Liberal comic Bill Maher last Friday on his HBO talk show “Real Time” decided to go on a rant against Barack Obama. But not for the reasons Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh typically rail against the president.

Rather, Maher said Obama was focusing too much on his charm offense and not enough on substantive change.

“He’s getting a puppy!” Maher said on TV. “He’s eating a cheeseburger with Joe Biden! He’s taking the wife to Broadway and Paris — this is the best season of ‘The Bachelor’ yet!”

Maher, in a phone interview Monday to promote his standup comedy show next week at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, said he was surprised by the reaction to this particular critique, which was posted on YouTube.

“Up until last Friday, whenever I said anything critical about him, I was getting booed by my audience because they’re liberal Southern Californians,” he said. “But on Friday, they were cheering.”

“Something has changed,” he continued. “Look — I’m glad he got elected. But he’s not really putting it on the line against the banks, the insurance companies, the energy companies who run the coutnry and in many ways, have ruined this country.”

Heck, Maher even found a way to give (gasp!) George W. Bush props.l “He had terrible ideas but what I admired about him is he didn’t care who liked him or didn’t like him or what feathers he ruffled.” He feels Obama is too willing to compromise in the face of opposition, citing Guantanimo Bay as an example.

Maher said Obama only has a short window of time to tackle major reform such as health care. “If he doesn’t boldly move now, things may get tougher after the midterm elections when the party in power usually loses seats. The time is now. And face it: the Republicans are the weakest they’ve been in generations. If he can’t shove some progressive legislation now, I don’t see it happening in four years.”

The comic himself ruffled plenty of feathers last year with his documentary “Religulous,” which questions people of faith and the whole concept of religion. But it became the highest grossing documentary of last year, pulling in $13 million.

“The feedback has been phenomenal,” Maher said. “I still get hundreds of emails every week from people just saying thank you for making a statement about religion a lot of people won’t say.”

Maher then went on to compliment Obama for acknowledging “non believers” in two speeches and not deride them. “It’s an important step that nonbelievers get that kind of recognition,” he said.

While Maher has gotten death threats for years, he shrugs them off. “I’ve been saying controversial things on TV since 1993. There are always people who want to vent at you. It just becomes part of the territory.” But do people verbally assault him? “They don’t do it to my face,” he said.

And he enjoys coming into “red” states such as Georgia. “The free thinking types of people come out of the woodwork,” he said. “The people are so happy to see someone who thinks like them.”

When told that a fan recently wrote in the Arizona Republic that they felt Maher had become as intolerant as his detractors, Maher naturally demurred.

“Actually, I think I’ve mellowed in my old age. I think I’ve actually been too nice lately!”

IF YOU WANT TO GO…
Bill Maher
Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre
Friday, June 26, 8 p.m.
$38.50-$71.50
www.ticketmaster.com. 404-249-6400