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>> we were talking about playing a role on "the good wife," how would you like to play my ex-husband? >> yes. is it available? >> this is "piers morgan tonight." >> good evening. the big story tonight is the selling of the president which is days away from the turning point in the race for the white house. super tuesday and millions have spent on hard-hitting ads for super-pacs. we have bill maher. and later me exclusive with mickey remembering the late great davy jones. >> we had a lot in common, and over the years, you know, our family and he and i, you know, we bonded. after 47 years working with people like that, he was like my brother. >> we begin with the big story. i want to ask bill maher about his controversial $1 million doe tags to president bahama'super-pac. >> i would like to announce a donation to the obama super-pac, which has the tongue twister name priority usa action. i would like to give that pac $1 million. >> that was bill maher announcing the donation. bill is back with me now. >> nice to be here. >> was i surprised? i don't know. i was surprised that you had a million dollars to chuck around, bill. congratulations. >> it was just lying around. >> secondly, that you would do this. i don't know why i should be surprised. not that your politics are necessarily that shocking, but why did you do that? what made you get up one day and say i'll do this? >> i didn't do it one day. i thought about it for a long time. what i said after that was i wanted to make the point that this really hurt. it does hurt to write a check for a million dollars, and i wanted to inspire a lot of people out there on the left who are rich who this wouldn't hurt at all. there's lots of people that won't miss a million dollars. i will miss it. >> how bad are you going to miss it, bill? >> i'm driving a cab at night now. i'm not. i'm still going teet the same. i'm just going to digest is peacefully. these republicans scare me. if this was europe and we had ten parties to choose from, maybe i'd feel different. he yes, obama has disappointed me in some ways. after watching these republicans debate the last year and hearing their ideas for the country, not only do i think this is for the betterment of the nation, i would do this on a selfish level because if we elect a republican and they go back to the policies that were there before obama, i could see my money getting vaporized like it did in 2008 when i had it with lehman brothers. i'm not blaming it specifically on the republican administration, but the policy of not taxing the rich, which was bush's policy. the policy of deregulation of wall street, which was mostly a republican policy. you know, republican policies are failed ideas, and to go back to them could be more disastrous for what money i have left than anything else i can think of. >> have you heard from the president since your donation? >> no, because it wasn't to him. it was to the super-pac, which he has nothing to do with. >> nothing to do with. here's my issue with that. obama was always very anti these super-pacs. >> it's a silly argument. >> is it? >> of course it is. this is what the republicans would like people to believe. that it's hypocritical. of course it's not. you can be against something, as long as it's the rule was of the game and the present, you play in the present. i'm against the -- >> can you, though? that's still hip pock see, stint? >> he would out and out lose this election if if he didn't. >> would he, though? >> you have to keep two distinct thoughts in your mind at the same time. one, we're against the policy. two, as long as this is the rules of the game, we have to play by the rules. >> even if you think it's morally and ethically wrong? >> of course, because otherwise he doesn't win. if he wins he might appoint a couple more supreme court justices which would overturn that awful ruling, citizens united, which allowed this to happen in the first place. >> given that romney is youpt spending all his competitors and still isn't getting very far, certainly not winning his election battle at the moment, what makes you think the super-pacs are actually that effective? >> that's true. money does not always win elections. mostly it does, however. usually it does. it makes a huge difference. obama beat mccain handily in the donation game in 2008. that was a big reason why he was able to win, i think. also mccain was a horrible candidate and sarah palin and everything broke right for obama in 2008. the market crashed, all of that stuff. but, you know, in 2008 the most you could give was $2300, i think. now sheldon talks about giving one candidate $100 million. this game has changed completely. this is the other reason i did this. to draw attention to something i don't think americans are aware of. this is a completely different world we're playing in now. it's a world of millionaires and billionaires and almost all of the billionaires are on the side of the republicans. so the common everyday millionaire has to step forward for the democrats. >> yet, wouldn't a romantic part of it love it if president obama came out and said, i said super pacs were morally wrong and i'm not getting involved in super-pacs or endorse any. i don't want supporters to give money to them. if they want to spend, spend, spend and try to negatively blame it away, i'll take my chances. >> silly and naive. the analogy i was about to give you is this, i don't believe the designated hitter rule in baseball, but if i'm the manager of a team and we're in the world series, am i not going to use the designated hitter? no. you try to win the world series under the rules of the game as they are, and after the series is over -- >> with every coach you do that. >> you will try to get rid of the designated hitter. >> would every coach do that? >> of course. they always have. >> what do you make of the -- you said you find them more vaguely ridiculous. what do you think of their actual chances against barack obama in an election? you know, you were saying on the break it could be a lot closer than people think. >> that's another reason why i did this, because i was at a party a few weeks ago. i guess it was a grammy party after the grammys, and all the liberals wanted to talk politics. they're mostly celebrities so they're not the most informed people in the world generally. they were like, isn't it great that obama has this election in the bag? i was like, he doesn't have this election in the bag. i would bet that -- not that i have a lot left to bet with, but i would bet that on election night the polls will show you a race that's too close to call. it's a very 50/50 country, and what we were kicking around at our office today to work on our concludes essay for the show friday night is this idea of a bubble that the liberals live in. i've talked a lot about the conservative bubble, and they certainly do live in a bubble, an insane bubble where obama is this person that doesn't exist who slashes defense spending, who raises your taxes, who apologizes to other nations around the world, whose wife wants to outlaw dessert. just insanity. the liberals live in a little bubble, too, and they look at rick santorum as i do and perhaps you do -- i would hope you do -- and see an insane person and think, he could never be elected president. they don't live in america. they fly over it. it's true. when rick santorum says, you know, obama thinks that you're -- i don't know what did he say about obama? that he wants to rule over you? >> here's the problem. whatever you say about rick santorum, he of all the candidates i've interviewed at least has the benefit, i think of being true to himself more than some of the others. he's quite authentic. i think he believes what he says most of the time. >> why else would you say that? the father of lies talking about satan. i haven't heard that since catechism. >> quite a good line. >> the father of lies? i was like what year are we living in? i mean, this controversy today by john f. kennedy making hi throw up. it's so funny that the kennedy speech in 1960 was john f. kennedy basically saying, look, i'm not taking my marching orders from the pope. now rick santorum in 2012 is sort of saying the reverse. how dare you say you won't be taking your orders from the pope. >> i don't think he'd read the speech probably, because that's not what kennedy was saying. >> it doesn't matter. again, they live in their bubble. >> he's doing it very deliberately and appealing to the conservative heartland in a way that i think mitt romney is struggling to do. i think the interesting thing today was an outrageous comment by rick santorum about the whole college thing about obama came out with, as if somehow encouraging americans to go to college was this appalling attack on working class people. >> trust me, i'm been a comedian for 30 years. i would have even begun to imagine a political candidate coming out against college. i couldn't. if i went to write a sketch, i couldn't have come up with that. >> we have a mishmash of a few other comments by the candidates. just watch this. >> i like the fact that most of the cars i see are detroit-made automobiles. i drive a mustang and a chevy pickup truck. ann drives a couple of cadillacs actually. >> president obama once said he wants everybody in america to go to college. what a snob. >> i mean, i actually like rick -- >> what a snob? >> i personally quite like rick santorum, and he's been good to us and he comes on the show unlike mitt romney and at least fronts out these debates. to call barack obama a snob in that way simply because he encouraging americans to go to college at a time when mother americans need to go to college, china and india and other countries are rapidly in terms of education overtaking america. >> let me tell you. the amount of material that those two have given me, i should have written them a check for a million dollars. but again, you're thinking -- you're not thinking like a lot of the country thinks. i know it sounds crazy to us. we're sane. >> the other thing that struck me in the last week is i interviewed chris christie, and he suddenly said about warren buffet wants to be taxed shut up and write a check. warren buffett replied. >> it's a touching sfons to a $1.2 trillion deficit. somehow the american people sign their checks and take care of it. >> that was warren buffett on cnbc. that's a ridiculous argument. what do you think of that whole argument on both sides? >> it's similar to the silly thing about what you were -- the designated hitter and how that's a hypocrite. it's a fake argument that will get people who don't follow this very closely to agree, but, of course, warren buffett is right. certain things cannot be voluntary. one of them is paying taxes. another one, by the way, is fixing the environment. you said before you were going to ask about how we can improve america. some things only government can do. you know, thinking that we can fix our environmental problems by just voluntarily having people recycle, it's like saying we could have won world war ii by just having them voluntarily collect tin and stuff like that, as they did. you also kind of needed the government to make tags and planes. that was sort of a big part of winning world war ii. >> how much should the government lead, and how much strays into nanny state do you think? >> sometimes you need a nanny state. at what point does the environment get so bad that the government says, yes, we're going to have to infringe on your freedom a little. these people don't want any infringing on freedom. that, to me, is a suicide pact. yes, i don't know what -- i don't know what it is with republicans that he they think that they're not breathing the same air. >> let's take another break. more tim tebows, and you met the great man last night. at a party. >> the great man. >> tim tebow. there you are. of general mills big g cereal,x there's more whole grain than any other ingredient. that's why it's listed first. get more whole grain than any other ingredient... just look for the white check. the interesting thing is actually, it's -- sorry, sorry. you've got kim jong-il. wait a minute. we need to clean this up. it's okay for you. if somebody ask you what you're wearing, you will say kim jong-il. >> have fun this evening. sacha baron cohen on the oscar red carpet with an urn full of ashes. i guess you have to expect something like that. back with bill maher. from hbo's "real time with bill maher." >> i hadn't seen. i happen to know. larry charles directed that. directed my movie. i happen to know that movie is going to be a scream. >> i think sacha baron cohen is a comedy genius. it just was funny. i love the fact that everyone is outraged. >> it's silly. what's to get upset about? what to get up set about is the french took over our motion picture show. >> now, you the vanity fair, you met tim tebow. i was there and didn't get to meet him. tell me about the moment. >> tebow -- >> he's a phenomenon. >> 20 minute. we talked for a long time. >> do you like him? >> i never didn't like him. people think i don't like him because he's super religious and i'm an atheist. >> something to do with this e-mail or this tweet you tweeted. this was following the 40-14 broncos loss to the buffalo bills. you tweeted wow, jesus deleted tim tebow bad on christmas eve. somewhere in hell satan is tebowing saying to hitler, hey, buffalo is killing him. >> no animosity there against tim tebow. i just -- >> hitler? >> first of all, it's a joke. i don't believe in satan. i don't believe in jesus as a god either. i was saying this guy does. this guy, my one gripe against him is he brings so much religion into the square. just play football. we don't need to see it on every play. >> isn't he inspiring? >> inspiring? inspiring to who? to the people who are religious? >> if you work from the point of view that most americans are not atheist like you, if they do believe in god, having a clean living, super talented professional sportsman actually being very, i think, modest, you know, humble -- sgroo. >> why couldn't he do this without the religion? >> it's a free country. you can do whatever you want. let's not forget that faith is just an opinion. it's just somebody's opinion. which gets us back to rick santorum. he thinks it's something more than an opinion. i would like to say that to him. he said he doesn't really believe in the separation of church and state, and that's absolutely ridiculous. >> yeah, he did. >> that is unacceptable in this country. it is just your opinion. you are allowed to have your opinion. you're allowed to have your opinion that a palestinian 2,000 years ago walked on water and did magic tricks and was really -- he's really still his own father and all that stuff. that's fine. have whatever opinion you want. and the fact that a billion other people believe it gives you strength and credence. i have the opinion that it'sry -- ridiculous. >> most americans are god fearing and they actually, i suspect, do believe that it's perfectly acceptable for people of religious influence to work in politics as well and to govern. >> it is. of course. i'm not saying anybody's opinion should be outlawed in the public square. i'm saying that is your opinion. don't tell this is my faith so it somehow means something more than my opinion. because it doesn't. my opinion is just as valid as your opinion and my opinion is you're nuts. what's a shame to me is that we had this other phenomenon, jeremy lin and i'm a long suffering knicks fan. they have not won since '73. >> i love jeremy lin. >> i do too. i don't care if he worships satan. but it would have been -- he is like tim tebow a religious christian. it would have been great to even things out if he was an atheist. he want to harvard for crying out loud. >> if he said i want you to join me in prayer and i will score 20 more points against the lakers? would you do it? >> of course not. i would say prayer is ridiculous. it's trying to telepat thickally communication with an imaginary friends. >> if that's the way the rules are played, it doesn't matter if ethically or morally you don't agree. you just do it. get on your knees and start praying bill maher. >> i'll tebow. tebow was great by the way >> bill maher. >> great guy. sweet guy. promise me, on air, i can hold you to it. >> okay. >> also appearing the at the tennessee performing arts center on march 18th. i suspect tickets are scarce. bill maher, a great pleasure. great to see you. after a morning of walk-ups, it's back to more pain, back to more pills. the evening showings bring more pain and more pills. sealing the deal... when, hang on... her doctor recommended aleve. it can relieve pain all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is lois... who chose two aleve and fewer pills for a day free of pain. 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"daydream believer." one of my favorites as a child in britain. a very sad day for all of the fans of the monkees to hear that davy jones died in florida of a heart attack. mickey dolenz joins me exclusively. thank you for joining me. it must be an incredibly difficult day for you. >> that's an understatement. yeah, it's a shock right out of the blue. no one ever suspected. you know, what can you say? it's a total shock. i'm a little bit numbed by it all. >> how did you hear the news? >> my wife called me this morning. i was still in bed actually she was out shopping and she called -- got a call from her sister who said she heard it on the news, and i was -- i thought it was another -- frankly i thought it might have been another one of those internet stupid joke, you know, hoaxes. i hoped it was. but obviously it was not. >> you stayed in touch with davy over the years. were you good friends? >> yeah, we were quite good friends. if you know the history of the monkees, you know, it was a television show that was cast about this band that wanted to be the beatles, and i remember actually quite clearly those -- early casting sessions and david and i sort of hit it off pretty early and quickly because we both had histories in showbiz as children. i had a serious when i was a kid called "circus boy," and he had been on broadway doing "oliver" so we