree with Herman Cain NOR like him.
    I don’t know…I got this thing about guys who assault women. Can’t stand’em. I guess that’s a problem I have to work through myself.

  • NDanielson

    Here, watch the mental midget and his buddy, meathead, admit that the brainwashed sheep are their meal tickets! Even they mock their sheep.


    Bill Maher (and Rob Reiner) Admit His Audience Are ‘Brainwashed Liberals’

    Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2012/01/13/bill-maher-admits-his-audience-are-brainwashed-liberals#ixzz1jXsoa241

  • OSTL

    Based on what evidence?

  • OSTL

    They do whatever the cue cards tell them to do.

  • NDanielson

    Blacks never engaged in slavery? Really??? LOL. Wow, who knew??? Tell us more!

    There
    are more slaves today than were seized from Africa in four centuries of
    the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The modern commerce in humans rivals
    illegal drug trafficking in its global reach—and in the destruction of
    lives.

    http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0309/feature1/

    But white Americans are still evil, huh?

  • DoNotMindMe

    The maker of the film worked for the NAACP and is a self-professed ‘Democrat Radical.’

    Nice try. 

  • bugspotter24

    Ouch.
    Careful, shill. Your criminal propaganda is showing….based on what evidence, he says…(scoff)
    Wow.

  • Anonymous

    lol thats quite a lot of bs you wrote there….

  • http://PalinsDirtyLittleSecret.blogspot.com/ FedsTakeOverMediaProofClickMe

    Our next election is shaping up to be as big of a sham as the last. Do you know why Sarah Palin’s bus tour was really canceled? Do you know why she stayed 30 miles away from the second debate and chose the death of Steve Jobs to announce that she’s not running? Know what leaked out? Sarah Palin and Cain aren’t in the race for the same reason, the truth leaked out. The cover up is exposed at the link in my name.

  • http://PalinsDirtyLittleSecret.blogspot.com/ FedsTakeOverMediaProofClickMe

    Sarah Palin and Cain aren’t in the race for the same reason, the truth
    leaked out. The cover up is exposed at the link in my name.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Brian-Kirkland/100000195274498 Brian Kirkland

    Maher, like most Caucasians, loves non-threatening African-Americans or as Cain probably prefers to be called, “negroes”.

  • Anonymous

    ” Its only value has been as a guide to the liberal self-delusion du jour.

    Beg to differ …  that’s half the value; the other value is to identify the narrative and framing which is being pushed to the public.

  • Anonymous

    ‘Evidence’ has a precisely defined meaning.  Do you have any evidence ?  Scoffing at a question, in lieu of answering, indicates that you might not have any evidence.

  • bugspotter24

    Your criminal propaganda might soothe your own ego as well as those of your Hasbara buddies, but any 4-yr-old child can type into any search engine “who are the women accusing cain” and not only will Sharon Bielak’s name pop up, but a few reports of his time at the National Restaurant Association will too.
    Now, I know you and the rest of your women-assaulting-apologizing kind don’t take the word of at least FIVE women over that of one man who, mind you, continually changed his story on the issue, but the 4-yr-old child as well as the rest of free-thinking individuals certainly will.
    Knowing this, all I’m doing is wasting my time pandering to a shill.
    We know who you are. We know what you’re doing. We know who you represent, who they are, and what they’re doing.
    And we’re telling everyone.
    Good luck in your bullseye-on-chest-painting criminal propaganda endeavours plugging the dam holes of your lies.

  • Anonymous

    ‘the word of at least FIVE women’ … ah, so it MUST be true – despite what is now known regarding these five.

    So perhaps if SEVEN were to say something is true, that would be equally proven to be true ? Consider Betty Parris, Abigail Williams, Ann Putnam, Elizabeth Hubbard, Sarah Goode, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba. They told quite a tale also, resulting in many lynchings in Salem.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1190134026 Barry Dalton

    I’m taking issue with “they don’t want to upset their liberal leader”.
    which is lib bashing hackery.

    I don’t disagree with “The RT audience is always nervous to validate a Republican”.

    That’s probably true.

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