It appears that stand-up comedian Bill Maher and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin are not on the same page when it comes to the Clint Eastwood film "American Sniper" starring Bradley Cooper.
During the panel discussion of his HBO talk show "Real Time With Bill Maher" on the Jan. 23 episode, Maher criticized the subject of the "American Sniper," Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, particularly his statements in his autobiography of the same name, which the film was based on.
First, Maher pointed out that the 2008 Kathryn Bigelow's Oscar-winning film "The Hurt Locker," which was about a Sergeant played by Jeremy Renner assigned to an army bomb squad during the Iraq War, made $17 million only because it was a slightly ambiguous and thoughtful.
On the other hand, "American Sniper" earned $105 million on its opening weekend. Maher attributes the box office success to the fact that Kyle is regarded as an "American hero. He's a psychopath patriot and we love him."
Maher then went on to slam Kyle by reading some quotes from his autobiography starting with the line "I hate the damn savages," which refers to the Iraqis.
"If you're a Christian, I know this is a Christian country, 'I hate the damn savages' doesn't seem like a very Christian thing to say," Maher pointed out.
In contrast, Maher mentioned anti-war five-star general and former president Dwight D. Eisenhower who once said he hates war as "only a soldier who has lived it can."
Other statements by Kyle read by Maher include "I've been fighting and I always will" and "I love killing bad guys."