Guests: Director Oliver Stone, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), comedian Dana Gould, fmr. Comptroller General David Walker, and economist Steve Moore.

On the Financial Crisis

I don't know if you heard the news, but Wall Street now is a farmer's market. I don't want to say things are saying downhill quickly, but Obama's new campaign slogan is, "Are you better off than you were four days ago?"  Bill Maher

I think we need to stop the hemorrhaging of expenditures that are unneeded. Stop the war in Iraq. Bring our soldiers home and stop spending billions of taxpayer dollars.  Maxine Waters

On Obama and Palin

Barack Obama has been in front of the American people for almost two years running this campaign. He beat the Clintons. He has earned my respect. I believe that he can run the country. I have faith in his leadership... Sarah Palin was pulled out of nowhere five weeks ago, and didn't have the sense to go, "I'm meeting a new country, let me appear humble." She just walked out, said, "That guy you know for two years? He's a jerk! I'm from a small town, I'm a real American." And it was basically engender your base, and turn the rest of the country against you.  Dana Gould

On Palin

So, naturally the smart thing to do, to solve your economic woes, is to demonize the Democrats. And of course, Palin is more than happy to oblige there. She's been saying that Obama hangs out with terrorists, and you know, I think the evangelical lady who's in a video getting blessed by a witch doctor, who's married to a secessionist and can't name a newspaper, she's right, Obama is scary.  Bill Maher

She has been the national stage twice. Her convention speech and when she gave that ass-whippin' to Joe Biden, in the debate. And she is not without an effect... But she just knocked him out in that debate. And the point is, she's just a hot babe! She is hot! You gotta admit she's hot. Here is the reason that, Bill, you are so obsessed with Sara Palin. This is a conservative woman who is empowered. She is the kind of woman that Democrats used to try to get their vote! And all Democrats have done is denigrate her!  Steve Moore

On Palin's Use of "Exceptionalism"

Everywhere she went, she kept using this word. She said, "We see an America of exceptionalism." Meaningless. "We see America as a force for exceptionalism." Stupider. She said about the veterans of Hurricane Ike, "We're going to pull together and assist them, because America is an exceptional country, and you are all exceptional Americans. And out of all our exceptional Americans" - then she went on about the troops. What happened is that in her... "challenged" skull, exceptionalism, I think to her really means, "God likes America best, and Jesus is an American." That's what she really means.  Bill Maher

I'm just a moderately-educated guy from a small town, which according to Sarah Palin makes me a real American, and you an out-of-touch elitist. So, let me tell you one thing. The theory that - the problem with the concept of American exceptionalism, if people think that God loves America, no matter what America does... they never challenge themselves to make America better. I love America, and I'm always talking about its flaws, because I would like America to be better. It's like the theory of your parents. I can make fun of mommy and daddy, and I still love them. If you talk - you know, if you - when Sarah Palin was speaking this week, when she was doing the Ayers thing, she said, Barack Obama thinks America is so imperfect that he will - if you don't think that America is perfect, that you're wrong. But if you think that it's perfect, then everything that it does is perfect, and you don't ever have to make it better. I think that's the problem.  Dana Gould

I think what a lot of Americans believe is that what Barack Obama wants to do is exactly what you're talking about, put America under the Kyoto Treaty, and put America under the United Nations' rules and laws. We don't want to. We are the exceptional nation in the world, and we've been the world leader for the last 50 years.  Steve Moore

On Bush and Vietnam

Well, frankly, he probably would have died. But the fact is that he did live... I do think when a man goes to a war and he's not a pilot, only, but he's on the ground, and he deals with the bodies and the mutilation and the stench, and the smell of this thing, it's so bad, Bill, believe me, that you would think twice about going to war again. I think it teaches you a lesson.  Oliver Stone

On the Republican Campaign

But have you noticed that there's this attempt to demonize those who would dare raise questions, or criticize any of our policies? And this whole effort to make people believe that Sara Palin, for example, McCain, for example, they love America better than you do! They love America better than Barack Obama does. This business about, "I love America, I care about it," "I'm more patriotic," I mean, that has been kind of the mantra of this campaign. And I think that Americans should not get frightened and fear offering criticism of their country. If we are to have a strong democracy, we must guard it with criticism and be able to point out where it's good, where it's not good.  Maxine Waters