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Maher puts Obama on hot seat - again

For the second time in two months, HBO's Bill Maher has presented the White House with a tricky situation: How to make clear that Maher and some of his more controversial comments are not associated with the White House -- he is a comedian, after all -- while simultaneously facing the reality that the "Real Time" host is good for business; in March, Maher contributed $1 million to the president's SuperPAC.

On Friday's "Real Time," Maher double down on Hilary Rosen's controversial statement that Ann Romney had "never worked a day in her life" by saying that, "what she meant to say, I think, was that Ann Romney has never gotten her ass out of the house to work."

"No one is denying that being a mother is a tough job," said Maher. "I remember that I was a handful. Okay, but there is a big difference in being a mother, and that tough job, and getting your ass out of the door at 7am when it’s cold, having to deal with the boss, being in a workplace, and even if you're unhappy you can’t show it for 8 hours, that is a different kind of tough thing."

And when Maher announced in March that he would contribute the substantial sum to President Obama's reelection efforts (calling it "the wisest investment I think I could make"), some called on the president to reject the contribution in light of some of Maher's more controversial comments (Maher has, for instance, called Sarah Palin a c-nt and has made sexual references to Rick Santorum's wife). The campaign against Maher heated up in light of the controversy encircling radio host Rush Limbaugh when he called Georgetown Law Student Sandra Fluke a "slut" and "prostitute." Sarah Palin took to her Facebook page to declare, "Pres. Obama says he called Sandra Fluke because of his daughters. For the sake of everyone's daughter, why doesn't his super PAC return the $1 million he got from a rabid misogynist?"

The SuperPAC, Priorities USA, did not return Maher's contribution. We've reached out to the White House for additional comment, as well as Maher, and will update this post when we hear back.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, at the time, was pressed on the issue during a press briefing in March:

The President spoke out in the news conference about how people need to be careful with their language in general, and he spoke about his own daughters and setting an example. I know he's not the language police, you're not the language police from this podium to pick on people on the left or the right. But there is a letter that went to the Chief of Staff today from a conservative group, Concerned Women for America, saying that the President should direct this super PAC, on the Democratic side, that took a million-dollar check from Bill Maher, who has had some pretty coarse things to say about conservative women. And I understand the President can't -- he's not in charge of the super PAC, it's an outside thing. But he did bless that PAC and say to his supporters, you should give to this PAC if you want to. So can he also say, give a million-dollar check back if it's from somebody who said these things? MR. CARNEY: I think the points that you made as you were asking your question are the ones that I will make, which is that we are not, and cannot be, the arbitrator of every statement that everybody makes in the policy and political arena. As a general matter, obviously language that denigrates women is inappropriate. And I think I would point you to what the President said when he was asked about this during his press conference, which is that he chooses to lead by example, or to try to. He chooses to, in the pursuit of a more civil discourse in our public space, he chooses to try to practice that civility himself. And he calls on everybody to do just that.

The decision not to denounce Maher publicly struck some as inconsistent, as Obama was quick to weigh in on the Fluke incident, calling her during the heat of the controversy. And, during a press conference, Obama said of the incident that, "And I wanted Sandra to know that I thought her parents should be proud of her, and that we want to send a message to all our young people that being part of a democracy involves argument and disagreements and debate, and we want you to be engaged, and there's a way to do it that doesn't involve you being demeaned and insulted, particularly when you’re a private citizen."

Maher's comment on Friday's program was not taken lightly by many, especially several in the Romney campaign who have used Rosen's -- and now Maher's -- comments to political advantage.

A piece at Fox Nation is simply headlined, "Pig Maher Attacks Ann Romney." The Republican National Committee tweeted, "[email protected]'s largest SuperPac donor Bill Maher continues to attack women". Romney for President advisor Jim Merrill wrote "I'm sure Democrats are sick of apologizing for their #waronmoms, but that's what happens when you get in bed with a lowlife like Maher". Romney advisor Eric Fehrnstrom said: "Bill Maher's degrading comments on Ann Romney not easily dismissed - he's a $1m donor to Priorities USA".

News of Maher's comments on Friday gathered storm slowly on Saturday and so it's unclear whether Obama's associates -- either in the White House or on the campagin staff -- will eventually condemn Romney. But, if this past week is any indication, there's a clear precedent already set: When Rosen made her comments about Ann Romney, team Obama -- from David Plouffe to David Axelrod to the president himself -- wasted no time in distancing themselves from Rosen's remarks.

And not everyone seems to think that this merry-go-round of apologies is entirely worthy of such attention. Journalist Marc Ambinder wrote on Twitter in reaction to Maher's Friday comments: "Do I need to rewrite the piece I just wrote to explainwhyBill Maher is even less connected to Obama's positions on women/work than @hilaryr?" And: "Maher has no influence inside the WH. His donation to the SuperPac reflects his views. That's it. The rest is just outragifiction."

Maher himself took to the New York Times' op-ed page in March to say, enough with the apologizing.

"If it weren’t for throwing conniption fits, we wouldn’t get any exercise at all. I have a better idea. Let’s have an amnesty — from the left and the right — on every made-up, fake, totally insincere, playacted hurt, insult, slight and affront. Let’s make this Sunday the National Day of No Outrage. One day a year when you will not find some tiny thing someone did or said and pretend you can barely continue functioning until they apologize."

Patrick Gavin is the director of "Nerd Prom: Inside Washington's Wildest Week" and a former Politico reporter.