My Wife Meta-References Jon Stewart & Dennis Miller

I'd heard that comedian Dennis Miller was no longer the ranter's poster-boy. I never warmed to Miller's annotated stylings, so I couldn't say whether or not he'd lost his grip on anything. I did think his coming out as pro-Bush was questionable. But I have friends who are pro-Bush, and they have my unflagging respect. The operative word is "questionable": they question me, I question them, and mostly we leave the subject alone.

Miller's appearance on Jon Stewart's Daily Show was, however, a sad, sad spectacle. Miller looked run-down and depressed, and even though Stewart generously gave Miller the floor, and cackled at Miller's every attempted quip, Miller - a stand-up veteran - struggled to claim it. When he finally worked up a head of steam, it got worse. He made some tired quips about global warming (Mordecai Richler did better), then endorsed oil drilling in Alaska by slagging Alaskans. Yeah, that's the ticket. If you can't blame Canada, fly to New York and pick on the largest state in the Union.

As if to prove that Miller isn't the only cat with meta-referencing abilities, my wife turned to me and said, "I feel like I'm watching Bobby Bittman on Sammy Maudlin."

Precisely.