There are three types of political commentators. The first kind are those who do it for the money. These include Bill oReily and to an extent Anne Coulter. Yes, they have conservative credentials, but they basically read the ether and orient their views to match what will give them the highest financial return. This is why every now and then they will get it wrong. The second type are the lunatics. These are true believers, almost always liberals, and examples include Susan Estrich and to an extent Colmes (although colmes hidee it well). The third are the eclectics ....similar to the firstgroup in that they do it for money, but similar to thesecond in the tabidness of some of their beliefs. All over the place. Maher falls here, and after listening/reading what he says for years I doubt he is even liberal. What he is is a high-elitist with a strong libetarian leaning, who just knows his bread is buttered on the liberal side. Every now and then he forgets that and ends up insulting liberals in ways even Ann Coulter wouldn’t.
Some are just contrarians, who don’t like anything that’s popular, just because it’s popular.