Is it easier to write material that’s exclusively focused on current events?
It’s harder and easier. It’s harder, because you can’t hang onto the joke for long. There are some jokes that I wrote 12 years ago – maybe about going to the doctor or my girlfriend – that I could still do today. But others, I know I’m going to have to say goodbye to them pretty soon. But I just kind of write what I’m feeling. If I’m upset or there’s an issue that bothers me, I’ll write a joke about it: gas prices or health care, for instance. When you performed in Afghanistan a few years ago for the troops, your political stuff must have been challenging to do, no? It was quite an experience, man. It was a hard trip, because I was kind of sick at the time. But it was great. A war zone is a real cross-section of America. I met people there who went to West Point and graduated the top one percent. But then I met other people who had no idea where they were, what was going on, and they couldn’t care less. So it was just interesting to meet all different kinds of people. And they were jus
