After a summer hiatus, comedian Bill Maher picked a great night to return to the airwaves with his HBO show "Real Time."

With the Democratic National Convention over, the Republican bash ready to roar into action and a provocative vice presidential choice from John McCain, there is plenty of fodder tonight.

Maher's show, which features politically charged conversation among a mix of politicians, pundits and celebrities, can be bitingly funny, flabbergasting and frustrating in the same hour.

His acerbic rants during the "New Rules" segment at the end of each show are worth the price of admission.

Now, before you Talkbackers start killing me for being a commie and enjoying Maher's show ... allow me to say "Stuff it," in the nicest possible way.

I enjoy articulate arguments from all angles of the spectrum. I think Keith Olbermann is a brilliant writer and that Rush Limbaugh and Mark Belling put on intelligent and entertaining radio shows.

When people ask me about my political leanings, I have a pretty standard answer: None of the above. I think the two-party system is grossly out of whack. I hate that our major elections play to the common denominator as the parties spend millions on misleading commercials to the dumbed-down masses.

Do you really want our political and economic futures determined by some focused-grouped, lowest common denominator voters in Florida and Ohio?

Does it bother you that we create these soulless political cyborgs who are completely out of touch with the reality of the common people?

How embarrassing was it to watch Obama try to bowl in Pennsylvania? What about when the elder George Bush went to a supermarket and had never seen a checkout scanner? What about McCain not knowing how many houses he and his wife own (or not having an answer because he wasn't "prepped" by a staffer).

I'm not endorsing Maher's point of view. I just think his show is provocative, amusing and -- tonight and for the next few months -- qualifies as "must-see TV."

Who do I think should run the country? How about the guys from Google and a couple of fellas that set the point spreads in Las Vegas? I can't think of anybody in the country who is better at their job.