He is actually not a pompous jerk at all. He plays with his “stardom” a little, but he is tongue in cheek. He is not by any means a genius but he is a really nice guy. He’s the kind of guy who would probably give you the shirt off his back.
I thought he was a bit of a ham / joke until this year when I went to a lot of tapings of his show and got to see him more when the cameras are off. I really like him and hope he can get the help he needs. He is very lovable and I feel bad for his daughter.
I always wondered how much of what I saw and heard was his sense of humor. I knew some of the shlotlz bit was part of his act. Thanks for sharing your personal impressions.