Maher Called Racist on His Own Show

Thank goodness for comedian Zach Galifianakis cutting the tension by smoking marijuana on Real Time with Bill Maher last night. The late-night host asked his audience and panel if he was racist for worrying about the recent news story that said the number one name for boys in the U.K. was Mohammed. The panel, consisting of Lawrence O’Donnell of MSNBC, conservative Margaret Hoover and Reihan Salam of the National Review Online, all agreed that Maher’s interpretation of the story was far-reaching. Maher said, “Am I a racist to feel alarmed by that? Because I am. And it’s not because of the race, it’s because of the religion. I don’t have to apologize, do I, for not wanting the Western world to be taken over by Islam in 300 years?” Hoover told Maher there were bigger political problems in the U.K. than the top name. O’Donnell said that Maher’s comments are far worse than former NPR analyst Juan Williams’ comments.