Harry Shearer

Something from an interview with Harry Shearer, from March 2002:

Let’s get back to politics. How about Dick Cheney having to hand over documents about his energy task force and policies? A step in the right direction?

If you live long enough, one of the rewards is to get the privilege of seeing each political cliche mouthed in turn by partisans from each side. So that the same people who were desperately demanding that we know chapter and verse about Hillary Clinton’s top-secret healthcare task force are now saying, “No, no, no, confidentiality, it’s an important principle.” And vice versa.

It explains why, or it’s a consequence of the fact that most of our politicians are trained as lawyers. Because that’s exactly what lawyers are trained to do: Take this side, all right, now take this side. That’s what they do. And anybody who thinks that they’re doing anything else is welcome to bid for some Enron stock certificates on eBay, because that is the game.

Harry!
Harry Shearer is the best. On Fresh Air, listen to him talk about his new movie Teddy Bear’s Picnic (a spoof of Bohemian Grove), The Oscars, Show Business, and the peculiar fact that current satirists usually end up flattering the satirized. He also gets in a tiny mention of Gene Simmons on Fresh (possibly-apocraphally infamous). Well worth a listen (requires RealAudio).