Methods to Maher’s Madness

A convenient way to belittle an idea you oppose is to label it “politically correct,” implying that it’s championed only because it’s fashionable. In other words, only those agreeing with you are driven by moral belief or true conviction. Holders of opposing views are phonies, hypocrites and fellow travelers too cowardly to stop traveling and buck what’s chic.

What hooey. And how odd that this inane notion has bred, in effect, a half-hour of television as sneaky smart and endearing as “Politically Incorrect,” likable Bill Maher’s bit of midnight madness whose title sells it as a sanctuary for independent thinkers. As in a program that is seen by the so-called politically correct set as an antichrist.

Well, not necessarily. You can hear probably just as many conventional voices on “Politically Incorrect” as mutineers. Yet how lucky ABC is to have this seductive mishmash available to gab away the minutes and lighten the airwaves following the weightier tomes of Ted Koppel’s “Nightline.”

“Politically Incorrect” began life on cable’s Comedy Central in 1993, becoming Noel Coward Lite with Maher--that rare comic who doesn’t always pursue laughs--opening with a slim monologue before leading eclectic foursomes of politicians, journalists and show-biz folk in usually robust, sometimes witty discourse about topical themes. Happily, Maher and executive producer Scott Carter play with pretty much the same deck on ABC, where “Politically Incorrect” resurfaced three weeks ago and is going strong.

Once no more than a feisty upstart of a cult show, “Politically Incorrect” deserves the wider exposure it now gets.

Its concept is hardly unique: Amiable bickering by moderate to big names, many of whom naturally have books or screen projects to promote.

What’s original in this equation, though, is Maher. He introduces the topics, gently injects his own opinions, ribs both major political parties and is as indispensable to his show as Koppel is to “Nightline,” his easy way with both comedy and current events setting the tone of breezy intelligence that typifies “Politically Incorrect” most nights.

Maher is not only funny in conversation (“Poor Bob Dole has to do commercials for Chee-tos and Maxi Pads so that he can get a little nest egg for when he gets older, if that’s humanly possible”), but also well enough informed to recognize and point out his guests’ gaseous rhetoric when he sniffs it.

Don’t expect thoughtful Socratic dialogues. No cosmic problems are solved on “Politically Incorrect,” whose luminance is measured in narrow shafts of light. This is, after all, meant to be entertainment, albeit of a kind that’s just brainy enough to interest those yearning for glints of loftiness in late night.

“Politically Incorrect” is just that, chattering in an idiom that often contrasts stunningly with the verbally challenged banter of other talk shows.

That’s because this show rejects the presumption that all famous faces are automatically interesting. Because celebrity is not the sole criterion for getting booked on “Politically Incorrect,” its guest list is usually different from those of other talk shows--one exception being Hustler magazine Publisher Larry Flynt, who added “Politically Incorrect” to his movie promotion list last week by granting Maher a one-on-one interview.

Flynt is engaging, but medleys of personalities are a better fit for Maher. His show is often the Switzerland of TV, a neutral zone where arch Republican Ed Rollins and arch Democrat Bill Press, for instance, can fleetingly set aside their partisan nastiness and zestfully hash over carnal topics with ABC’s “Home Improvement” star Tim Allen and actress Victoria Rowell.

“Some of the best sex [happens] when you’ve had a great fight,” Press boomed on the show recently, leaving viewers to contemplate what he does after co-hosting vitriolic “Crossfire” on CNN.

Opinions are strong and varied here, as in Tom Arnold, singer Clint Black, advice columnist E. Jean Caroll and California GOP activist Celeste Grieg joining Maher last week in a spirited discussion of rodeos and other events that exploit animals for entertainment. Beaming down from another planet, the Spanish-born Grieg drew guffaws by insisting that “bulls don’t get killed” in bullfights.

Maher’s arena is much friendlier than a bullring, and only rarely do participants ratchet up to real friction, as prickly humorist Al Franken and retiring Sen. Alan K. Simpson (R-Wyo.) briefly did in clashing recently about conservative Robert H. Bork and his controversial rejection as a Supreme Court nominee in 1987.

“C’mon, you gotta admit he’s a nut,” Franken proclaimed to Bork supporter Simpson. This burst of liberal deep-thought was provoked by Maher citing exotic quotes from Bork’s book that made him sound like a nut. So it was at Bork’s expense that this turned out to be one of Maher’s best and liveliest shows on ABC. And one also where Simpson worked in a joke about a boy with an erection, racy humor he can afford now that he’s no longer hunting for votes.

Like all talk shows, this one is only as good as its guests. The episode dwelling on Bork succeeded, for example, despite dominance by Franken and Simpson, minimal insights from novelist Anne Rice and virtual abstinence from director John Waters. Moreover, comics who can’t stop being comics seem out of place here even when funny. Thus, last Monday’s half-hour keyed to President Clinton’s inauguration kept getting derailed by Joan Rivers’ slashing one-liners, prompting New York Times columnist Anthony Lewis to playfully interrupt at one point: “This is a serious point, I hate to intrude.”

On another show, Watergate figure John D. Ehrlichman impersonated a sphinx beside emotive Malcolm McDowell of the CBS sitcom “Pearl.” Then, when at last energized by a question about Deep Throat’s identity, his response (“I’m not sure there was any . . .”) was aborted by a Maher one-liner: “I thought it was Linda Lovelace.”

Nor is everyone always listening; witness another show when neither Maher nor other guests picked up on Seattle radio personality Floyd Brown being self-contradictory when forcefully insisting that TV is at once “a reflection of the rot in society” and a “fantasy world.” It can’t be both.

Fortunately, “Politically Incorrect” is neither. There’s lots to be said about a series that can tackle the environment and Linda Lovelace in the same episode.

* “Politically Incorrect” airs weeknights at 12:05 a.m. on ABC (Channel 7).