Guests: actor Alan Cumming; political satirist and journalist PJ O'Rourke; Myr. Gavin Newsom (D-San Fran); political correspondent George Stephanopoulos; author Robin Wright.

On the State of the Union

President Obama did go a little far in saying we're going to cure cancer. I mean, if we get halfway there, it wouldn't be so bad. - George Stephanopoulos

It seems like we're at a point in our history where we're so fragile that we're very dependent on the president giving a great performance. He is, after all, above all else, a television character. - Bill Maher

Republicans have a problem because they seem to just be drawing a line and not really meeting people's needs. - George Stephanopoulos

Obama should have a "Writing the New American Dream" Department.
- Alan Cumming

This country has been crumbling not just for the last ten years, and not just under Bush, but for a long time we've ignored all these problems because we bought big-screen TVs and jet skis. - Bill Maher

On Gov. Bobby Jindal's Response

Sarah Palin could have done a better job. Seriously. - Bill Maher

I thought there was no vision. There was nothing that was being offered that gave us any sense of optimism. It was just the tried and true conservative line for a guy who clearly wants to be president. - Myr. Gavin Newsom

Obama should have a "Writing the New American Dream" Department.  Alan Cumming

On Afghanistan

Unfortunately, the Bush Administration for eight years had this totally laissez faire attitude towards Afghanistan, that instead of dealing with that, they invented this war in Iraq. In a way, Obama has been left with no choice. - Tina Brown

Do the terrorists really need a training ground? I know we always see the stock footage of them on the monkey bars. If they don't have the monkey bars; if they're not limber, is it really going to change anything? - Bill Maher

The lesson that we didn't learn after the withdrawal of the Soviet Union from Afghanistan was that we needed to stay around and help, with our allies, build a state that going to be stable, and not allow Bin Laden and others to use it as a haven for training anti-American activists. - Robin Wright

On Religion

Think about my standing, seriously, with the Catholic Church. Support gay marriage, support stem cell research; I have the California Stem Cell Institute in our city. Pro-choice. Distribute condoms. Pro-birth control...I've been divorced...
- Myr. Gavin Newsom

I let Obama off easy with Reverend Jeremiah Wright. I thought, well, as a Catholic, I really can't get on somebody about what their clergy has been up to. - PJ O'Rourke