You don’t watch Real Time with Bill Maher for the monologue jokes; you watch it for the raw, passionate political round tables and the astute, well-argued rants. The opposite proved true with Maher’s stand-up at the Pearl: The political points were simple (i.e., Palin is dumb, “the Democrats are pussies”), but the jokes he used to illustrate those points were damn sharp.

Maher, who loves Vegas—“You have northern liberals and southern crackers”—started in on the Pope, gun control and then racism: “We now re-elected a black president”/(hick voice here) “You mean these liberals got a look at him and they still want him. What if this is a trend? What if the colored is good at Presidentin’?”

Maher says Obama makes a great president because, “When you grow up black in America, you have to learn to be good at being patient with stupid white people. That’s what politics in America is all about—being patient with stupid white people.”

Oh, and on race: Maher’s audience was whiter than I would have expected. Older, too. Looking out at the crowd, I might have guessed I was watching Bill O’Reilly and Dennis Miller’s Bold & Fresh Tour. But the strong, positive reaction to Maher’s jokes made clear I wasn’t.

“I have my liberal fantasies that Obama’s second term ... Django Unchained! I think he should blacken up a little: Do the State of the Union in a purple suit with 20 buttons up the front. Take a swing at Rihanna.”

That joke got a (friendly) boo from the audience, which Maher relished: “Good to know I haven’t lost my ability to make my own audience boo.”

On Romney: “He re-emerged last week, and he still sounds like the flight attendant who tells you that you can’t use the restroom in first class.”

On Chris Christie: “The guy who’s mad there’s no meal between brunch and lunch.”

On Trig Palin: “That kid’s gotta be thinking, ‘I’m the retard in the family? That’s kind of splitting hairs.’”

On the Tea Party: “One thing those people hate is being called racist. The other thing is black people.”

Simple points, made strongly.