Bill Maher: Steve Jobs Would Run America Better Than Obama

Bill Maher criticized Obama's "fuddy-duddy act" at a commencement address at Hampton College last week and argued that Steve Jobs could do a better job running America than the Obama administration.

In the graduation speech, Obama slammed iPads, iPods, Xboxes, and PlayStations as a "distraction," saying the devices "turned information into a diversion that was imposing new strains on democracy."

Maher pointed out that the President's address seemed specious considering how heavily the "hip" Obama relied on social media and the Internet in his campaign.

"I know I'm being a little nit-picky, but how exactly does President Sanford and Son think he got elected--by CB radio?" Maher said. "The entire campaign was based on the Internet, but in America, politicians they do that because they know Americans conflate 'out of touch' with adorable."

Maher's solution for pushing the country forward: bring in Apple.

"America needs to focus on getting Jobs -- Steve Jobs. Because something tells me that Apple would have come up with a better idea for stopping an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico than putting a giant box on top of it," he said.

He explained why he thought Jobs and his Apple team could do a better job running America, joking that we might have to change the country's name (Hello, "iMerica."):

In 2001, Apple reinvented the record player. In 2007, the phone. This year, the computer. I say, for 2011, we let them take a crack at America. Our infrastructure, our business model, our institutions. Get rid of the stuff that's not working, replace it with something that does. For example, goodbye US Senate -- Hello Genius Bar! So good luck, Steve -- you'll need it!

Maher took a crack at McCain and Palin--whom he called "Mrs. Moron"--saying "John McCain thinks an iPad is something women wear on their Xboxes once a month."

Check out Maher's "new rules" in the video below.

NOTE: This video is no longer available.

Comments

[nicole473]

09:54 PM on 07/14/2010

You used to be one of my favorite comedians and political commentators. No more. You are not much better than Limbaugh, et al.

[Helixtwice]

01:05 PM on 06/02/2010

Actually, to get people's attention, a politician must be able to do stand up these days. People like to be entertained, and if a politician is seen as hip, as Obama often is, and Cheney never was, then he or she is given more credence.
Charisma rules, and the media has turned government into pop culture, like it or not.
Jon Stewart, a comedian, is likely the most trusted news caster.
Unfortunately, many issues make poor sound bites.

[aura]

03:03 AM on 05/31/2010

Obama administration blocked efforts to stop BP oil drilling before explosion
By Joe Kishore
10 May 2010

In 2009, the Obama administration intervened to support the reversal of a court order that would have halted offshore oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Obama’s Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who has long had close ties to the industry, specifically cited BP’s Deepwater Horizon operation as one that should be allowed to go forward, according to a group involved in the court case.

A Washington DC Appeals Court ruled in April 2009 that the Bush administration’s five-year plan for offshore oil and gas drilling (covering 2007 to 2012) was not based on a proper review of the environmental impact of the drilling. Only days before the ruling, the Obama administration had granted BP a “categorical exclusion,” exempting it from an environmental impact study for the Deepwater Horizon project. Read rest here http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/may2010/oilr-m10.shtml SEND VIRAL

[Riham005]

01:50 AM on 05/20/2010

"John McCain thinks an iPad is something women wear on their Xboxes once a month."

LMAO!!!

I voted for Obama and I have to agree Obama has not done much so far, especially considering that he promised so much change. Asking where is the change is a fair question to ask without being labeled a republican. But at the same time Bill Maher is an idiot. How can he criticize president Obama for giving valuable advice to graduating students which is to not get distracted by all this social media/ipods/xbox stuff. At my Uni I see so many students glued to computers worried about updating their status on facebook when they should be worrying about their upcoming exams....Sometimes its good to know your priorities in life, and education should be one of them. Virtual is not reality. That is all Obama was trying to say.

[regularguynyc]

09:21 AM on 05/19/2010

Bill Maher is an entertainer first and foremost, of course he is going to make fun of Obama. Do posters here expect Bill Maher to keep going on with "evil Republicans" when Obama is into his second year and the Democrats hold super majority in Congress? Lighten up people, if he moved forward with the material you are suggesting his ratings would be lower than the rabid Keith Olbermann. Face it, the current mess in the economy is ALL Obama's (and the Democrats) and Bill Maher is 100% correct in calling them out. Just like he did when Bush and his Congress where messing things up...

[Simondj]

10:04 AM on 05/19/2010

The current state of the economy is a result of the collapse that started during the Bush/Cheney regime - there's just no two ways around it. To pretend otherwise is simply being dishonest or willfully stupid.

[rere32]

08:02 AM on 05/19/2010

Why is this even a story.. really.. who cares!

[Eikinkloster]

01:49 PM on 05/19/2010

I don't know, 56 pages of comments from people who don't care?

[grosens]

07:11 AM on 05/19/2010

If you are a progressive, intelligent person, as Maher is, then Obama is a disappointment. The USA has not elected a real Democrat since Jimmy Carter. Bill Clinton and Barack Obama are moderate Republicans, more similar to Nixon and Eisenhower than to Truman and Roosevelt. Obama and his government of Wall Street cronies are lame and stodgy when compared to Steve Jobs' Applie and his iAmerica progressives..

[hondugirl]

09:21 AM on 05/19/2010

I love Carter and Clinton, Carter should have never been president, because he is too good of a man. But when he left -after one term- the country was in shambles. Clinton is a good man -not as saintly- as Carter, but when he left, the country was in one its best shape ever. That is the difference between Jimmy and Bill. if I needed a spiritual guide, I'll take Carter any day, if I needed a president, I''ll always take Clinton.

[grosens]

10:19 AM on 05/19/2010

Carter is not ruthless enough to have been an effective American president. I also preferred Clinton to Carter. What was there not to like about Clinton? We all made money by the bucket load when he was Prez. He kept us out of any serious wars. The deficit was transformed into a surplus.

But Clainto was not a real progressive. My favortie presidient of the last century was Roosevelt. He was a progressive who was smart and ruthless.

[Naie]

06:12 AM on 05/19/2010

But if Jobs ran the US, where would we get all our porn?

[timphelan]

04:18 AM on 05/19/2010

"President Sanford and Son"? Huh? Plus, it wasn't the government that came up with the "box" to stop the oil leak. Weak Bill. I think Steve could actually be funnier than you.

[Lucifuge]

09:29 AM on 05/19/2010

You're right, it was BP that came up with the "box", but it should be noted that the government could have decided to blow up the underwater well and seal the leak permanently, but hasn't for some reason...because BP doesn't like that solution, perhaps?

[timphelan]

11:07 PM on 05/19/2010

Is that really an option? Has it been done before? Sounds risky to me. I mean, what if they make a bigger leak?

[justmakingcomments]

03:55 AM on 05/19/2010

If Beck or Palin had made that Sanford and Son comment, all heck would have broken loose around here and I think some le ft ies heads might have exploded and there would have been 28 thousands posts about it.

Such hy p o cr acy.

[Rider3]

03:47 AM on 05/19/2010

A blood vessel must have burst in Bill Maher's tight little head, and he is now just a blathering idiot. He used to be relevant, but that's passed. Obama inherited the worse possible state of our country. Not since the great depression has our country been so low. I cannot believe that people think that the mess created during the prior decade could be miraculously erased after only 18 months. If fact, I don't think I will live to see the day when we return to having a surplus (remember, Clinton left GWBush a surplus), never mind having financial stability in our own lives. Until power is returned to the people from the corporations, we will remain a ruined country.

[PatrickWalker]

07:58 AM on 05/19/2010

This is one of the most annoying pro-Obama arguments. Basically, it's "Blame Bush" for Obama's inability and utter unwillingness to deal with the actual problem. As the crisis continued, all I could think of was the line from a children's rhyme: "All the king's horses and all the king's men tried to put Humpty Dumpty back together again." Well, Humpty Dumpty is the corrupt financial system and boy did Obama try to put that back together. Those bankers should have been dropped into the hole at ground zero and buried under a thousand yards of concrete and sealed off like radioactive waste...

[Ron333wood]

08:33 AM on 05/19/2010

It may be annoying, but it's true. Wonder what all of you that were so opposed to the TARP would be saying had BUSH not passed it and hundreds of thousands of "baby-boomer" pensions would have gone the way of the Glass-Steagall Act. So this really isn't Obama's deficit despite what Fox News spouts to its minions every night, night after night. Its the Republican Party thats blocking the re-regulation of the financial industry and oil industry that the Bush administration allowed to run their respective industries.

[hondugirl]

09:15 AM on 05/19/2010

Amen!

[Black Misfit]

03:03 AM on 05/19/2010

Harsh! Maher is a stounched liberal and was an Obama and Democratic supporter. Now, Maher is criticizing Obama's handling of his job as President. I don't blame him. I agree with Maher ever since Obama became President, all he has done is to become a Republican door mat. Obama wanted to be bi-partisan, yet the Republicans just stepped all over him. Instead of working with Obama, they(Republicans) just thump their noses at him. He just proved to be fighting with kid gloves. None of his ambitious agenda gotten done without obstruction (except for health care) and he still faces problems about rasing the caps on clean up for oil companies, energy bill, immigration reform, cutting on spending, etc. He is having a bad time in becoming a leader to the Democrats and just slapping with velvet gloves the Republicans.
Unless, Obama changes his style on how leads, he is doomed to become a one term president. Maher was the tipping point and it will not be long that the people who supported him in 2008 suddenly will not be there for 2012.

[stevebol]

02:20 PM on 05/19/2010

Maher is a libertarian and Obama never claimed to be a liberal. Plenty of people like both of them so we don't want to get bent out of shape about this.

[jtanice]

02:26 AM on 05/19/2010

I agree with daddybum. It's old.... Bill Maher needs new material other than to criticize President Obama or religious groups. He couldn't stand Bush, now there's Obama who inherited a mess and nothing he does is good enough. Bill Maher needs to get over himself and realize the problems America has can not be solved over night by any one person no matter who you are; including him.

[antitos]

02:25 AM on 05/19/2010

Obama is caving in too much to the republicans and corporations. If he doesn't start to fulfill his campaign promises he is just another sellout. But he still has some time to prove himself ...show me some change.

[peacbuckw]

02:13 AM on 05/19/2010

Bill Maher is a comedian! A well paid one at that. He is so fickle, he doesnt know whether to screw President Obama or screw President Obama. He is behaving like a scorned lover.

[antitos]

02:28 AM on 05/19/2010

Good outlining of the disilllusionment Obama causes by doing the same deals and taking the same money he vowed to stop.