The Joke Is on Liberals, Says Dennis Miller, Host of His Own Show Again

NY Times ^ | 1/15/04 | BERNARD WEINRAUB

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

Dennis Miller, the liberal-turned-conservative comedian and defender of President Bush and the war in Iraq, is less than two weeks away from being the host of a new talk show on CNBC. For him it can't come soon enough.

"People say I've slid to the right," Mr. Miller said in his office at the NBC Studios in Burbank, speaking in his rat-a-tat-tat style. "Well, can you blame me? One of the biggest malfeasances of the left right now is the mislabeling of Hitler. Quit saying this guy is Hitler," he said, referring to Mr. Bush. "Hitler is Hitler. That's the quintessential evil in the history of the universe, and we're throwing it around on MoveOn.org to win a contest. That's grotesque to me."

Mr. Miller, who was speaking about television advertisements submitted to a competition held by MoveOn.org Voter Fund, a liberal political group, was just getting started.

"Did you see the Democratic debate the other night?" he asked. "To me Dennis Kucinich's politics are more scrambled than Rod Steiger's dream journal. And Clark? He's a wizard in many ways, but when I hear him speak, it's almost like he's slumming. There's a mensch discrepancy there. At least John Edwards, who to me is a reasonably shallow guy, at least he can dog-paddle around in that park and not look out of place."

Mr. Miller's rapid-fire monologues and obscure, even weird cultural references — Rod Steiger's dream journal? — have made him one of television's most visible comedians over the last two decades. He was a regular on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" from 1985 to 1991; had an Emmy Award-winning weekly series on HBO, "Dennis Miller Live," in the 1990's; worked as a film and television actor; was a commentator for two seasons on ABC's "Monday Night Football"; and most recently was an essayist for Fox News.

Mr. Miller's metamorphosis from iconoclastic liberal to free-wheeling conservative — which he partly attributes to the Sept. 11 attacks — has not only made this 50-year-old comedian an esteemed figure on the Fox network. It has also made California Republicans, who have triumphed with a movie star in the governor's mansion, look to Mr. Miller as a possible opponent to Senator Barbara Boxer, the liberal Democrat who is up for re-election this year. (Mr. Miller supported Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign for governor and performed last summer at California fund-raisers for President Bush.)

Mr. Miller said he told the Republicans he had no interest in running against Ms. Boxer, largely because winning would mean moving to Washington from Santa Barbara, where he lives with his wife and two children. "They inquired about my availability to run against Barbara Boxer, but I'm not at the point where I would consider it," he said.

His new hourlong show, "Dennis Miller," at 9 p.m. weeknights (with a repeat of one show on Sunday), will have its premiere on Jan. 26. It will include his usual venting on current issues, as well as interviews with political figures, journalists and others, and a nightly "right-left" debate among figures at different points on the political spectrum.

Pamela Thomas-Graham, president and chief executive of CNBC, said Mr. Miller's "kinetic energy" appealed to the network, now mostly an outlet for financial news. By hiring him, she said, CNBC hoped to retain and expand its daytime audience with a politically savvy show. She added that the CNBC daytime viewers were probably "interested in relaxing at night" with material that reached beyond Wall Street.

Ms. Thomas-Graham said Mr. Miller's political positions had played no role in the decision to hire him. "We are completely agnostic in that direction," she said. "We were looking for someone who has a point of view and is willing to defend that point of view."

Mr. Miller is also not a traditional conservative. "I've always been a pragmatist," he said. "If two gay guys want to get married, it's none of my business. I could care less. More power to them. I'm happy when people fall in love. But if some idiot foreign terrorist wants to blow up their wedding to make a political statement, I would rather kill him before he can do it, or have my country kill him before he can do it, instead of having him do it and punishing him after the fact. If that makes me a right-wing fanatic, I will bask in that assignation."

Mr. Miller said he remained socially liberal. "I think abortion's wrong, but it's none of my business to tell somebody what's wrong," he said. "So I'm pro-choice. I want to keep my nose out of other people's personal business. I guess I fall into conservative when it comes to protecting the United States in a world where a lot of people hate the United States."

[annyokie]

Sorry to disappoint you, my friend, but I live in Oklahoma and I think Dennis Miller is a scream-----and so do all that I know.

Perhaps we aren't the unsophisticates that you imagine us to be.

[baseballmom]

Good news bump. I really like Dennis Miller's comedy, and he's able to hold his own in any political discussion I've seen.

[txzman]

".......But anybody whose last vision is of a tile pattern on a bathroom floor, I don't know what kind of genius they are."


LOL! The guy's got common sense, and always did. That's what makes his barbs so piercing!. Welcome to the Light Mr. Miller."

[JohnnyZ]

Perhaps when the pro-life people stop calling young pregnant women evil sluts, and stop constantly disparaging single mothers, and start demanding single men keep their peckers in their pants to the same degree of shrill self-righteousness they demand that young women remain virginal untill marriage... Maybe then, all those who are very reluctantly pro-choice, might become wholeheartedly pro-life.

You are so friggin' ignorant I don't know where to start.

[patriciaruth]

He is probably only one of seven people in the U.S. who know about "Pliny the Elder."

I guess I'm number 7. But my mother insisted I take Latin in high school, as she came from an era when you weren't considered educated if you didn't know Latin.

Gretchen, thanks for the ping. The commentary on the thread has been more fun than the article.

[I'm ALL Right!]

"I doubt that Miller's style will play well in Oklahoma City and Pahrump, Nevada. "

On the contrary...I am in OK and know few people who DON'T like him.

[scan58]

I took it to be referring to Mr. Steiger's own bout with mental illness.

[tcuoohjohn]

Like him and watch him are very different things.

If Miller's numbers and likeability were as high as you suggest then Fox would have snapped him up. Murdoch is not one to pass up a moneymaker. What it suggests is that Miller's appeal is thin among conservatives and thus he isn't a moneymaker.

CNBC is mighty thin gruel as far as talk shows go. As said it is the equivalent of the Toledo Mudhens in the minor leagues.

While I too like Miller but I think he is doomed as far as his career goes. It has been a relentless slide in recent years. His acting career bombed,( lack of range) his Monday Night Football gig collapsed. His college dates shrank to a mere trickle. I suspect his CNBC gig will also bomb. In the end I think Miller will head back to the stand up circuit to reinvent himself.

[fish hawk]

No sh*t, you would rather watch Greta talk about Scot Peterson? give me a break.

[Salamander]

It's also my favorite type of "wit".

That's what I love about Miller.

As soon as I read that I envisioned Steiger sleeping fitfully; the young man staring with ever-increasing horror and fascination as Steiger's tattoos writhed with a fire-lit life of their own.

Perfect imagery....:)

[tcuoohjohn]

Oh...Indeed...I have always viewed Oklahomans as the quintessential sophisticates imbued with a superb sense of of taste, judgement, and that cerain je ne sais quoi that we all strive for.

[fish hawk]

You said it first, I missed your post when I posted #49. Great minds thinking alike, yeah. I'm a Fox hound but when Greta come on I turn over to Joe Scarborough. MSNBC.

[jtill]

Gretchen, thanks for the ping. I would have missed this without it. I like what I've seen of Dennis Miller - on FNC - so guess I'll try watching his CNBC show.

[Salamander]

Find a copy of the movie "The Illustrated Man".
( based on a Ray Bradbury work of the same name )
Steiger played "The Illustrated Man", whose tattoos "came to life" when he slept. They revealed their individually horrifying stories to anyone who witnessed them.
They also haunted Steiger, who could feel them "crawling" on his skin as they played out their dramas.....:)

[Salamander]

Or "C: All of the above"......:))

[sonofatpatcher2]

Re: This is good news, and it will no doubt help CNBC. I will watch Dennis Miller's show.

Gad! Now I will have to look and see what channel CNBC comes on... So I can undelete it on my TV...

[annyokie]

So, you are a yankee, I take it?

[gonzo]

"...Sex with Peanut butter. Both sound good on the surface but when mixed, results in an unsatisfying jumble that no one wishes to contemplate or clean up..."

You're doing it all wrong! Turn OFF the blender first!..........FRegards

[onyx]

Good answer annyokie. Two of my best pals and favorite FReeping people reside in Oklahoma. :)

[vikingchick]

Mr. Miller is also not a traditional conservative. "I've always been a pragmatist," he said. "If two gay guys want to get married, it's none of my business. I could care less. More power to them.

I don't understand what's pragmatic about gays getting married.