Last night, Bill Maher had a Valentine's Day New Rule about how fickle Americans are, in always wanting the "new" thing in politicians, as the older ones inevitably get bogged down in more and more baggage, deservedly or not.
And finally, New Rule: this Valentine's Day, Americans must remember that politicians are like a box of chocolates — we bite into them to find out what's on the inside, only to discover that Democrats are too often soft and gooey, and Republicans are mostly nuts. (audience laughter and applause)
Now Valentine's Day is a good time to remember that psychologists tell us that the strongest relationships aren't built on animal attraction, they're built on a lifetime of respect and trust — if that's what you're into, sicko. But it's also not really an accurate description of the American psyche, which is always obsessed with what's new. We love the new phone, the new app, the new restaurant, the new app that tells us about the new restaurant, and we see this phenomenon in presidential races.
Voters say they want experience, but time after time, a party nominates the guy we don't know that well, and he wins. And when they nominate the older guy who's waited his turn, they lose. Bob Dole, Al Gore, John McCain, John Kerry, Walter Mondale, Mitt Romney. America looked at all of them, and said, "Where's the mystery? Where's the romance?" Or in McCain's case, "Where's the pulse?" (audience laughter)
In America, the ideal candidate for office is someone no one knows. Like Barack Obama in 2007. If he had waited another four years to run, voters might have caught on that underneath his chocolate coating was a creamy layer of intellect, and that never goes over well in America. (audience laughter) But Obama, always smart, and he realized that if you wait your turn, when your turn finally comes, America's already tired of you. Oh, he was told to wait, told it wasn't his turn, that he'd only been a Senator since Tuesday, told that nobody knew him and that he hadn't done anything, and he said, "Exactly." (audience laughter and applause)
Yes, much better to be a blank canvas before you've cast all those votes that can be twisted in attack ads. Before you've made enemies and left a paper trail. Before your dick pics go viral. (audience laughter) Before, in short, you have too much baggage. And who has more baggage than the current favorite for the next Democratic nomination? This week, Rand Paul and Reince Priebus both announced that the old Clinton scandals were fair game in 2016. As if it was Hillary's fault that her husband got blown when he was President in the '90s. Like she was in on it. (audience laughter) Like it was a porn movie where Bill and Monica are doing it, and she's watching from a white leather couch while she bites on a string of pearls.
(shocked audience laughter and applause at picture)
No, that Obama, smart guy. He knew, get in early before some shit happens. And the guy who missed that lesson is Chris Christie. He could have and should have run in 2012, back when he still had that new candidate smell. Back when the public didn't look at him and think scandal. They looked at him and thought, thank God humans invented clothing. (audience laughter and applause)
Three months ago, Christie was such a shoo-in for the White House, they were practically measuring which wall to knock down to get the forklift. (audience laughter) But now, he's 350 lbs. of toast. Because the longer you stay in, the more likely some bad thing will stick to you. It could be anything, a land deal from 25 years ago, an illegal nanny, the fact that you're a witch. (audience laughter) People in your office, whom you had absolutely no knowledge of doing something really stupid, like throwing a tantrum and preventing people from crossing a bridge. Like a 4-year-old crossed with a troll. (audience laughter)
Politicians are like suede jackets — there are cheap ones and expensive ones, but once they get rain on them, they all look like shit. (audience laughter and applause)