I know that it's probably not a good idea for a comedian, especially a satirist, to support a public policy group or a politician. This is something I learned only too well years ago when I did a fundraiser for Pol Pot. A few years later I saw 'The Killing Fields,' and I've got to tell you, I just felt like a schmuck.
Minnesotans know the difference between the job of satirist and the job of senator. And so do I.
I've spent my entire career being a satirist.
Comedy to the Senate? Well, there certainly hasn't been a satirist or a political satirist who's done that. So, that really was uncharted territory during the campaign. But I think it's a good thing. Some people thought that it was an odd career arc, but to me it made absolute sense.
The satirist who writes nothing but satire should write but little - or it will seem that his satire springs rather from his own caustic nature than from the sins of the world in which he lives.
I get very confused about being called a comedian, because when you say 'I'm a comedian,' people expect you to crack a joke. Maybe I use laughter and humour to make people think. I don't know what you call that - a humourist? A satirist? A pessimistic comedian? I don't know. Satirists can be very dark.
The Dark Satirist, like the Dark Knight - that could be a good name for a superhero.
As a comedian and satirist you have to be neutral, because everyone's fair game. Once you show bias, you lose that.
Some critics of my work took the view that a satirist should defer to the finer feelings of his readers and respect widely held beliefs.
I found that not having a public profile was not hurting the work, and it freed me up to be the satirist I wanted to be.
