I think he's a bit intimidated. He's always been just a comedian, hanging out with lightweight hollywood types.
Now all of a sudden his career has taken a turn and he has a nightly show interviewing senators and Rudy Giuliani and a whole slew of serious political types. It's clear that Miller is trying to be polite to those he disagrees with politically. In spite of all of that, I think he's holding his own.
For instance, tonight he allowed Ford to ramble on, and at the end he gave a wry smile and said, "Oh man, you're smooth." It came across as a polite way of saying, "Oh man, you're a liar."
Dennis Miller...polite? Obviously you haven't watched him as long as I have.