I'm Swiss

Bill Maher uses the 2005 political landscape as a punching bag, playing the role of the exasperated American who is tired of answering for his government. He leans heavily into the embarrassment of traveling abroad during the George W. Bush administration, explaining that he simply tells foreigners he is from the land of cuckoo clocks and neutral banks to avoid the conversation altogether. It is a set built on frustration, aimed directly at the culture wars and foreign policies of the mid-2000s.

Filmed at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, Oregon, the performance marked Maher’s seventh HBO special. The set arrived a couple of years into his tenure hosting Real Time, fully removed from the constraints of his previous network television gig. He tackles the era’s major talking points, criticizing the war in Iraq, advocating for legalized marijuana, and defending gay marriage. He also dedicates a segment to “Master P’s Theatre,” a recurring bit where he reads rap lyrics in formal, suburban English. The performance ultimately earned a pair of Emmy nominations.