Maher criticizes Obama, GOP

But Maher can’t stomach the GOP candidates.

"I probably will vote for Obama. He still has maybe, like, four minutes left in the fourth quarter to throw a couple of Hail Marys," says Maher, who performs stand-up Saturday-Sunday at The Orleans.

To not vote would be a move to encourage a stronger Democrat next time, he says.

"It’s the political version of saying to a friend, ‘You have to hit bottom before you can get help.’ It’s almost like the country has to hit a bigger bottom. You’d think we were there, but apparently not."

Maher has been getting a big response to a comic editorial he delivered on HBO’s "Real Time with Bill Maher," when he said liberals need a subgroup as "unstable" and badly dressed as the tea party.

They would be called the Donner Party, after the 19th-century cannibals, and they would demand 100 percent taxes on the rich and free abortions at McDonald’s.

"Lots of people come up to me and say, ‘I want to join the Donner Party,’ " Maher says seriously. "That one resonated."

Maher finally got conservative icon Ann Coulter back on "Real Time" last season. Maher defends her against liberal critics.

"She definitely has views that liberal people find abhorrent. But she’s not a hard person to have a drink with," he says.

"She reads The New York Times cover to cover, every day. I would not put her in the same category with Michele Bachmann or Sarah Palin, who don’t know things."

And Coulter is his loyal friend.

"She went on Fox News the day after my show, and they tried every which way to condemn me," he says. "And she wouldn’t do it. They were literally yelling at her. … She was like, ‘He’s my friend, get over it.’ "

Maher is on vacation because "Real Time" is on break until Sept. 16. So what’s he been doing?

"Yesterday, I played basketball with Kato Kaelin," he said a few days ago.

I replied, "Really?"

"No, I’m bragging," he quipped.

CLUBBING

1. Calvin Harris DJs Sunday at Encore Beach Club. 2. Felix da Housecat DJs Saturday at Rain. 3. Serge Devant DJs today at Haze. 4. Chuckie performs today at Marquee. 5. Doug E. Fresh performs Saturday at LAX.

Doug Elfman’s column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Contact him at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman.