Lewis Black has the U.S. Government to thank for his short work weeks these days. “I don’t even have to write anything anymore,” he laughs. “All I have to do is print the headlines.”

As one of the country’s sharpest, shrewdest, and most politically astute comedians, Black finds an endless supply of material in the day-to-day happenings in Washington, D.C. When Black comes to town tonight, TV’s ubiquitous talking head will focus on the recent State of the Union address, “which was just tremendous,” he says with trademark sarcasm. “I was so glad to hear that everything is going to be OK. I’m so glad that with the 12,000 problems [senators] have to deal with, [majority leader] Bill Frist says they’ll vote on gay marriage again.”

But if you really want to get Black boiling, bring up lobbyists. “The problem isn’t so much the Republicans being idiots,” he says. “There’s no coherent response from the Democrats! What’s the matter with you people?”
Fri., Nov. 16, 8 p.m., 2007

This article appears in Mar 8-14, 2006.