Okay. . .which comedian has a good base on the pulse of America

[SammyBlue]

George Carlin, Chris Rock, Denis Leary, etc?

I'd say Carlin. Listening to him for 20 years, I tend to agree with most, if not all, of what he says as jokes on stage. He's funny, intelligent and I believe he really does care, or else he wouldn't get so passionate in his rants.

[Akoto]

1. I don't know if you'd count him as a comedian in this sense, but ..

Jon Stewart. :)

[JuniperLea]

4. I vote for Jon too

George Carlin is a genius in hippie clothing:)

[WiseButAngrySara]

26. Ditto! Jon Stewart for me.....n/t

[EstimatedProphet]

2. Lewis Black

[rkc3]

27. Seen him twice in the past 18 months - he's dead on.

He said he yells because the people who should be listening aren't.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

3. Carlin always seems a bit wasted to me.

But very funny! I think Chris Rock is right on most of the time. And funny.

[JuniperLea]

6. All part of his charm

And makes more than one great point besides;)

[KyndCulture]

5. My girl Margaret Cho!

[lpbk2713]

7. David Letterman.

He takes potshots at Chimpy as often as possible and I love it.

[RepublicanElephant]

8. dave chappelle

.

[txaslftist]

9. Jay Leno.

his writers, at least.

[Love Bug]

32. You're kidding, right?

Last time I watched Leno he was STILL telling Clinton/Lewinsky jokes, what, 4 years since Clinton was in office? Also, Leno gave "Der Gropenfuhrer" tons of publicity while he was running for governor of CA. I can't stand Leno. Fuck him.

[txaslftist]

35. Not saying I like him or agree with him...

...but he's got his finger on the pulse of the US.

[StellaBlue]

10. MARGARET CHO

I LOVE MARGARET CHO.

I am straight, I am not even attracted to Margaret Cho on any level, but I would date Margaret Cho I love her so much!!!!!

[nine23]

11. You forgot the obvious: Jon Stewart.

Let's not forget, he's a standup comedian first, talk show host/fake news dude second. I saw him in Montreal doing standup in '98; he was every bit as political as he is now, just a different setting/format.

That said, I think Dennis Leary is really in his element/on top of his game these days with his TV series. The premise (post-9.11 NYC firefighters and their karmic/psychic problems) is perfect for him, and if it's popularity among real firefighters is any indication, that's certainly a "finger on the pulse"...

[negativenihil]

12. Ugh screw Dennis Leary

Seriously, the guy is a hack and a thief. His entire schtick was stolen from bill Hicks, plan and simple. *end rant*

[nine23]

15. I agree totally with the Hicks thing, and his stand-up routine...

I just think he's kinda' redeeming himself with the TV show; and let's not forget it's an ensemble cast. Then there's the premise of the show...

But I agree. That "I'm An Asshole" schtick a few years back was just plain embarassing.

On edit: In fact, I'm a huge Hicks fan as well. I had COMPLETELY written off Leary as a total hack/rip-off until he got off the stage and produced this TV show...

[HR_Pufnstuf]

13. Doug Stanhope.

http://www.dougstanhope.com/

[SammyBlue]

14. Doug and Joe killed one of my favorite Comedy Central shows

I may have a hand on the pulse, but I still consider him a talentless dickhole!

[BloodyWilliam]

24. Totally. Bring back the Man Show with Adam and Jimmy!

My dad's a left-swing sociology professor. We'd watch it together every Sunday night.

[Oeditpus Rex]

16. Will Durst

Yeah, he still does stand-up. Matter o' fact, he was scheduled for two gigs in the NOLA area the weekend Katrina hit.

http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?ItemID=19587

[AlCzervik]

19. yes to Will, yes to Lewis and of course the whole cast of The Daily Show

[rniel]

17. Lewis Black !!!

And Of course Jon Stewart.

[Double T]

18. earthquake........

this guy is REALLY funny

[Poiuyt]

20. What about Dennis Miller?

Just kidding!

[melody]

28. Thank god - we were beginning to worry about you :-)

[BloodyWilliam]

21. Bill Hicks

May he rest in peace.

"Abortion's even caused conflicts between my friends! Some of them think pro-lifers are annoying idiots, and the others think they're evil fucks. Why can't they compromise and agree that they're annoying evil idiot-fucks?"

[jane_pippin]

22. A lot of them do...

George Carlin for sure but also:

Chris Rock, Jon Stewart, Bill Maher, Lewis Black, David Cross, Dave Chappelle, The Onion staff writers, the Daily Show writers, Letterman when he's "on," Margaret Cho makes some good points, Janeane Garofolo, Dave Attell (maybe not on his show but live he gives a good rant), Will Durst, Larry David, Richard Belzer and even though he's dead, Bill Hicks.


(Plus other people I know I'm forgetting)

[spuddonna]

23. Jon Stewart

I wonder if he screams at the TV and PC as much as I do? :)

[KC_25]

25. Carlos Mencia

[melody]

29. I love all these guys but Leary, and would also add Richard Belzer

Just because. :-)

[CityZen-X]

30. G.W. Bu$h*t

[Lindacooks]

31. George Carlin.

He's funny and dead on accurate.

[WiseButAngrySara]

33. Vote Tally so far...(funny that I'm doing this, because I've not heard

many of these comedians, but TDS has maintained my sanity since Diebold election 2004, and as a result I'm much more attuned to comedians in general)

Jon Stewart: 8

Lewis Black and Carlin: 4

Cho and Rock: 3

Durst, Hicks, Letterman: 2

Chapelle, Leno, Stanhope, Belzer, Leary, Mencia and Maher: 1

[Blue_In_AK]

34. Bill Maher...

...and I don't care what anybody says.

[soup]

36. What? no Whoopi?

She's gotta be on the list. Not even asking. I demand it. (politely) :)